At six foot seven, Anthony Merkel is used to towering over other players on the basketball court, but now he is also towering as a student in the business world.
Merkel, son of Cheryl and Darryl, was a standout for the St. Anthony’s Sabres basketball team and has spent the last two years as a Medicine Hat Rattler. The business student founded the aptly named Elevation Landscaping and last week was named a 2013 Alberta Provincial Champion of a student entrepreneur national championship.
Anthony, along with another student from the University of Calgary were named champion by Enactus Canada, and the John Dobson Foundation. He will be competing this week in Calgary to be regional champion, hoping to move on to the National contest.
The 20-year-old student began his company with a partner in the winter of 2012 and quickly learned perseverance when the pair had a falling out. He continued with a successful season targeting high-end customers in Medicine Hat. The same drive that propelled him on the basketball court drives him in business.
Last spring he was awarded the Medicine Hat College Johnston Morrison Hunter and Co. Entrepreneurship Award and received up to $10,000 in start-up funding plus mentorship opportunities.
According to a press release from Enactus, Anthony was awarded the provincial prize because he is “striving to make a difference in his community and enjoys working directly with his clients to realize their vision. Elevation Landscaping provides full-service landscaping services to customers throughout the greater Medicine Hat area. They help clients put their property’s best foot forward by providing world class service and unique landscapes.”
If Anthony is successful in the regional competition, he will win $1,000 plus a chance to compete at the national competition in Toronto. The national prize is $10,000 and to represent Canada in an international competition.
Whatever happens in the competition, one sure thing is Anthony will have a busy summer landscaping before hitting the books and the basketball court in the fall.