Kim Dobbs

Northern Essex Community College students competed for $2000 in scholarship awards and a Dell tablet in the college’s fourth Annual Business Plan Competition which was held on Thursday, May 2.

Kim Dobbs, a business management/CIS major from Haverhill, won the competition, walking away with a $1200 scholarship for her plan to offer a home-away-from-home experience at the Morningside at York Beach.

The mother of three, Dobbs has a bachelor’s degree in math and computer science and a law degree and is now studying business at Northern Essex in the hopes of opening her own inn. She started at Northern Essex after being laid-off from her job as a legal director for a technology company.

Heidi Landry, a business management and healthcare practice student from Amherst, NH, received second place and a $750 scholarship for Refresh Bridal Boutique, an upscale bridal consignment shop offering affordable gowns and accessories.

Third place went to Daniel Henriquez of Lawrence, who is working on a business transfer/IT fluency major, who presented his plan for D.A.K. Machining, which will provide customers with the highest quality compounds and on-time delivery.

Heidi Landry, who was chosen as the college’s top entrepreneurial student, received a Dell tablet donated by Dell in addition to her scholarship.

Students in the competition are enrolled in or have completed Professor Bill Zannini’s popular “Introduction to Entrepreneurship” course, which is offered days, evenings, online, and in the summer. The top six plans were chosen for the presentation. Each entrepreneur had 12 minutes to present their plan, followed by three to five minutes of questions from the judges.

To learn more, contact Bill Zannini at bzannini@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3369.