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Just Watch Me! video contest winners share inspiring stories BY DAVID SQUARE CELEBRATING ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT A n alternative energy expert, a creative upcycler and a young man with a lawn- mowing business adapted to his physical abilities are the Manitoba winners of this year's Just Watch Me! video contest, sponsored by Community Futures. Lorena Mitchell, founder and president of Evolve Green in Marchand, won first place in the Seasoned Entrepreneur category for her video about her solar energy business. Mitchell, who modifies her work schedule to accommodate multiple immune disorders, started the business in 2008, and has since branched out to include biomass and wind turbine green power. She has a Prince Edward Island customer who wants to install a large wind turbine because the island, especially the north shore, is one of the breeziest areas of Canada. As well as designing green energy systems, Mitchell's experience with alternative energy has enabled her to provide support for systems devised by other people or companies. Her advice to anyone who wishes to become entrepreneurs is: "Never give up on yourself and be prepared to work 14-hour days." Donald Glenn, an innovative recycler of discarded materials in Thompson, placed second in the Seasoned Entrepreneur category. Glenn was last year's winner in the Start Up category for his video about Shorty's Upcycling Studio, where he makes unique furniture and decor items from materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill. A natural DIYer, Glenn opened his studio in 2016 to generate income after he was diagnosed with a rare skin autoimmune disease that ended his career as a mechanic. A Community Futures representative in Thompson suggested he apply for a start-up entrepreneur grant and today, his unique business is flourishing. He recently acquired a storefront and is a motivational speaker for would-be entrepreneurs. His advice to anyone with a disability who wants to start a business is simple: "Go for it!" That's exactly what Start Up Entrepreneur winner Chance Toder of Elkhorn did when he launched his lawn- mowing business, Leave it to Chance. Toder suffered a stroke during a heart operation when he was 11 years old. He was in a coma for two months, during which he was not expected to live. "Chance is a fighter," says his mother, Jolene Toder. "He beat the odds." Although his vision and some motor skills remain impaired, Chance decided at age 23 to create his own video for the Just Watch Me! contest. One obstacle he had to overcome to start his business was learning to operate a specially adapted mower. As luck would have it, the only machine he could operate with his limited vision was available in Brandon. Called the Country Clipper, it is equipped with a joystick that allows Chance to make visual steering adjustments that would have been impossible on another mower. Assistive Technology in Winnipeg, which specializes in adapting technology, worked with Chance for several months to adapt the mower. And the Community Futures ELEVATE program assisted with job training. With the help of job coach and long- time friend Fred McLean, Chance mastered the machine and cut his first lawn last spring at the Westwood Ranch Garden Centre. This season he has more customers, such as the Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum and a church in Elkhorn, as well as the Kola cemetery and a yard surrounding an Enbridge office. Rather than remain idle during the winter, Chance washes and folds uniforms for the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. And he recently launched a T-shirt business with the words Leave it to Chance on the fronts. "I want to show that people with disabilities can do things well," he says. ■ JUST WATCH ME! Below: A sample of Evolve Green's work. Right, from top: Evolve Green founder Lorena Mitchell; Shorty's Upcycling Studio founder Don Glenn with his wife Andria and family; Leave it to Chance founder Chance Toder (second from right) with his adapted lawn mower.

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