Jasper native and media entrepreneur to speak at Dubois Strong Annual meeting tonight

Evan Burns, a native of Jasper and graduate of Jasper High School, is the founder and CEO of Olympia Media Group. Mr. Burns will keynote this evening’s Annual Meeting of Dubois Strong. The Annual Meeting with be held 5 to 8 p.m. Eastern time at Memorial Lodge, 2590 South Newton Street, Jasper, Indiana.

Evan Burns founded Olympia Media Group during his senior year at Indiana University with the goal of building a niche media company combining the most relevant aspects of traditional and interactive media. Olympia produces The Odyssey, a weekly niche newspaper focused on fraternity and sorority communities ranging in size from 3,000 – 8,000 people per campus with over 240 employees nationwide.Olympia has diversified into interactive event technology management and branding/web design services.

The Odyssey launched in fall 2009 and opened four locations in the first four months, then expanding to 38 individual locations in the past two years. The 2011-2012 academic year consisted of 1,050 unique 16-page issues being produced across all locations, 1,100 advertising clients partnered with, 1,100 writers contributing, and over 8,000 ads designed all while achieving a 2,100% sales growth rate from year one to year two.

Mr. Burns enjoys playing tennis, cycling, triathlons, water sports, and international traveling in his spare time. Evan is a 2006 graduate of Jasper High School and received a BA in Economics in 2010 from Indiana University. He is a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

“Because of the rich history of entrepreneurship in Dubois County, we are delighted to hear Evan’s entrepreneurial story and learn more about his success building Olympia Media Group,” Jim Dinkle, President and CEO of Dubois Strong said. “I’m confident that other potential entrepreneurs will be inspired with Evan’s business growth and expansion.”

Dubois Strong is an Indiana Not for Profit Corporation charged with enhancing the economic development climate of Dubois County, Indiana. The organization’s four primary focus areas include: business retention and expansion; entrepreneurial development, value-added agribusiness, and targeted business recruitment. For more information, contact Dubois Strong at 812.482.9650 or jdinkle@dcadc.org. More information is also available at www.dcadc.org.