A Garrett County business owner is bringing national attention to the region’s growing agricultural innovation sector after taking first place in a new statewide Amazon Web Services AI Pitch Competition.
GAP Trail Foods co-owners Cory Heyman and Justin Tippen captured the top prize during the inaugural AI pitch competition held May 14, 2026 at Western Maryland Works in LaVale, Maryland.
Sponsored by PREDICTif Solutions and Amazon Web Services (AWS), and hosted by Maryland Small Business Development Center and Frostburg State University, the competition highlighted entrepreneurs developing innovative AI-driven business solutions. Finalists pitched their concepts before a panel of judges for an opportunity to receive up to $50,000 in technical resources and AI development support.
Heyman and Tippen earned the grand prize package valued at $50,000 in AWS and PREDICTif AI services for their vision of integrating artificial intelligence into small-scale indoor mushroom farming operations.
Garrett County Business Development Specialist Connor Norman, who attended the event, praised the accomplishment and the entrepreneurial spirit behind the project.
“Cory and Justin represented Western Maryland exceptionally well,” Norman said. “Their success demonstrates the innovation and determination that exists within our small business community. Enterprising small businesses like GAP Trail Foods are helping shape the future of agriculture, technology, and economic development in our region.”
Heyman, who lives in McHenry and also operates Mighty Yough Foods, said the expansion of GAP Trail Foods into Allegany County represents both a business opportunity and a broader mission focused on healthy food access and sustainable agriculture.
“Since I lost my two healthy fast-casual restaurants two years into the Covid pandemic, I have been trying to figure out the best ways to continue promoting healthy eating as part of healthy living in a world that is experiencing increasingly bigger health problems, food shortages, and food disparities,” Heyman said. “I spent more than a year exploring hydroponic farming as part of the longer-term solution.”
Heyman said his research eventually led him to mushroom cultivation after meeting a mushroom farmer during an indoor agriculture conference.
“I became fascinated with mushrooms,” he said. “These seemed to be delicious ‘miracle’ foods, many of which had important medicinal properties. They grow quickly, in small spaces, and use very little water compared to other produce.”
The company recently expanded from a small basement growing operation into a new mixed-use facility across from Frostburg State University, dramatically increasing its production capacity.
“With six times the fruiting space in the new facility, it will be possible to increase mushroom productivity sixteen-fold,” Heyman said. “This new grant from Amazon Web Services to incorporate AI software and technical assistance into our mushroom farm is going to bring our work to a whole new level.”
According to Heyman, the AI-supported systems will help regulate environmental growing conditions, improve production efficiency, and guide processing decisions between fresh products and value-added mushroom goods.
“As the founders of GAP Trail Foods and managers of this new farm, Justin and I want to use the AWS grant to demonstrate the efficacy and economic viability of small indoor farms,” he said. “We look forward to sharing both our successes and challenges with the broader community.”
Development Manager Kim Durst also attended the event and said the competition showcased the growing innovation taking place throughout the region.
“This competition speaks volumes about the innovation and entrepreneurial talent emerging from our region,” Durst said. “GAP Trail Foods is a great example of how local entrepreneurs are combining sustainability, creativity, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to build businesses that can have an impact far beyond Western Maryland.”
Western Maryland SBDC Regional Director Jodi Broadwater said the event demonstrated the tremendous potential of small businesses across the region to leverage emerging technologies.
“This competition highlighted the creativity and vision of local entrepreneurs,” Broadwater said. “Seeing a Western Maryland business earn top honors in a field as forward-looking as artificial intelligence is incredibly exciting.”
The AI Pitch Competition was open to Maryland businesses with operational revenue and fewer than 50 employees. Participants presented five-minute pitches followed by question-and-answer sessions with judges and industry experts.
For GAP Trail Foods, the victory signals not only recognition for an innovative business model, but also a major step toward advancing sustainable food production in Western Maryland.
