Perry and Pamela Stafford of Perry Dogs, were selected as first-place winners of 2014 Green Country regional contest of Dream Big Oklahoma, which was announced at a March 13 awards ceremony.
Perry Dogs was awarded $5,000 in grant funds for the continued development of their business, which operates mobile food vending routes focusing on serving a niche market of overnight shift workers in the Tulsa area. They advanced from a pool of 13 regional contestants as one of four finalists competing against Art Energy Project, Top Secret Case, and Wolfe Media for the grant money.
Perry Stafford of Perry Dogs said, “We are thrilled to be selected as the first ever Green Country regional winner.”
The awarded funds will be used to complete the interior kitchen of the Perry Dogs food truck. The addition of the food truck to the business’ fleet will increase the territory that can be covered on their overnight routes.
“This is just what we needed to move forward,” said Stafford. “We are so thankful to RSU’s Innovation Center, the regional sponsors and all of the people who organized and supported the competition.”
This is the first year for the regional competition which emerged through the efforts of the Innovation Center at Rogers State University and their push to encourage a more vibrant culture of entrepreneurship across the state through Dream Big Oklahoma.
The Green Country regional competition kicked off in January with a call for entries followed by an online voting period. Four finalists advanced through the online popular vote and an independent review to compete for a panel of judges which included Matt Mason, Vice President at RCB Bank; Kent Faison, Vice President with BancFirst SBA division; and Greg Hawks, President, Hawks Agency.
Dream Big Oklahoma’s mission is dedicated to the entrepreneurial spirit of small business start-ups and the expansion of existing small business across the state. The contest focuses on a “grow your own” approach to economic development.
“There is an entire spectrum of entrepreneurship,” said Jeri Koehler, Director of the RSU Innovation Center. “The goal of Dream Big Oklahoma is to serve the risk takers in our community. Through this statewide push to encourage entrepreneurship, small business startups and existing businesses are partnered with service providers who can support their strategic and sustainable growth.”
Dream Big Oklahoma is a collaboration between Rogers State University and area hosts across the state and is directed by the RSU Innovation Center. Green Country regional sponsors include RCB Bank, BancFirst, MidAmerica Industrial Park, Google, Tulsa Port of Catoosa, Inola Drug, and Oklahoma Natural Gas.
For more information, visit DreamBigOklahoma.com