Under Sean Tabor:

Kansas City CEO Conference

The University of Michigan-Flint Entrepreneurs Society attended the National CEO Annual Meeting in Kansas City, MO from November 5-7. Thirteen students and the faculty advisor, Dr. Michael Witt, attended from UM-Flint. All the major universities are members of this distinguished organization (230 chapters across North America); 800 students attended from around the US.
The students competed in a variety of categories. Sean Tabor, founder of Refuge Properties, a real estate investment company, was selected as the 2015 National CEO Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year. “I am delighted and humbled by this awesome award,” says Tabor. Tabor also said, “I want everyone to share in this recognition. Flint is doing well, and this finally helps to showcase some of the neat things we are doing here.” Gregory Hooper, founder of Scholarly Pens, a business of handcrafted, customizable pens, was a finalist in the category of National CEO Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year.
A second award, the Outstanding CEO Chapter Leader, was awarded to Tabor for his work as President of the UM-Flint Entrepreneurs Society. “We have managed to develop a great group of young entrepreneurs in our Entrepreneurs Society at UM-Flint, and I am proud to be associated with them,” Tabor said.
The Entrepreneurial Society faculty Mentor, Dr. Michael Witt, UM-Flint School of Management, said, “Sean and Greg worked very hard for these achievements and I am very proud of them. We managed two 2nd place awards a few years ago, and this is the first time we have succeeded at this level.”
The students also participated in a variety of educational activities, hearing from keynote speakers such as Henry Block, founder of H&R Block (and University of Michigan graduate); Craig Culver, co-founder of Culver’s Restaurants; Marcelo Claure, CEO of Sprint; and Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline.

Flint Town Get Down: A Celebration of Authentic Hip Hop Culture

Flint Town Get Down is a unique and creative dance battle open to all ages, styles and skill levels. This Non-profit event was created to provide an atmosphere for free expression through dance. The competition has attracted almost 200 guests and dancers annually since it’s introduction in August of 2014. The event, created by the entrepreneurs society member Julius Rogers has been an attraction for dancers not only in the Flint area, but around the state of Michigan. Rogers was able to acquire the funding for the event by working with businesses in the Flint area. 2016 marks the 3rd installment of the annual event. The event takes place on August 6th, 2016.

Birch Run Room Tax Allocation Study

The University of Michigan – Flint Entrepreneurs Society is conducting research on the viability and potential success of the Birch Run Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) taking control of 75 percent of the Birch Run Room Tax revenue. The Act 263 of 1974 (Room Tax) allows for municipalities to assess a 5 percent tax on hotel lodgings. This tax is to be used by local authorities to stimulate tourism and convention business.Topics addressed in the research paper will be: the potential ROI of the Birch Run CVB using Room Tax funds to market and drive tourism, proven success of neighboring municipalities utilizing the Room Tax for the purpose of stimulating tourism traffic and revenue, and proven success and ROI of the Pure Michigan marketing campaign in driving tourism growth and revenue to the State.

The Local Grocer

The University of Michigan – Flint Entrepreneurs Society is assisting a store located in Downtown Flint known as The Local Grocer. The focus of this project is to market to the students located at the University of Michigan-Flint and local community about the new location and products provided by the grocer. By establishing a student discount, advertising via social media, distributing coupons and hanging flyers at the university campus and around the downtown community, the project leads believe they will achieve their outreach to the intended audiences. Through these actions, the group hopes to assist the The Local Grocer in establishing a loyal customer base with the students and local community.