Kitchener - A team of 14 students from the Business Administration – Marketing program of Conestoga College has just returned from Mohawk College in Hamilton having earned the team championship in the annual Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition (OCMC), a test of multiple skills in marketing involving teams from 13 Ontario colleges. OCMC 2009 took place on November 19-20.

Conestoga is a repeat gold medalist, having earned the championship at the 2008 OCMC as well.

This is the 13th straight year that a Conestoga team has turned in a medal-winning performance. During that period, Conestoga has earned the gold five times, the silver five times and the bronze three.

Members of the 2009 Conestoga team are: Melissa Bruggemann, Rachelle Gull, Kyle Loder and Lori-Beth Pentsa of Kitchener; Eric Nadeau and Jordan Parker of Waterloo; Matteo Elieff, Greg Morrison, Shauna Proctor and Humayoun Chohan of Cambridge; Brandon Sipes and Jennifer Soule of Guelph; Amanda Lang of Simcoe and Cassidy Reay of Hanover.

The OCMC presents practical problems and challenges in areas such as sales management, marketing research, international marketing, sales presentations, direct marketing, entrepreneurship, retailing and job interviews. There is even a Reach-for-the-Top style, quick response contest called the Quiz Bowl.

Shauna Proctor of Cambridge was Conestoga’s top winner, taking the individual gold medal in the sales presentation competition and earning the trophy as winner of the William and Margaret Lydiatt Award. This honour goes to a student competitor who demonstrates exceptional spirit in the weeks leading up to the OCMC, as displayed through commitment to the event, support and encouragement given to teammates, and an exemplary work ethic.

Two two-person teams finished first in case competitions: Lori-Beth Pentsa and Jennifer Soule in marketing research, and Rachelle Gull and Cassidy Reay in sales management.

The two-person team of Kyle Loder and Lori-Beth Pentsa took second place in the integrated marketing communications case, and the individual second-place finish in the Quiz Bowl went to Amanda Lang.

But that’s not all. At the OCMC awards dinner, the first-place Conestoga team learned that it has qualified for partial scholarships being given by the University of Glamorgan in Wales. The scholarships total $35,000 in value, and four Conestoga students can use them to attend Glamorgan in pursuit of a business degree. Glamorgan has the largest business school in Wales, offering nearly 20 undergraduate business and business management programs, an MBA program, a number of MSc programs in specific business fields and a Doctor of Business Administration degree. Of the university’s full enrolment of 21,000, more than 3,200 are international students.

Georgian College of Barrie took second place at the 2009 OCMC, while Niagara College of Welland placed third.

Business Administration - Marketing prepares graduates for employment in marketing, professional sales, retailing and general business administration in the industrial, commercial and service sectors. Offered at the Doon campus of Conestoga in Kitchener, the program features an optional co-operative education component.