MORGANTOWN — Two Morgantown brothers are competing in the first ever My Hometown is Cool competition in hopes of bringing a new community sign to their Greenmont neighborhood.
Nine-year-old Milan Medan-Schaupp and 10-year-old Konrad Medan-Schaupp are some of the youngest competitors in the challenge led by the WVU Extension Service and the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics.
“It gives them something to do in the neighborhood,” said Adelheid Schaupp, Milan and Konrad’s mother. “They’re down here all the time anyway, so if anyone’s gonna know the cool things about Greenmont, it’s going to be these two.”
To compete, participants between ages nine and 18 from across West Virginia must submit a three-minute video highlighting what makes their hometown cool, and one idea they have to improve it. Competitors work in teams of two or more, and more than 20 teams are working on entries.
Lauren Prinzo, WVU Extension Office specialist in community and economic development, said the competition initially grew from the My Hometown is Cool lesson series developed by the WVU Extension Service. The series leads students through mapping the assets in their communities, encouraging them to think about what they like in their town and how to improve it.
“We decided to do this statewide pitch competition, so that we could use those lessons and engage kids across the state in thinking about first recognizing the good things about their communities,” Prinzo said. “We spend a lot of time thinking about what we don’t have.”
Konrad said by creating a welcome sign, the brothers’ hope to bring visibility to the area.
“A lot of people don’t even know it’s here, they just consider it South Park,” he said.
For Milan, his favorite part of the neighborhood is the history. He said he likes how Greenmont is the oldest neighborhood in Morgantown, and is also home to the oldest bar and oldest log structure in the area.
Konrad said one of his favorite parts about the community is all of the local businesses that call it home. In their pitch video, the brothers visit Quantum Bean Coffee, at 258 Kingwood St., encourage locals to stop by Gene’s Beer Garden, at 461 Wilson Ave., for hot dogs and highlight their favorite things to do in the community.
Konrad and Milan’s pitch also includes finding ways to bring new small businesses to the neighborhood, such as an ice cream shop or an arcade.
This is not the pair’s first time entering a pitch competition. They also previously entered into the The Forge Ahead K-12 c Pitch Competition, which required participants to come up with a business idea. Schaupp said the boys always enjoy entering the competitions and coming up with creative ideas.
“If you want to change something, you have to get involved,” she said. “I think they can see that.”
Registration for the competition has closed, and competitors have until April 4 to submit their videos. The top projects will be highlighted during the Community Leadership Academy at 7 p.m. April 15.
Four winners will be selected and given a $2,500 minigrant to make their project a reality, and will discuss and present their projects via Zoom at the event. Winners will have six months to then implement their projects in the community.
Taking into consideration the variety of needs every community has, the competition is open for any type of project participants would like to pitch. Prinzo said entries are being judged on creativity, innovativeness and fit for the community.
“We know that the youth will be the next generation that start businesses and grow the economy of rural communities,” Prinzo said. “This is just kind of a first step and getting them interested in it.”
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