Two AU Honors students behind The Jack Flannel Co.

(from left) -- Anna Orange, JT Siurek and Cillian Donahue -- wearing flannel from the apparel line.



Cillian Donahue wants to work in a lab, Anna Orange is after a career in event planning. They say they’re there for their friend, who’s a philosophical Lorax of sorts.

Together, the trio – JT Siurek, Cillian Donahue and Anna Orange – hope to do their part to re-forest the planet, all while building a business and maybe making a profit along the way.

The three Ashland University students are the engine that drives The Jack Flannel Co., a clothing business with an environmental mission. The brainchild of Siurek, a Brunswick native who is in his final year as an entrepreneurship and business management major, the company launched in late 2018 and has become self-supporting, even as it has been run alternatingly between his dorm room and the basement of his parents’ home.

Now, Siurek is hoping Jack Flannel might get a big financial boost through Outdoor Weber, an outdoor recreation idea contest for college students sponsored by Camping World and headquartered at Weber State University in Utah. In order to compete for the $30,000 grand prize, Siurek already has submitted his 90-second video pitch.

Now, he and Donahue and Orange are hoping to get out the vote. Supporters can go to https://www.weber.edu/entrepreneurship/Outdoor_Weber.html each day through Friday, Feb. 14, to cast a ballot for Jack Flannel. The top 25 vote getters will be announced Feb. 17 and the judges will announce the 10 finalists on Feb. 24. After that, the competition goes onsite to Utah March 18-21 to make final pitches and announce the winner