The Young Enterprise Scheme has been the catalyst for any number of bright ideas over the years, but perhaps none quite as deserving of that description as the brainwave that saw Kerikeri High School student Nick Fewtrell win three prizes at the 2013 awards night at Waitangi last week.
The 17-year-old sole trader, who has devised an energy-saving way of helping people find light switches in the dark, won the Northland Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Company of the Year title, was named Young Managing Director of the Year and won the prize for excellence in financial management.
Nick's product, Glow-Switch, is a photoluminescent vinyl adhesive designed to stick on to light switches. It absorbs light during the day and glows at night, avoiding the need for energy-consuming night lights, and is already in use at a Far North eco-lodge. Nick will represent the region at the national finals in Wellington on December 11.
It was a good night for Northland, with two other teams told they would be heading to Wellington after winning national YES awards. They are Distinctiv Records, which produced a compilation CD of original songs by students at Kerikeri High School, and the Cashew Company, a Springbank School enterprise that makes cashew paste from nuts imported from a mission in Mozambique. Only 12 such awards have been handed out nationally.
Nick said he was "absolutely stoked" to win, and would be proud to represent Northland, especially given the high calibre of student businesses he had been competing against. Overcoming the hardships he had encountered would help him in other aspects of his life, and made other challenges, such as his upcoming NCEA exams, seem easy.
The other top prize in the Top Energy-sponsored scheme went to #InstaHealth, from Kaitaia's Abundant Life School, which won the award for best Maori business. The company produces healthy meals using Maori business concepts.
Team member Brenda Dos Santos, who is of Maori and Brazilian descent, said the win made her team even more determined to help their community by promoting wairua kai (soul food) and healthy eating. "We're proud to win the Maori award. It's cool to be recognised," she said.
The Cashew Company's Nikki Chapman won a seven-day R Tucker Thompson voyage for overcoming the greatest challenges. Nick Fewtrell's prizes include a $1000 scholarship if he chooses to study business, communications or accounting at Massey University.