Barma Shane Staten began cutting hair at 13 because he could not afford a haircut.
More than 20 years and thousands of haircuts later, local barber Staten was honored for his business achievements as outstanding entrepreneur of the year. Staten received the award at the first Soul 4 U Awards, which gave 20 awards to faculty, staff and community members in Carbondale.
Staten, 34, was chosen for his achievements as owner of Kampus Kutz by the event staff and coordinators.
"I feel honored," Staten said. "I didn't even know I was going to get it, but when you do hard work eventually other people are going to see it."
Though his work earned him the award, Staten said cutting hair has not always been his top priority.
A devoted baseball player at his East St. Louis high school, Staten was drafted to the Major League Baseball team Oakland Athletics in 1992. He turned down this opportunity for a baseball scholarship to Jackson State University, where he continued to cut hair for friends and teammates until a knee injury ended his career.
Staten transferred to SIUC in 1993 and has lived in Carbondale ever since.
He received his bachelor's degree in administration of justice in 1999, and got his barber's license from Belleville Barber College in 2006. That allowed him to open Kampus Kutz, located across Route 51 from campus, in January 2007.
There's "nothing like having your own business," Staten said.
Other ventures Staten is involved with include his record label, Sound Mind Entertainment, which he has used to create tracks for artists throughout the Midwest and South. Staten, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, is also looking to bring a barber college to Carbondale in the future.
Staten did not fail to mention his most important job.
"World's greatest dad," said Staten, who is the father of two sons and a daughter.
Staten said he loves working with his four barbers, all of who say they are proud of him, and say they have a good relationship.
He said the key to his success is never giving up because when you stop dreaming and stop trying, you will never get anywhere.
"All you have to do is put God first, and the only thing you should fear is putting yourself in a position where you're not trying," Staten said.
Lolita Mack, one of the event organizers from Carbondale studying workforce educational development, said the event organizers chose Staten because of his successful barbershop.
Mack was one of three graduate students of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. to organize the event. The event, held Friday in the Student Center ballrooms, was not a Zeta event.
Mack said they wanted to put on an awards show with the same flash and glamour that you see on television for the Oscars that would also involve the community. Roughly 600 people attended.
"We wanted an event to combine faculty and staff with a classy touch to it," Mack said.
Other award recipients include Brandon Williams, a senior from Peoria studying journalism. Williams was the only person nominated for three awards, and he won two of them. Williams received awards for best performing artist and best host. He was also nominated for best disc jockey, and performed a piece of his poetry during the ceremony.
Williams said it feels good that people thought he was good at two out of three things.
"It feels great because most people are a jack of all trades and only specialize in one thing, so it was good to be nominated for three and win two of them," Williams said.
The event was $7 at the door and, after expenses, made a profit of roughly $1,000.
Mack said that a counterfeit $100 dollar bill was given for admission and went unnoticed until the next morning when money was being counted.
That's the type of thing you have to look out for when you host a major event, Mack said.
For the first event of its kind, it was a success, Mack said. It was well structured and organized, although some changes need to be made for next year, she said.
"A lot of people were wondering how people got selected, so we are going to try a safer election mechanism so people don't think it is rigged simply because the organizers were of the same group," Mack said.
This article was provided by: Suide
Written by: DeMarcus Hamilton
