Monday’s guest on the “Mornings unPHILtered” show was Dr. William Wells, assistant professor of finance in the Department of Finance at Georgia Southern University and director of the Center for Excellence in Banking.
    Dr. Wells discussed with host Phil Boyum an MBA competition held during this past semester at Georgia Southern. The competition was built around what to do with a parcel of land down by Daisy, Ga., which was bought by investors Anthony and Chuck Tippins.
    Georgia Southern’s MBA Director Melissa Holland was asked by the Tippins if they could challenge some MBA students to explore some ideas for a business that they hadn't already considered. Holland agreed to let Wells form a special class to be run during the Spring semester which would, in essence, be a real-life competition to determine the direction of a new business.
    Wells said students in the class worked all semester long on creating multiple ideas for the Tippins’ on what to do with the Daisy property. The winning team consisted of three graduate students in the College of Business Administration's MBA program.
    The class presented their ideas to the investors, who selected a winner. The Tippins held an awards dinner, and announced that the winning team was James Dodelin, Jessica Vanner and Corey Zahner. Each of these students was presented with a $1,000 check. .
    The group’s proposal was to build and operate a hunting lodge that offered bird and quail hunts. Instead of bringing the birds in for the hunt, the proposal included making an area in which the birds could be raised on the property.
    Other ideas for a business included building a summer camp, a chicken coop facility and a special retreat facility. Whereas the Tippins already had an idea, they are now considering the proposals of the students to see how their plans could change.
    Wells told Boyum that the university would welcome any other local businesses that would like to set up another competition using the MBA students to help create a bigger and better business plan. Any businesses interested in forming such a competition using the program can call Melissa Holland, the director of the MBA program at GSU at 478-2357.
   
    “Mornings unPHILtered” airs live Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on statesboroherald.com and also simulcast on WWNS-AM 1240 on the radio. You also can listen anytime at BoroLive.com on statesboroherald.com