Windsor, ON (April 7) -- Conestoga College student Dario Neimarlija, who is in the Business Administration - Management Studies program, today received honourable mention in the student achievement category for southwestern Ontario at the annual luncheon of the Ontario Global Traders Awards (OGTA) in Windsor.
He was one of two finalists for the top regional award, a bursary of $2,000 and the opportunity to be considered for the all-Ontario award, which will be announced in Toronto on May 16.
At the Windsor event, Neimarlija received a certificate of achievement from Tony C. Wong (MPP, Markham), who is Parliamentary Assistant to Hon. Joseph Cordiano, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
The OGTA recognize outstanding contributions to the province’s export industry and are sponsored by Ontario Exports Inc., Ontario’s export development agency.
The Student Achievement Award recognizes Ontario residents under the age of 30 who have contributed to the export success of Ontario’s business community and who are pursuing studies in international business or a related field.
A resident of Kitchener and a graduate of St. Mary’s High School in that city, Neimarlija first entered Conestoga’s Computer Engineering Technology program, then transferred to the two-year General Business program (from which he graduated in 2004) before going on to the third year of Business Administration - Management Studies.
From 2000-04, he owned and operated a business called Straight Ahead Records, an independent recording label that produced and sold CDs in the punk rock/heavy rock genre. His activity included contacts and negotiations with various artists in North America and Europe, obtaining legal permissions to use selected released and unreleased material in order to produce his compilation CDs. He conducted marketing of his products via banner ads on music-related Web sites, as well as distribution of demonstration CDs to music magazines and radio stations. Neimarlija succeeded in establishing a retail sales base in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Mexico.
He comments that, although the work burden was often heavy, he enjoyed the music and his company, learned all aspects of the music production business, and was able to take what he learned through his Conestoga studies and apply it effectively in a real-world, international business setting.
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