By Zach Spicer
Kassidy Wischmeier represented Maverick Challenge Jackson County in the third annual SPARK Tank Pitch Competition on Oct. 22 at the new SPARK Shop in downtown Seymour.
She earned that opportunity after winning the 2026 Maverick Challenge Jackson County high school business planning competition. She was among 10 finalists who presented earlier this year. She was then a senior at Brownstown Central High School and now studies at Purdue University.
This was the second year in a row for the Maverick Challenge winner to be an automatic finalist for SPARK Tank, giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their business idea to a panel of judges.
Wischmeier’s presentation was for Grow in Grace, which provides a compact greenhouse to a school and gives third grade students and teachers a hands-on agriculture experience through crops and curriculum.
Her coaches for SPARK Tank were local agriculture teachers and FFA advisers Jeanna Eppley of Seymour High School and Abby Branaman of Brownstown Central High School.
Four others pitches were given with first place receiving $10,000 and second place receiving $5,000. The winner was Wolka Sisters Livestock, and the runner-up was Cotton Candy Cafe.
Congratulations to Wischmeier for winning Maverick Challenge and presenting at SPARK Tank! Maverick Challenge is a partnership between JCIDC Workforce Partnership, Jackson County Chamber, Brownstown Ewing Main Street and Seymour Main Street with JCBank as the funding sponsor.
