Young people should know about the benefits of free enterprise and business, says Teresa Hillman, executive director of Junior Achievement. To broaden that knowledge, Junior Achievement is working with school systems throughout the region to prepare students for their lives beyond high school graduation, Teresa said while delivering her program to the Rotary Club.
One of the “pillars” of Junior Achievement, said Teresa, is to “encourage students to seek an education beyond high school.” Junior Achievement (JA), which was founded in 1919, seeks to fulfill that goal among students. Teresa said JA was created by businessmen who sought to teach students about free enterprise.
Junior Achievement began in the Palo Duro High School Cluster with 23 classes and 497 students, said Teresa, who said the program began in Amarillo ISD in 2008. This year, she said, AISD is conducting 169 classes with more than 3,000 students. Teresa noted that the students enrolled in JA classes fall into the Title I category, meaning they are “economically disadvantaged.” The program has expanded into the Canyon ISD, with Canyon and Randall high school students taking JA classes.
Teresa delivered great credit for the AISD involvement to our own Denise Blanchard, who “worked with bankers to get the program started” in Amarillo. “We talk about insurance, credit scores and we teach kids about the importance of maintaining a good credit rating,” Teresa said. “The kids watch TV and want to drive a Ferrari, but they don’t know how to get from here to there. Junior Achievement teaches them.
Teresa told us about a JA volunteer who met a student who was working at a Toot ‘n Totum. The student thanked the volunteer for “telling him about the importance of college.” That student is now set to enroll at the University of North Texas, Teresa said.
Well done, Teresa. Keep up the good work.
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We have another new member being proposed. He is Brandon Clark, a Realtor with NextHome, who is being proposed by Heather Conkle. Brandon comes to us under the classification of Real Estate. Welcome aboard, Brandon.
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Our Boys Ranch tradition continues. The Club has a longstanding commitment to helping Boys Ranch. We do so by giving the school a Christmas donation. If you wish to donate to Boys Ranch ISD, make your check payable to Rotary Club of Amarillo. Do so prior Dec. 1 or ask Gina to bill you.
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Melvin Edes is continuing another tradition by providing his legendary, world-famous beef jerky to troops stationed overseas. The bags of jerky cost $8 per bag. Melvin will pay cost of shipping. Let’s treat our young warriors to this West Texas delicacy.
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Meeting alert! We aren’t meeting this coming Thursday; we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving. As for the following Thursday, we’ll be gathering instead on Dec. 1 at the Bar Z Winery for our annual Christmas Party. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30. RSVP to Gina by the end of this week. We will elect our slate of 2017-18 officers on Dec. 8 at our current meeting location and at the beginning of the new year we will move to the new location Polk Street United Methodist Church.
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Many thanks, as always go to: President David O’Dell for presiding with his usual aplomb; Doyle Moore, for leading us in the inspiring patriotic song and the Pledge of Allegiance; Melvin Edes, for his heartfelt invocation; David Chapman, for selling Rotary Foundation drawing tickets; Cal Harriman, for offering a warm welcome to guests and visiting Rotarians; and Gail Bram and Dale Bippus, for greeting us as we arrived.
