Hostetler taught at Sweet Briar College from 1989 until his retirement in 2006, receiving tenure in 1992. In 1994 he was awarded the Student Government Association’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He was instrumental in establishing Sweet Briar’s business management program, having overseen its expansion from a certificate program to a major in 2004.

As a teacher, Hostetler believed in a hands-on approach, and the program he helped start bears that legacy today, says assistant professor of business Tom Loftus.

“Bill, from the inception of the business program, recognized the importance of integrating experiential opportunities for our students, in order to prepare them for the real world of business they would be entering,” Loftus says.

“The management laboratory he created was run as much as possible like a real business, conducting educational and fundraising events that have raised over $70,000 in donations for local and national charities. He also placed a great emphasis on business ethics, receiving several external grants to support the development of a series of ethics courses that were required for all business majors.

“Bill was also a great personal friend, serving as a mentor to Professor [Suzanne] Calvert and myself as we made the transition to full-time teaching faculty at Sweet Briar.”

Other faculty also recall a dedicated teacher and community member.

“Bill was a gentle and cheerful colleague to me at Sweet Briar, and always had the interests of the school, his fellow faculty, and of course, his students, close to his heart,” said Debbie Durham, professor of anthropology.

Hostetler was a certified public accountant, licensed in North Carolina since 1964. He taught at the University of Kansas as an assistant professor of business from 1966 to 1967, prior to joining the Arabian American Oil Co. (Aramco) in Saudi Arabia, where he worked from 1967 to1989. During a sabbatical year at Sweet Briar in 1996-1997, he completed a book, “Saudi Arabia: Unique Insight into Economic Development.”

While working for Aramco, he met his wife, Mary Ann Long Hostetler. They married in 1975. Bill and Mary Ann continued living in their home on Faculty Row until recently. Mary Ann preceded him in death on April 6, 2013.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at Whitten Monelison Chapel in Madison Heights. A service to celebrate his life will be held in Memorial Chapel at 1 p.m. Friday, May 10, with the Rev. Adam White officiating.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for gifts to be given to the Sweet Briar College Annual Fund.

Read the full obituary here.

“If I was in trouble, they would have sent me to Dean Steele,” she said, reasoning the dean of co-curricular life would handle all but the worst offenses. “If I’d done something that bad, I’d know about it.”

Elizabeth Hansbrough ’13 and President Parker

She also knew she’d be in Baltimore for the American National Riding Commission Championships during the 2013 Awards Convocation on the afternoon of Friday, April 19, when the Presidential Medalist was to be announced. So she allowed herself to think it might be possible.

Still, there was “disbelief, shock, but then I felt humbled and really flattered,” Hansbrough says. “I love this school so much that to receive this honor, I can’t put it into words.”

The Presidential Medal, a smaller version of the medal of office worn by President Jo Ellen Parker on ceremonial occasions, is given each year to a graduating senior who represents the full range of the College’s educational values. It recognizes intellectual achievement in addition to distinction in some combination of community service; the arts; global awareness; fitness and athletic achievement; and leadership, civility and integrity.

Ordinarily, Hansbrough would have learned of the award at the same time as everyone else, during an annual Academic Recognition Dinner for first-year honors and dean’s list students. This year, the presentation of the medal was to take place at a newly created Awards Convocation where, in addition to honor roll students, senior and departmental awards were handed out. Previously, the latter honors were given at baccalaureate.

In announcing the change, Parker said, “The excellence of our students is a source of pride for the whole community … it seems fitting, therefore, to present these academic awards on an occasion when the whole community joins together.”

Every Sweet Briar student knows the medal’s significance and for Hansbrough, it is a tangible symbol. “Being at Sweet Briar has helped me overcome so many insecurities. It’s the pinnacle that shows how much I changed for the better by coming here — that I’ve become the intelligent woman I wanted to be,” she says.

Hansbrough is a business management major and government minor, and also will receive the Equine Studies Certificate. She has been a Sweet Briar Scholar, Pannell Honors Scholar and 2012 Cramer Scholar. She is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta and Sigma Beta Delta honor societies. She has recently joined the concert choir and resumed playing the piano with Professor Rebecca McCord this semester after taking a break from it during much of her time in college.

“It’s a great release at the end of the day to sit down and play my favorite pieces,” she says.

Hansbrough was her junior class president and is vice president of the Student Government Association as a senior. On the SGA, she has encouraged Sweet Briar students to serve neighboring communities, leading successful blood drives and serving as an organizer for Girls on the Run.

This month she was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete of 2013. She is an accomplished rider who has participated on the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, American National Riding Commission and hunter/jumper competitive show teams. She also was head of the Riding Council.

When Parker described the winner, she said, “This year’s Presidential Medalist is well-known to her faculty and peers as someone of the highest integrity and a love of Sweet Briar that has been evident throughout her undergraduate career.”

But Hansbrough says she feels indebted to Sweet Briar and SGA service is a way to give back. “Realizing how special this place is and how faculty and staff really know you and want you to succeed — I feel like there should be a return for that.”

A San Diego native with family roots in Virginia, she chose the College for its close community, strong liberal arts and equestrian program. Never one to speak out in high school, the natural leader who emerged at Sweet Briar was a surprise.

“I didn’t see myself as someone others would follow,” she says.

Now she enjoys being the one with the answers, the problem-solver. That squares with the sense of civic responsibility Hansbrough expresses in conversation. The first government course she took awoke in her a desire to know about and participate in what’s going on in the country.

She hasn’t forgotten that as she readies to embark on her career, starting with a nine-month leadership development program in business banking at BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C. Upon completion, she is guaranteed a job. But it was an internship last summer that helped her decide BB&T’s training program was a good option.

As a legislative researcher in the public policy and governmental affairs group at a Washington accounting firm, she delved into regulatory compliance and attended congressional hearings.

“A lot of important things were being debated in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis,” she says. “I became interested in making a difference in the [financial services] industry. …Things need to be fixed and I want to be a part of it.”

— Jennifer McManamay

Elizabeth Hansbrough ’13

Sweet Briar senior Elizabeth Hansbrough has been named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete of 2013.

Conference honors were announced at the ODAC Equestrian Championships held April 6 at Sweet Briar. Also recognized were Olivia Smith ’14, who made the All-ODAC Team as a top rider in the conference, and Liz Koslow ’13, who was awarded a spot on the ODAC/Stellar One Sportsmanship Team.

In the championship competition, Sweet Briar riding director Mimi Wroten said her team jumped consistently over fences and finished in third place by one point. The Vixens were last year’s ODAC champions.

The zombie race “Run For Your Life,” which took place on Oct. 28 on the College’s campus, brought in approximately $400, though T-shirt sales continued to add revenue after the event. The race required runners to navigate a 5-kilometer course while being ambushed by “zombies.” As part of their registration fee, runners each received a T-shirt and a raffle ticket; those who came back with at least one life flag left on their belt were given five extra tickets to enter.

“Zombies” ambush runners by the old dairy barn.

“All runners seemed to enjoy the course and many expressed how much fun they had,” said junior Grace Griffin, who helped organize the race with her Business Seminar I class, formerly known as the management lab.

About 30 runners and 25 zombies participated in the event.

While the zombie run was certainly the more dramatic of the two events, it was the free spaghetti luncheon and silent auction that yielded the greatest impact. Held Nov. 4 at First Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, “Dining for a Cure” generated $2,423 in donations for the Yates Foundation. The business students received support from the Sweet Briar Cooking Club, which prepared and served the meal, and from members of the Sweet Tones, Sweet Briar’s student a cappella group, who performed during the event.

Ewing’s sarcoma is a rare form of cancer affecting the bone and soft tissues of the body. Shaw, a Lynchburg native and 2011 graduate of E.C. Glass High School, is currently in Boston for treatment.

The Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation was founded in 2004 in memory of Jennifer Hunter Yates, who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 31. Her family and friends took her negative circumstances and used them as motivation to found an organization that will aid others diagnosed with the disease long after her time. According to the foundation’s website, donations are used to conduct “drug trials, sarcoma conferences, or other research at [Massachusetts General Hospital] involving sarcoma,” to help pair current patients with survivors in hopes of sharing inspiration and motivation, and to provide financial support to families so they can stay with loved ones who are undergoing treatment.

“Dining For a Cure” is organized by students in the Business Seminar I class — formerly known as the management lab — with support from professors and community businesses. In an effort to facilitate experiential learning, the seminar requires students to create, plan and coordinate events. Students selected the Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation in honor of Sweet Briar student and Lynchburg native Claire Shaw (class of 2015), who graduated from E.C. Glass High School in 2011. This summer, Shaw was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer affecting the bone and soft tissues of the body. Shaw is currently in Boston for treatment. This will be the second of two events benefiting the foundation. On Oct. 28, the business class hosted a 5K zombie run.

The Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation was founded in 2004 in memory of Jennifer Hunter Yates, who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 31. Her family and friends took her negative circumstances and used them as motivation to found an organization that will aid others diagnosed with the disease long after her time. According to the foundation’s website, donations are used to conduct “drug trials, sarcoma conferences, or other research at [Massachusetts General Hospital] involving sarcoma,” to help pair current patients with survivors in hopes of sharing inspiration and motivation, and to provide financial support to families so they can stay with loved ones who are undergoing treatment.

First Presbyterian Church is located at 1215 Virginia Episcopal School (VES) Road, Lynchburg, VA 24503. Donations of any amount will be accepted during the event. Children and adults of all ages are welcome. To find out more about the foundation, visit jenniferhunteryatessarcomafoundation.org.

For more information about “Dining For a Cure,” please contact Kaitlyn Haskins at (434) 941-3343.

Entry fees are $30 for non-SBC participants and $20 for Sweet Briar students, faculty and staff. All ages are welcome to run, but some portions of the event may be frightening, so please exercise caution when registering children. Entrants who pre-register by emailing sbczombierun@gmail.com or at sbc.edu/runforyourlife/ will be guaranteed a “Run For Your Life” T-shirt. Registration will also take place at the event at the same cost, but shirts are not guaranteed.

The zombie run is organized by students in the Business Seminar I class — formerly known as the management lab — with support from professors and community businesses. In an effort to facilitate experiential learning, the seminar requires students to create, plan and coordinate events. Students selected the Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation in honor of Sweet Briar student and Lynchburg native Claire Shaw (class of 2015), who graduated from E.C. Glass High School in 2011. This summer, Shaw was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer affecting the bone and soft tissues of the body. Shaw is currently in Boston for treatment.

The Jennifer Hunter Yates Sarcoma Foundation is dedicated to helping families who are battling sarcoma illnesses in many ways. According to the website, donations are used to conduct “drug trials, sarcoma conferences, or other research at [Massachusetts General Hospital] involving sarcoma,” to help pair current patients with survivors in hopes of sharing inspiration and motivation, and to provide financial support to families so they can stay with loved ones who are undergoing treatment. To learn more, please visit jenniferhunteryatessarcomafoundation.org. Donations of any amount to the foundation will be accepted during the event.

Sweet Briar College is located at 134 Chapel Road, Sweet Briar, VA 24595. For more information about the event, please contact Grace Griffin at griffin14@sbc.edu or (409) 457-7050, or visit the “Run For Your Life” Facebook page.

Bob Vosburgh (from left), Marti Beller, Kaitlyn Haskins ’15, Jenness Gough ’13, Victoria Mills ’13, Tom Scott, Leah Busque, Tom Loftus and Jo Ellen Parker. The students, including Hunter Stoner ’14,
who is not pictured, organized the Salt Block Awards and dinner.

The Salt Block Project, a student-run initiative of Sweet Briar’s business department, hosted its second Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner Thursday, Oct. 11, in Prothro Dining Room. Jenness Gough ’13 handed out the “Salty Awards,” as they are informally known, to recognize recipients in three categories.

Past Saltys have honored local business leaders, but in keeping with this year’s “Experience to Innovation” theme, students selected individuals whose personal and professional experience led to the creation of a new and impactful product.

The first was Marti Beller, CEO and co-founder of PlanG, who received the Salt Block Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Nonprofit Organizations. PlanG aims to revolutionize charitable giving with an online product that lowers the cost of fundraising for 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S., offers businesses a new way to incentivize customer loyalty, and makes giving easier and more meaningful for individual donors.

Bob Vosburgh was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year for Health Care for his company’s development of Survey Vitals, a proprietary electronic feedback survey with the potential to transform patient and doctor experiences through organizational improvement. A former Air Force fighter pilot and aeronautical engineer, Vosburgh is founder and president of 9g Enterprises.

Hilary Cook ’05, director of strategic partnerships at PlanG, talks about why she wanted to involve Sweet Briar in her company’s social media strategy.

The third Salty, for overall Entrepreneur of the Year, went to Leah Busque, a 2001 Sweet Briar computer science graduate. In 2008, Busque gave up a cushy job programming at IBM to start TaskRabbit Inc. — all because she didn’t want to go to the store for dog food. TaskRabbit is a website that lets people and companies outsource odd jobs to pre-screened “runners” who bid against one another for the work. To date, her company has raised $40 million in funding and operates in nine U.S. cities.

The evening’s theme highlighted two hallmarks of the business program — its entrepreneurial brand and experiential learning — and the connections between them. In her remarks at the podium, President Jo Ellen Parker noted that Sweet Briar has further embraced entrepreneurial thinking as an institutional strategic priority — although some may find the notion paradoxical for a liberal arts college, she said.

But it doesn’t mean lopsided recruiting for the business major or embarking on ventures unrelated to the College’s mission, Parker told an audience that included educators, investors, CEOs and company presidents.

“What it means is that we see many, many points of connection between the value of a liberal arts education and the qualities that make for successful entrepreneurs,” she said.

An entrepreneur creates value in whatever sphere she inhabits, Parker said, be it a business’ goods or services, a nonprofit’s social or cultural contribution, or a college finding new “populations of learners,” as Sweet Briar is trying to do.

Following Parker at the podium, Tom Scott, the College’s director of entrepreneurial initiatives and chair of the business department, addressed how the experiential component of the curriculum fits the strategic initiative. The program excels at finding opportunities for students to apply theory in the real world, he said, citing partnerships with local employers such as Centra and Edison2 on student projects that provided real value to the companies.

But, he said, the companies his department hopes to engage with going forward — those trying to make the transition from startup to sustainable business, much like the three award recipients — need more than one-semester solutions. The challenge is to provide consistent services through school breaks and ever-revolving “personnel.”

Scott revealed that Beller’s PlanG, which launched in June, is willing to give his department that chance by hiring the College to direct its social media marketing. Research and analysis to define a strategy is under way this semester by students in Marketing and Social Media. The school will be remunerated if the customer is satisfied with the performance.

Beller took an interest in Sweet Briar several years ago when she was president of Affinion Loyalty Group in Richmond and an employee, Hilary Cook ’05, asked her to speak at her alma mater. “I come here regularly because I so connect with what you’re trying to do here,” Beller said when she accepted the award.

“When we came here to talk to classes, not only did I marvel at what they were getting to learn that I never did, … ” said Beller, a former computer programmer, “but we got to actually push up against those experiences and learn ourselves. And meet people like Amrit [Judge ’14] who would look at us with a little bit of a judgmental eye and say ‘Why aren’t you doing this and why aren’t you doing that?’

“And even though I can explain in my mind why we’re not, I like that she pushes us because I know one day we’ll be there to push her back.”

Beller noted that PlanG is still in its infancy, but she was struck by what Parker said in her comments, because the company serves nonprofits, individuals and brands with one product.

“We have created that sweet spot between creating commercial value, social value and educational value all together. And the partnership with Sweet Briar is really that educational piece.”

Contact: Jennifer McManamay

The 2012 award recipients are Leah Busque, a 2001 Sweet Briar graduate and founder and CEO of TaskRabbit Inc.; Marti Beller, founder and CEO of PlanG; and Bob Vosburgh, CEO of Survey Vitals. In addition, 40 to 50 area business owners and representatives have been invited in recognition of their contributions to the local economy and community.

In 2011 the focus was on local winners, when a dozen area leaders representing both new and established businesses were honored with certificates of recognition. Virginia Lt. Governor Bill Bolling gave the keynote address at that event. This year, the honorees have been asked to prepare brief comments.

The Salt Block Project is a creation of Sweet Briar’s business department to focus on the connections between innovation, entrepreneurship and the liberal arts. In practice, it is a series of outreach initiatives to the business community that can take such forms as conference workshops led by successful entrepreneurs for area college students; partnerships with local companies to provide hands-on work experience for Sweet Briar students while providing real service to real businesses; and the awards dinner, which is a signature event to be held annually.

Sweet Briar’s business program is less than a decade old. Salt Block is a product of the department’s strategic planning to define its identity and direction to best prepare students for jobs after graduation while staying true to the College’s liberal arts mission.

“Where we ended up is entrepreneurship,” said department chair Tom Scott. “Entrepreneurship is the perfect confluence of creative and critical thinking and business. Whether a student starts her own business or not, if she understands the larger context within which business operates, understands the way business functions work together, and has real experience prior to graduating, she is an asset to any organization.”

In today’s global economy, he adds, it’s more important than ever that business majors have the broad perspective a liberal arts education provides.

The dinner is a way to further emphasize these connections and allow students — who plan and execute Salt Block programming — the opportunity to interact and learn from today’s leaders and innovators who are shaping the new economy.

About this year’s recipients:

Leah Busque founded TaskRabbit Inc., then called RunMyErrand.com, in 2008. The company uses an online social networking model to let people and companies outsource tasks such a deliveries, buying groceries or assembling furniture, to a pool of “runners.” The runners, who are vetted through background checks, bid against each other on odd jobs that TaskRabbit users need done.

Busque started the company in the Boston area, where she was working as a software engineer at IBM. Within about a year, she procured $1 million from West Coast investors to expand and moved to San Francisco. The company also operates in Boston, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif., and employs three dozen full-time engineers, managers and other professionals in addition to more than 2,000 independent runners.

Marti Beller, co-founder and CEO of PlanG, is well known in the Richmond business community after serving as president of Affinion Loyalty Group for the past decade. Earlier this year, she and her co-founders launched PlanG, a venture that aims to revolutionize how individuals give to charities by providing a solution to individuals, businesses and nonprofits that help increase the impact they can make on the world.

PlanG provides an online tool that allows individuals to select, organize and track all of their charitable giving in one place. It connects donors to charitable organizations, allows individuals to create fundraising campaigns for charities they care about and provides an individual account where campaign donations, employer matching funds, or retailer and loyalty program rewards can be deposited for later distribution by the account owner. The company partners with more than 250 online retailers who will contribute to individuals’ PlanG accounts when they make purchases.

Beller says the idea behind PlanG is to apply traditional for-profit marketing solutions and expertise to the world of philanthropy.

Bob Vosburgh is the founder and president of 9g Enterprises, a company that provides surveys, workshops, coaching and keynotes for organizational improvement. Its primary focus is on medical organizations through Survey Vitals, a proprietary electronic solution that provides immediate feedback for continuous organizational improvement and increased patient, employee and physician satisfaction. Survey Vitals also supports compliance with state and federal Medicare requirements.

Vosburgh, an aeronautical and astronautical engineer, spent 14 years in the military as a fighter pilot, assistant professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC Commandant of Cadets. After his service, he entered the corporate arena, primarily in finance and investments. He started 9g Enterprises in 2002, and is an author, regular speaker and executive coach.

Contact: Jennifer McManamay

Phi Beta Lambda, the college and university division of the Future Business Leaders of America, holds state-level competitions annually to test students’ business knowledge and skills in a broad range of career-related areas. The tests were conducted online in March, in advance of the State Leadership Conferences in early April. First- and second-place winners are eligible to compete at the National Leadership Conference in June.

Drake, a business major, said she enjoyed her finance class with assistant professor of business Tom Scott last semester and naturally gravitated to the subject when she was deciding which exam to take in the competition. Keeping the concepts fresh in her mind was the key to success.

“I have used the concepts and ideas in other upper-level financial-rooted business classes, so I was sure that I knew the information,” Drake said.

Cochran is a math major and business minor who credits the “amazing Dr. Bessie Kirkwood” for her performance on the statistical analysis test. Kirkwood, a professor of mathematical sciences, strives to ensure every student truly understands statistics, she said.

“That allowed me to do as well as I did,” Cochran said.

Both students plan to compete at the national level and attend the conference June 24-27 in San Antonio.

Beyond what she learns from the leadership workshops, Cochran looks forward to the “opportunity to network with some incredible people and to promote Sweet Briar as a competitive women’s college.”

Contact: Jennifer McManamay

They are calling it Sweet Drivers, and it all began last summer when Abdelwahed, an international affairs and philosophy major and business minor, was learning to drive. Abdelwahed’s mother, concerned for her safety on the congested streets of Houston, suggested she use a magnet to let other drivers know she was a learner. They had seen student driver magnets and plates while living and traveling in Europe.

They placed a homemade black-and-white magnet on Abdelwahed’s car, and the results were instant.

“Other drivers were more patient with me,” Abdelwahed said. “When I drove without it, drivers would tailgate and get easily irritated. … As soon as they noticed the magnet, they backed off.”

It made her feel safer.

“As a student driver, I felt more relaxed because instead of honking or trying to make me go faster — over the speed limit — they would pass me or slow down to speed limit,” she said.

Seeing how effective her magnet was, Abdelwahed thought other beginning drivers might benefit from it, as well. However, magnets already on the market — stark black and white or black and yellow — seemed designed to turn drivers off from using them. The answer was clear: Abdelwahed was going to create a magnet that would appeal to teenagers, parents and grandparents alike — something ‘learners’ would want to put on their cars.

She asked Richards, an anthropology major at Sweet Briar, to be her business partner. The two enlisted assistant professor of business Tom Loftus, who agreed to help as part of a directed studies course on entrepreneurship. They met weekly to discuss their progress, brainstorm design ideas, and set goals and a timeline.

Their product research was encouraging. They wrote a paper for the course, citing a recent Austrian study which found that “young drivers who use L-plates to warn other drivers had 15% [fewer] accidents than the ones who chose to learn how to drive without a student driver magnet or an L-plate.”

Loftus says the project also is a good example of the business department’s multidisciplinary approach to learning, and of the collaboration that happens at Sweet Briar.

“There’s so much energy here. Our department is very liberal arts because we’re so well connected with other departments. That’s what makes it exciting for faculty and students.”

Not surprisingly, support for the project quickly spread beyond the business department. Tom Marcais, academic technology trainer and consultant at Sweet Briar, helped Abdelwahed and Richards by explaining the costs and logistics involved in designing a website. He also talked to them about their sales strategy.

“I think that Anna and Allissa have come up with an excellent product concept,” said Marcais, who runs his own e-commerce business selling vintage advertisements at vintagepaperads.com.

“There doesn’t seem to be much existing competition, and I could see their magnets as being popular with parents, insurance companies and the student drivers themselves.”

Marcais said he was glad to share his own experiences.

“There’s a lot that goes into running an online business, and lots of expenses that can add up quickly,” he said.

“On the e-commerce side, we’ve talked about things such as registering a domain name, shopping cart software, payment gateways, credit card merchant accounts, shipping and banner advertising revenue. We’ve also had some discussions about social-media marketing with things like Google Adsense, Blogger blogs, Facebook and Twitter.”

More help came from Michael Brunelle, Abdelwahed’s Spanish instructor. Before coming to Sweet Briar, Brunelle worked as a graphic designer, first in New York City and later in Virginia. He helped the sophomores with technical and conceptual aspects of the design process.

“The design was already there, but we went back and forth on the colors, and I enjoyed a ‘teaching moment’ where I was able to explain and show them how backgrounds of different colors affect the perception of the color of an object.” Brunelle said.

“It is fun to see how they are progressing with their business — maybe it will inspire more students to see how far they can take their ideas.”

This spring, the two students are undertaking a marketing practicum with Loftus and a one-credit independent study course taught by Brunelle and Marcais. “Graphic Design for Business Entrepreneurs” includes an introduction to the fundamental concepts of graphic design and features lessons in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver.

“They’ve been doing a great job learning these programs, and are currently using Illustrator to design a logo concept for their business,” Marcais said.

To ensure that the magnets appeal to their target audience, Abdelwahed and Richards informally surveyed first-year students at Sweet Briar and presented the project to 30 students and faculty members. They used the feedback when editing their design. Some first-year students who were learning to drive bought the first-edition magnet (a hand-drawn version of the current edition) before Christmas break.

Abdelwahed and Richards are reaching out to the local community, as well. In December, they consulted Amherst County High School driving instructors, Larry Thomas and Chad Bryan, who thought the magnets were “an excellent idea,” Thomas said.

“We … support their project very much. These [magnets] are great to put on vehicles that new drivers are training in when not in an official driver’s ed car.”

In January, Sweet Drivers became an official partnership. Magnets can be purchased at the campus bookshop, through their blog, on Amazon, and via emailed order requests, which allow Abdelwahed and Richards to send invoices through Google checkout. So far, business has been slow, but the two are confident it will pick up soon.

“Founding Sweet Drivers has been an incredible learning experience,” Abdelwahed said.

“Anna and I are both confident that we will be able to launch our product successfully and increase awareness of new drivers on the road because we have a great support system.”

They do. Loftus purchased several magnets for his son, who started driving recently.

“Brian says that people seem to stay further away from him,” he said, adding that it makes him feel better as a parent, too.

His son also likes the look of it, which is what Abdelwahed and Richards were going for. After all, a student driver magnet is only useful if it’s actually being used.

“I think it’s fulfilling their goals,” Loftus said.

Next, the two entrepreneurs will present the magnets to students at Amherst County High School. Once Sweet Drivers takes off, they plan to donate 15 percent of their revenue to The Partnership for Safe Driving, a non-profit organization.

For more information about this project, visit Sweet Drivers on Facebook or follow them on Twitter (@SweetDrivers).

Contact: Janika Carey