AVIATRA ACCELERATORS FLIGHT NIGHT TO SHOWCASE CINCINNATI'S NEXT GENERATION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
Momentum Accelerator® Graduates Compete in Pitch Competition; Women Business Owners Honored with Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
CINCINNATI, OH – August 10, 2026 – Aviatra Accelerators, the non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and championing women entrepreneurs, will hold its annual Flight Night on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 20th Century Theater in Oakley. The event celebrates both early-stage women business owners competing in a pitch competition and seasoned entrepreneurs who’ve been nominated for Aviatra’s 3rd annual Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
The pitch competition showcases local female-founded businesses that are participating in Aviatra’s Momentum Accelerator®, a twelve-week program designed to help women entrepreneurs master the fundamentals of their businesses and accelerate growth. The program includes business plan development, networking and coaching by local experts across four pillars – Business Foundations, Finances, Customers and Growth – covering key areas such as sales, marketing, funding, business planning and effective messaging. The winner of the competition will receive a cash prize of $1,000. The 2026 women entrepreneurs showcasing their businesses are:
- Candy Lawry, Candy’s Nuts, specializing in small-batch candied and flavored nuts, creating unique snacks and giftable treats
- Dezeray Stoughton, Nomad Notary & Apostille, providing notary and apostille services for documents used in the state of Ohio and internationally
- Jeanetta Franklin, Beautiful Minds Foundation, mental health awareness foundation providing educational and supportive programs to reduce the stigma of mental health issues in the black community
- Joanne Drilling, Curated Culinaria, social enterprise selling antique and vintage cookware and décor, with a portion of profits going to fight food insecurity
- Laura Berkemeier, Be Growth Impact, providing strategic direction to mission-driven organizations through fundraising, grant writing, event design and execution, team building and efficiency evaluation
- Megan Buldain, Furever Friends Rescue & Wellness, community-focused pet services and foster-based rescue providing booth rental opportunities for independent pet professionals, retail space for local pet vendors and educational workshops for pet owners
- Mary Sarah O’Shea, Mary Sarah Coaching, offering health coaching and the Soma School app, focused on women’s physiology
- Nedra Ward, Petty Waggin Pet Taxi, service that transports pets to groomers, vets and daycare and provides adoption support to busy professionals, families and senior citizens
- Neshea Persley, Ignite Your Tastebuds, food truck that brings bold, unique flavors to familiar foods like french fries, loaded hot dogs and chicken wings
- Sara Sturdivant, Vision Legacy Management Group, focused on educating women and healthcare workers on protecting and growing their financial foundations
- Sherrie Kollman, Butterfly's Touch Therapeutic Massage, providing massage therapy and Cranial Sacral therapy, with the use of essential oils to help people reduce physical, mental and emotional stress
- Tian Philson, LSF Wellness, private leadership development practice and speaking platform using the proprietary VOICCE® framework; gives a structured, repeatable way to slow down, think clearly and act with intention.
- Vashti Chatman, N'Sights HR Consulting and Coaching, helping organizations and individuals bring love into work, navigate hard things healthier, and achieve more through positive intelligence techniques and by designing people-first workplace cultures.
Aviatra’s annual Flight Night will also celebrate the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award finalists and winners who will be recognized in six award categories, including Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Woman Health Entrepreneur, Woman Social Impact Entrepreneur, Woman Tech Entrepreneur, Young Woman Entrepreneur and Veteran Woman Entrepreneur.
Tickets to Flight Night on September 10 are limited and available now at https://www.aviatraaccelerators.org/flight-night.
About Aviatra Accelerators
Celebrating sixteen years of supporting women on the rise to find the power to soar, Aviatra Accelerators, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, exists to empower women entrepreneurs, providing education, coaching, mentoring, networking, and access to capital. Aviatra’s programs are tailored to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs at all stages of the business cycle. With a presence in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio, Aviatra Accelerators has helped more than 6,000 women entrepreneurs create over 15,000 jobs and receive millions in funding, and its alumnae have generated a cumulative total of over $1 billion in earned revenues. For more about Aviatra and its women entrepreneur success stories, visit https://aviatraaccelerators.org.
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