Seneca CEO pitch winner named

TIFFIN — Sidney Brickner, creator of the business Brick by Brick events, was selected as the winner of the 4th Annual Seneca CEO Pitch Competition. For her project, Brickner chose to create a corporate event planning business, ranging in offerings from planning to promotion. The annual event, akin to that of the popular television series "Shark Tank," invites young entrepreneurs to present their businesses to a panel of judges composed of local business owners and entrepreneurs. Each participant is given a short amount of time to sell their business to the judges, before giving a short Q+A session and allowing the judges a moment to finalize their thoughts. The event, which takes place in Franks Hall at Tiffin University, is organized by Seneca County CEO, a yearlong course designed to utilize partnerships that provide an overview of business development and processes. This year, the competition consisted of four students/businesses, including: Next Level Hoops — an athletic coaching program created by Ryan Adelsperger (Senior, Old Fort High School) Brick by Brick Events — a corporate event planning business created by Sidney Brickner (Senior, Hopewell Loudon) Bray's Rips — an online trading card resale platform created by Braylan Mullholand (Senior, Mohawk High School) PlateSpace — a catering and event planning business created by Leo Diamantopoulos (Senior, Columbian High School). Judging this year's event were Chip VanDette, senior vice president and chief lending officer of Croghan Colonial Bank; Kelli Dariano, owner of Washington Street Outfitters and Threads Tiffin; and Amy Wood, senior vice president/chief of staff of Tiffin University. Brickner, winner of this year's competition, began her presentation by sharing that 65% of businesses are increasing the number of events planned in 2025, noting many of those businesses do not utilize an event planner. "Business is already stressful as is — they don't have the time or expertise to plan or promote these events, leaving it to fall into the hands of whichever employee has time to help," Brickner pitched. She shared an example of an event gone wrong due to the event being planned by an accountant, not an event planner. Brickner stressed to the judges that "by booking with Brick by Brick events," corporations can focus on what she believes really matters — staying connected with the public.