A strong and diverse group of businesses and organizations are coming together to support Make48's National Season 7 Competition at the AR Innovation Hub makerspace in North Little Rock, Arkansas on November 10th. These sponsors are truly making this event happen and ensuring its success.
Here's a closer look at the sponsors and their contributions:
Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub at Winrock International (Host location): The AR Innovation Hub is hosting the event, providing the space and the facilities for this exciting 48 hour competition!
City of North Little Rock (Community Sponsor): The City of North Little Rock is supporting the event, showing their commitment to innovation and the local community.
Golden Eagle AR and Yellow Rocket Concepts: (Community Kick-Off) These sponsors are generously supporting the Welcoming Party getting teams, tool techs, and volunteers together before the big event.
Golden Eagle of Arkansas is a locally owned and operated, licensed alcohol and beverage wholesaler, who strives to be the best direct store delivery partner to its suppliers.
Yellow Rocket Concepts, named after the old Yellow Rocket arcade in the Heights, is the parent company to several of Arkansas’ favorite eateries, including Big Orange, ZaZa, and Lost Forty Brewery and Tap Room. The conglomerate has focused on diverse, individualized restaurant concepts that have become instant favorites and are generating tens of millions of dollars in sales each year. Lost 40 will be serving us food and beverages for the evening.
North Little Rock Tourism: (Community Kick-Off) North Little Rock has a great mix of attractions, indoor and outdoor activities that are family-friendly, and nightlife. North Little Rock Tourism can assist with planning trips, finding hotel rooms, dining recommendations and things to do when visiting the area. With new craft breweries, miles of bike trails and a burgeoning arts district, North Little Rock, Arkansas, is making a name for itself. Come where sweet iced tea, a sense of humor and a spirit of creativity are necessities.
University of Arkansas: Pulaski Technical College (VIP Night Sponsor): Pulaski Technical College is sponsoring the VIP Night, creating an exclusive and memorable experience for participants. UA-PTC is a public college in North Little Rock, Arkansas. They offer more than 80 programs, degrees and certificates of high-quality education that promotes student learning and enables individuals to develop to their fullest potential. Programs of study include Culinary Arts and Food Service, Baking & Pastry Arts, Business & Industry, Technical Sciences and Liberal Arts & Humanities.
Mako Design + Invent (Company Engagement Sponsor) : MAKO Design + Invent is a full-service consumer product development firm servicing small product businesses and early-stage invention startups. MAKO has complete in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. President Kevin Mako will provide valuable expertise for the competition.
Law Office of Mark Brown (Patent Attorney): Chris DeBacker will return to Make48 to help teams with their ideas. Chris has supported teams at numerous competitions including assisting teams at last year’s Nationals. The Law Office of Mark Brown's law office specializes in patent law, offering essential legal support for inventors and competitors and has more than 35 years of success in representing clients of all sizes in intellectual property matters.
United States Patent and Trademark Office (Patent Attorney): The USPTO is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks and is an important institution that plays a vital role in protecting intellectual property. The continued demand for patents and trademarks underscores the ingenuity of American inventors and entrepreneurs and the USPTO is at the cutting edge of the nation's technological progress and achievement. Mollybeth Kocialski will join Chris DeBacker and help the teams with their IP research.
Argenta Wealth Management: Argenta Wealth Management is a Financial Advisory Firm that helps people achieve their goals and improve their communities. President John Gaudin has 30 years’ experience in the Investment Advisory business and owns Argenta Wealth Management. His experience includes leading the advisory firm’s family, business and institutional relationships.
First Security Bank: Since 2001, First Security Bank has met the financing needs for Arkansans. Based in Searcy, Arkansas, First Security Bank operates in 78 locations across the state of Arkansas and is a division of Arkansas’ fifth largest bank holding company, First Security Bankcorp. First Security Bank is contributing to the financial stability of the event, helping it run smoothly.
Wet & Forget: For over 40 years, Wet & Forget have been bringing people cleaning products that make cleaning easier. They believe in working "smarter not harder," and by listening to their customer needs, developed the easiest cleaning solutions for everyday problems. With products in stores worldwide, it only makes sense to ask Adam Smith, VP of Sales, to be a mentor. Adam has the experience, he’s been a Make48 judge, mentor and was a team captain at the Kansas School for the Blind event this year.
The DeBruce Foundation: Meet the Kansas City organization that expands career pathways from individuals to companies. The DeBruce Foundation is passionate about helping people better understand their strengths and interests, which is why they created the Agile Work Profiler©, a top-of-the-line FREE tool that can help jumpstart anyone's career, regardless of where they are in their career path. The online survey allows individuals to discover their strengths and interests and how those line up with work activities. By monitoring how individuals make gains through their initiatives, DeBruce gains insight on how people might become agile in the face of an ever-changing world of work.
ABC Supply: ABC Supply is a prominent American company that specializes in the wholesale distribution of various construction and building materials, with a particular emphasis on roofing supplies. It was founded in 1982 and has since grown to become the largest wholesale distributor of roofing materials in the United States. It’s a comprehensive one-stop shop for contractors, builders, and construction professionals.
Heartland Forward: Based in Bentonville, Ark., Heartland Forward work focuses on the entire heartland region which comprises 20 states. As a nonpartisan, nonprofit "think and do" tank, Heartland Forward is turning their analysis into action. Heartland Forward believes this is a differentiator in the work they do.
These organizations are supporting the teams who will be traveling to North Little Rock!
Kansas State School for the Blind: KSSB is a specialized public school for students 3-21 years of age who are visually impaired. The 150+ year old institution meets the needs of students who are blind/visually impaired in Kansas. KSSB acts as a “network of services” that include an outreach team to serve students across the state, as well as a 10-acre campus in downtown Kansas City, KS, offering intensive, short-term services. KSSB is a nurturing environment where close to 50 students receive statewide resources on campus from August to May.
Kansas City Blind All-Stars: KCBAS supports the Kansas State School for the Blind and is dedicated to providing assistance to low vision and blind students in education, technology, career assistance and experience, sports and music since 1973. One of the Board’s goals is to foster belonging and empowerment for their blind and low vision students at school and in the community. KCBAS listens to and engages with their diverse communities in an effort to make the community more inclusive.
Arkansas School for the Visually-Blind (ASBVI): ASBVI offers statewide quality educational programs and resources to students who are blind or visually impaired, birth through twenty-one, enabling them to become productive, self-sufficient citizens through the involvement of all students, staff, parents and the community. They will host the KSSB teams as they take on the competition!
TurtleTEK: TurtleTEK is dedicated to growing FIRST in the Wisconsin-Illinois Stateline area. Their organization will be on hand to support the Beloit teams competing at Nationals! Turtle TEK is based in Beloit, Wisconsin and founded in 2022. Made up of 11 team members from two states, many schools, and an age range of 8th to 11th grade, the team mission of Turtle Tek is to help grow FIRST on all levels in our area, as they are the only FTC team on the Stateline.
Meet the sponsors who are providing Products, Tool Techs, and the Resources for the teams to create their unique product!
Carhartt, ShopBot, Epilog, Fastenal, Kreg Tool, Lincoln Electric, Gridlock Table, Wagner SprayTech, Quantum Coffee Roasters, Harley-Davidson, Rockwell Automation and Husco International.
It's evident that these sponsors are playing a significant role in making the Make48 National Competition a reality. Their support is essential for creating a successful and memorable event, and their contributions are greatly appreciated by all the participants and attendees.
Season 7 Nationals in North Little Rock promises to be a great opportunity for networking and showcasing innovation, and these sponsors are a crucial part of that effort. To learn more about Nationals visit https://www.make48.com/nationals-2023-season-7
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