L to R: Holly Hanson-Director CBI, Justin Sidwell, Peter Bilodeau, Marie Fey, Diane Morey-Owner A to Z Printing and Facilitator of CO.STARTERS, Dave Clark-A to Z Printing and CO.STARTERS Mentor

Community supporters joined family and friends of the graduates of the Cumberland Business Incubator’s inaugural CO.STARTERS program to celebrate their work and hear them pitch their business ideas.  The CO.STARTERS group met once a week for 9 weeks as they validated their business concepts.

Graduates of the program that participated in the pitch presentation were:

• Marie Fey – Currently the manager of a local gym, Marie hopes to purchase the gym and expand the services offered.  Her goal is to make the gym a family health and fitness center with nutritional education as well as personal training to help members reach their goals.  Marie is driven to help anyone at any age to meet their goals through nutrition and exercise.
• Peter Bilodeau – After a career as a newspaper editor Peter developed a freelance writing and editing business a few years ago.  Peter attended the class to learn new marketing ideas and take his business to the next level.  Think of Peter if you are asked to give a presentation and don’t know how to organize your thoughts, when you need to write an article or Christmas Letter, and when you are ready to write that book!
• Justin Sidwell – With 7 years of experience as a residential and commercial electrician Justin has formed Sid’s Electric.  He differentiates himself from the others by being reliable, on time, and not charging a premium for weekend work.  He promises not to leave a mess behind and to be available during hunting season.  From socket and switch issues to whole house or business wiring, you can count on Justin.

Please continue to support these great businesses in the Upper Cumberland area.

The CBI is accepting applications for the next session of CO.STARTERS.  Contact the CBI by phone at 931-456-4910 or cbi@roanestate.edu.