Fine Foto, a successful photography business, won Montgomery Blair High School senior Thomas Dant second place and a $5,000 award in the first annual Smith Barney/NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. The first-of-its-kind national youth business plan competition was held October 26 in New York City.

Blair junior Aaron Sacks advanced to the semifinals in the national competition.

The two were among four in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and 28 students in the nation who competed in the event. The regional winners took part in the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) class at their high schools last year.

Dant is owner of Fine Foto, a service business providing fine photography. During the spring semifinals, Dant showcased photos he shot of firefighters working in Montgomery County.

Student Aaron Sacks is owner of You’re On Deck, a start-up business that provides customized playing cards featuring the names and/or logos of businesses on the back of each card. Sacks sold 1,000 decks of his customized playing cards in his first few months in business.

Derek Sontz is the students’ technology education teacher at Blair.

In New York participants presented their business plans to a panel of distinguished judges, including William Donaldson, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Later that evening, semifinalists presented their plans to another panel of judges before the winners were selected.