2016 Zane Showker Entrepreneurship Award

Carol Hamilton, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, presented the 2016 Zane Showker Entrepreneurship Award to Chadwick A. Hard (Management, ’16) on Wednesday, April 20, at the Society of Entrepreneurs meeting and new member initiation, held at Capital Ale House in downtown Harrisonburg. Each year, the CFE gives the Zane Showker Entrepreneurship Award to a “high-performing student who displays entrepreneurial spirit and thinking and demonstrates the potential to be a successful entrepreneur, recognized by the Center for Entrepreneurship.”

During the 2015-2016 school year, Chad served on the executive board of the Society of Entrepreneurs and, as the MadXLabs manager, played a crucial role in the growth of the CFE. With the guidance of CFE faculty, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Entrepreneurship Advisory Board member, David Kay, Chad developed a framework for the MadXLabs incubation-style student business development program and selected four teams to serve as the spring 2016 MadXLabs cohort. He was responsible for coordinating the dedicated space and mentors for each of the teams, as well as helping the teams establish goals and monitor their progress. He oversaw the CFE student event coordinators and several CFE events; in particular, he helped shape the Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) speaker series into its current form (one speaker per month for a total of four speakers per semester) and facilitated the networking activities that opened each of the seven BYOB events this year.

In Director Carol Hamilton’s words, “Chad communicates clearly, responds promptly, and willingly accepts new tasks. Faculty and students alike enjoy working with Chad—his optimism and “can do” spirit are contagious. [He] is a leader who recognizes needs and responds with creative solutions. He takes initiative to ask questions and complete tasks. He uses good judgment and acts professionally in all situations. His strong work ethic and respectful work style adds value to the reputation of the Center and JMU.”

We are proud to recognize Chad’s contributions to entrepreneurship at JMU, both in the Center and in the Society of Entrepreneurs, and wish him luck in his future at Sestra Systems, where he will be employed following graduation.