Ellington

New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition

Innovate Mississippi's 6th Annual New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition is Tuesday, May 21, at the Jackson Convention Complex. Each year, companies from across the state compete in commercial, pre-revenue and student categories. Last year's competition saw 36 companies enter.

This year's prizes are $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

The deadline to register is Friday, April 12. The deadline for one-page summary entries is Monday, May 13, and the deadline for PowerPoint presentations is Friday, May 17.

For information contact Tasha Bibb at [email protected] or call 601-960-3610.

Virginia College's New Campus

Monday, April 8, was the first day of classes at the Jackson Virginia College's new location inside the former Brookshire's grocery store on Ridgewood Road. The 65,000-square-foot space includes larger classrooms and the new V's Student Cosmetology Services, a retail salon where, under instructors' supervision, students provide hair, skin and nail treatments to customers.

The school was previously located in a 15,000-square-foot cluster of four buildings along the Interstate 55 South Frontage Road at Chastain Drive. Students and faculty can enjoy greater efficiency in the new building, and the larger space allowed the school's pharmacy lab to obtain more technologically advanced equipment.

For more information on Virginia College, call 601-977-0960.

State Farm Fraud Case

A federal jury found that State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. avoided covering a policyholder's wind losses by blaming the damage on storm surge, which is covered by federal flood insurance. Read the full story here.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi announced that it has been selected to receive a $3,000 grant as part of the Restaurant Community Grants program from the Darden Foundation, the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants Inc. The donation will enable the BGCCM to increase their promotion of post-secondary educational interests and college readiness of club members.

The Darden grants program enables each Darden restaurant to help award a $1,000 grant to support local community programs. Locally, Darden's Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Long Horn Steakhouse joined to award BGCCM the grant.

"When Long Horn Steakhouse opened in Flowood, they choose us as their charity for their opening night festivities," Billy Redd, president and CEO of BGCCM, said in a press release. "This grant continues the partnership that Long Horn started locally. It's a pleasure to have that long-tem, ongoing support with the Darden family of restaurants."

"We're all proud to build on that passion through the grants program and bring real, local citizenship to life by enabling each restaurant to make a difference in their backyard," Drew Madsen, Darden Restaurants' president and chief operating officer, said in a press release.

For more information about the Darden Foundation, visit the foundation's website.

2013 Government Procurement Opportunities Conference and Trade Show

MDA's Minority and Small Business Development Division (MSBDD) will host the Government Procurement Opportunities Conference and Trade Show May 8-9 at the Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium at 1600 Mulberry St. in Vicksburg.

May 8 activities include an optional tour of Vicksburg and a crawfish boil welcoming paid attendees. The conference and trade show is on May 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The conference will give Mississippi small business owners and new entrepreneurs who are interested in building relationships and securing business opportunities the chance to meet with federal, state and local government agencies, and corporate buyers. The conference will also promote partnerships and strategic alliances to aid Mississippi businesses to compete in the global marketplace.

The conference will feature a session focused on doing business with defense contractors, with speakers from Lockheed Martin, Eaton Aerospace and Northrup Grumman; a session focused on doing business with state government agencies, with speakers from the Department of Finance and Administration, the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Jackson Airport Authority; and a session focused on doing business with federal government agencies, with speakers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Small Business Administration and NASA.

The cost to attend the 2013 Government Procurement Opportunities Conference and Trade Show is $50 per person, and the cost to exhibit at the trade show is $100 per company. To register, visit mississippi.cvent.com. For more information, contact Joycie Lenoir at 601-359-2904 or [email protected] or visit mscpc.com.