U.S. Chamber Announces Winners of 'I am Free Enterprise' Video Contest

Three Winners of the ‘Campaign for Free Enterprise’ Competition Receive $100,000 in Prizes

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today announced the winners of its “I am Free Enterprise” video contest, which challenged innovative entrepreneurs from across the country to create a three minute video explaining what free enterprise means to them. The winning entries were largely determined by public vote.

Receiving a total of $100,000 in cash prizes, the winners are:

• Carlos Sanchez (Maplewood, NJ), who won the grand prize of $50,000. Growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs, gangs, and violence, Sanchez cited free enterprise as his ticket to a better life. He started a fitness company and plans to provide health education in communities near Maplewood and across the United States. He intends to use the prize money to help spread his inspirational message. You can view his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuF_q6gRtx0
• Tracy Foster (Bowie, MD), who won the runner-up prize of $30,000. Foster built a business making hand bags designed for camera equipment that are both fashionable and functional—a line inspired by a recent trip she and her husband took abroad. She says she designed her camera bags for people who love photography and want a bag that compliments their style. Foster says the prize money will allow her to ramp up production of a new style of camera bag. You can view her video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmTJ3lvvF-w
• Meredith Bragg (Alexandria, VA), who won the third-place prize of $20,000 for his profile piece on three successful local entrepreneurs in Virginia and the role that consumers play in the free enterprise system. Bragg portrays the business owners in his video as models for a successful small business. You can view his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OehpD3E_Bcg

“The contest has inspired exciting storytelling, and the caliber of creative ideas has far exceeded our expectations,” said Stan Anderson, managing director of the U.S. Chamber’s Campaign for Free Enterprise. “It demonstrates how truly important entrepreneurship is to so many across this country. We congratulate the winners of this contest and thank everyone who submitted entries.”

An extensive selection process was put in place to ensure that the final decisions were fair and accurate. More than 130 videos were submitted during the first round of competition, and the top-viewed videos moved on to round two for consideration by a Blue Ribbon Panel of judges. Entries were judged equally on originality, power of story, innovation of the current/future business plans, viral popularity, and creativity of the video.

The five finalists were then featured on the Campaign’s website –  http://www.FreeEnterprise.com/video – and the public had approximately one month to vote for the video they believed best brought to life the story of free enterprise. The five videos were viewed more than 95,000 times and received more than 9,500 votes. In advance of today’s announcement, a third-party auditing firm reviewed and approved the final determination.

Winners will be honored at events in their community throughout the month of June. A formal awards ceremony will take place in Washington, D.C., during the U.S. Chamber’s inaugural Jobs Summit in July.

American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s comprehensive, multiyear campaign to support free enterprise through national advertising; grassroots advocacy; citizen, community, and youth engagement; and research and ideas leadership.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

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