The Next Great Idea 2021 Business Plan Competition Winners Announced

Pictured, from left to right: Amanda McLaughlin and Paula Barreto of Moth & Flame Base Camp, Jenna Behling and Denyel Busch of Six Acres Farm Brewery, and James Macklen of North 40 Clover.

OSWEGO – Six Acres Farm Brewery, North 40 Clover, and Moth & Flame Base Camp were named the 2021 “Next Great Idea” (NGI) Oswego County Business Competition winners at a reception held Tuesday, November 16, at The Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center in Oswego.

The winning businesses received cash and business services totaling $90,000 in value to expand their business in Oswego County.

“It was a great honor to present our fifth NGI awards on National Entrepreneur’s Day,” said Austin Wheelock, NGI chair and Deputy Director of Operation Oswego County. “Entrepreneurs and small business are the backbone of our economy and the building blocks for growth in our county. We believe that these three businesses are excellent examples of this and will be great ambassadors of the ‘Next Great Idea’ for Oswego County.”

The $50,000 First Place Winner, Six Acres Farm Brewery, founded by Jenna Behling and head brewer Denyel Busch in Mexico, NY, is the first niche craft brewing company of its kind to develop fruit infused beers with locally grown fruit and proprietary methods to create naturally full flavored fruit ale beverages. Already producing 13 unique recipes on site at Behling Orchards, the owners see a great opportunity to capitalize on growing the fledgling craft beverage industry in Oswego County and building on our existing agri-tourism assets.

“We are extremely grateful for the opportunities that NGI has given our business and are excited to get started on expanding Six Acres Farm Brewery”, said Jenna Behling from Six Acres Farm Brewery. “Winning the NGI will open up the possibility for us to increase our brewing production and expand our brewery. This will be highly beneficial as we plan to open a tasting room in the area.”

The second place winner of $25,000 value in cash and business services was North 40 Clover On Site Hydraulic Hose Repair & Fabrication, a start-up created by James Macklen from Lacona who will utilize the NGI prize to expand his mobile hydraulic repair and fabrication business that services many industries including manufacturing, mining, road plowing, agriculture, trucking and logging operations around Oswego County and the north country. This mobile business is especially needed in rural areas where extended downtime due to distance from repair services can be catastrophic to business. Mr. Macklen sees multiple future opportunities to expand in this industry that the NGI prize would allow him to accomplish.

The third place winner of $15,000 value in cash and business services was Moth & Flame Base Camp, a unique concept “glamping” business developed by co-founders Amanda McLaughlin and Paula Barreto to allow visitors to stay, play and support local business in the beautiful outdoors of Oswego County while having a unique and secure stay and experience in a vintage recreational vehicle, airstream and eclectic structure “glampground”. The business will utilize social media and technology platforms to market to the quickly growing target segment of “glampers.” The co-founders will use the prize towards developing distinctive fully furnished basecamps in a scenic location that will complement the growing outdoor recreation and event tourism industry in Oswego County.

Judges for this year’s event were selected based on their local business knowledge and expertise in the fields of operations, management, financing, and entrepreneurship. Those judges were Ed Alberts, local entrepreneur and former winner of NGI; Mike Backus of Oswego Health; Rich Burritt of Burritt Motors; Allen Chase of Chase Enterprises, Nate Emmons, County Legislator; Karen Goetz of the Richard S. Shineman Foundation; Keiko Kimura of Cayuga Community College Fulton Campus; Kevin LaMontagne of Operation Oswego County; Liz Lonergan of the Watertown Small Business Development Center; and Tim McKernan of EJ USA.

“The $90,000 value in cash and business service prizes was raised in partnership with local companies, private banks, business organizations, and public and private institutions that see the importance in making an investment in Oswego County’s future entrepreneurs and economy,” Wheelock said.

Sponsors included the Richard S. Shineman Foundation, Advance Media NY, Operation Oswego County, SUNY Oswego, Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center, Small Business Development Center at SUNY Oswego, Pathfinder Bank, National Grid, C&S Companies, Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, Chirello Advertising, Kyle Ridlon Productions and Oswego County Business Magazine.

In addition to Wheelock, the NGI Steering Committee includes Pamela Caraccioli, Fulton Savings Bank; Steve Chirello, Chirello Advertising; John Halleron, SUNY Oswego Small Business Development Center; Katie Toomey, Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce; Evelyn LiVoti, Operation Oswego County; Ron G. Tascarella, Pathfinder Bank; John Trimble, C&S Companies; Tim Stahl, City of Oswego Community & Economic Development Office; and Garrette Weiss, Center for Instruction, Technology and Innovation.

For more information, visit the web site at www.oswegocounty.org/NGI/index.htm or contact Austin Wheelock by phone at 315-343-1545 or by email at [email protected].

Press release from Operation Oswego County

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