While Aaron McCullough’s day job is vice president at HRC, he prioritizes time to volunteer in the community.

Aaron recently served as a judge for InVenture, a competition among fifth-graders at South Douglas Elementary School. Student teams were asked to invent a product or service.

The students came up with ideas, did market research and made formal presentations. A panel of judges, including Aaron and other business leaders and led by Natalie Benton, director of the program, determined winners.

“It was inspiring to see how these young people addressed the challenge to come up with the next grand idea,” said Aaron. “They interviewed families and friends, built prototypes, and tested their products to make sure they were viable.”

The first-place team’s invention? “A natural weed killer, using off-the-shelf ingredients,” he said. “It was inexpensive, economical and efficient, demonstrating the ingenuity of these young entrepreneurs.”

The winners will proceed to state-level competition, going head-to-head with teams from other Georgia counties, to be held later in the year at the Georgia Tech campus.