FOR 14th CONSECUTIVE YEAR, FERRUM FREE ENTERPRISE TEAM HEADING TO NATIONAL BUSINESS COMPETITION

Winning projects include WIFE, for low income women, and a Jr. Chamber of Commerce that allows high school students to network with 300 business leaders and trains them how to improve the regional economy.

April 29, 2003

     Nationals here they come—again! For the 14th consecutive year, Ferrum College’s SIFE Team successfully outperformed college teams from a four-state region in the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Regional Competition, held in Washington, DC, this month. In addition to the $1,500 cash prize, the Regional Competition and Job Fair also yielded immediate internship and management training offers for Ferrum students, as employers vied for commitments from team members, following their presentation. The team also won $500 for projects related to SIFE’s National Financial Independence Month.

     The team presentation highlighted 17 projects they undertook in the last year, ranging from the Reality Store, which teaches middle school students how educational choices impacts life-long economic well-being, to business ethics. The Junior Chamber of Commerce, a collaboration with the Franklin County Chamber of Com-merce and Franklin County High School, gives 9th-12th graders opportunities to network with 300 companies in the region and teaches them leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Women In Free Enterprise, or WIFE, partners with the Support To Eliminate Poverty program to tutor low income women in basic computer and interviewing skills.

     Competition judges extolled the group, using phrases like “Wall Street meets Broadway,” “excellent job, perfect polish and presentation,” and “this was one of the best programs I’ve seen in three years of judging.”

     The six-member presenting team was composed of Mark Armentrout of Harrisonburg, Va; Carrie Lykins of Williamsburg, Va; Tiffanie Gatling of Richmond, Va; Jose Orzoco of Alexandria, Va; Twyla Stephens of Hampton, Va; and John Wojtowicz of Reading, Pa.

     As a regional champion, the Ferrum team will present their projects at the 2003 SIFE USA National Exposition, held in Kansas City, Mo, May 11-13. The national champion in the 4-year division will travel to Frankfurt, Germany, to compete at SIFE World Cup 2003, October 12-14.

     Assistant Professor of Business and team advisor Dr. Delia Heck was named a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow in recognition of her leadership and support of the Ferrum SIFE program.

     Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu. # # #