By Deborah J. Hodges
For the last 25 years, middle grade students participate in the Future City Competition, in which they design and present their own city to a panel of judges and present a solution to a concept defined for the current year’s competition. This year’s theme was the “Power of Public Spaces.” The winners of the regional competition go on to compete in the national competition in Washington, D.C., but there are special award sponsors that give out their own awards to the regional contestants whose designs best achieved the goals set by the sponsors.
One of the sponsors is the Society of Marketing Professionals (SMPS), which presents The Big Idea award to their favorite team. The Big Idea Award is the marketing award that goes to the team that, not only has a great idea for their future city, but is best equipped to articulate that idea.
Because the team that wins The Big Idea award is not necessarily the team that goes on to compete in the nationals, Thomas Fennell, one of the judges for The Big Idea award, was particularly impressed when students were prepared to answer his questions.
“You could tell there were some teams that were very well-versed on how to prepare for these interviews,” said Fennell. “When we approached they would specifically ask us what was the key criteria we wanted to hear from them, which is charming and it demonstrates foresight and forethought on their part.”
Because there were multiple teams that were ready and willing to answer their questions, Fennell and his fellow judge, Kari Pandilidis, had a tough time choosing just one winner.
“It was a difficult choice,” said Fennell. “There were so many teams that did very well and there were a few teams that stood out in our minds.”
Ultimately they gave the award to the team from Chicago State University, a school that has participated in this competition many times, but has never before won this award. This year the team from CSU dazzled the judges with their big idea through their written materials, their visual presentation, and their speaking points on their project, Bodega Bay. “The team that won just really reflected a high degree of preparedness to present their ideas,” said Fennell.
“They had a clear idea and they were able to articulate that very clearly,” said Pandilidis.
The competition is over, but the judges are hoping the experience made a lasting impression on all the kids who participated. Fennell, who was especially impressed with the diversity of all the different teams, hopes the kids will remember what they can accomplish together.
“Getting the team together to see that, as a group, they could generate something that could be presented so well should be a confidence boost to them,” said Fennell.
“I hope it inspired them to pursue a career and also to learn more about what scientists and engineers do for a living,” said Pandilidis.
That especially goes for the young girls Pandilidis saw participating in the engineering competition, a field a lot of people still don’t think of as being interesting to girls. “We saw a lot of different kids and a lot of young women there and it was fantastic to see them involved,” said Pandilidis.
SMPS Chicago has sponsored a special award with the Future City Competition over the past two years. SMPS Chicago is the local chapter of the national organization of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). It is a marketing organization dedicated to providing education, team building and networking opportunities for developing business opportunities in the A/E/C industry. As one the largest chapters in SMPS, the Chicago Chapter has over 230 members representing the top contractors, architects, engineers, and specialty consulting firms in the Midwest. For more information, go to http://smps-chi.org.
April 2017