Sam’s Club Managers Lead Fleming Elementary Students in Junior Achievement Lessons

Posted on Dec 31, 2015 in NEWSWORTHY
Sam’s Club Assistant Manager Donald Frazier and Co-Manager Marcel Coley spoke to students about the importance of proper advertising to promote businesses.

Sam’s Club Assistant Manager Donald Frazier and Co-Manager Marcel Coley spoke to students about the importance of proper advertising to promote businesses.

Students Gabrielle Donovan and Savanna Hernandez completed a JA assignment.

Students Gabrielle Donovan and Savanna Hernandez completed a JA assignment.

Students at Fleming Elementary School are benefiting from a rewarding partnership with Sam’s Club that is preparing them for the real world. Sam’s Club managers visit the school each year to lead the students in Junior Achievement (JA) lessons designed to help them better understand business and economics.

Sam’s Club managers, representing stores throughout the state, recently visited the school to lead students in a series of lessons, including JA Our Region for fourth graders and JA Our Nation designed for fifth graders. The lessons gave the students an opportunity to learn key business terms, such as entrepreneur, consumer, region, natural resources, goods, soft skills and opportunity cost; which regions produce certain resources, such as citrus, minerals and timber; traits of a successful entrepreneur, such as determined, creative, self-confident, ambitious, people-person, experienced; how to calculate the average price of merchandise and how to determine a career cluster based on their skills, interests and personal characteristics.

Proudly showing off his taco truck business was Joe Martinez.

Proudly showing off his taco truck business was Joe Martinez.

Students also brainstormed possible businesses they could create using certain resources, names for the businesses and ways to advertise those businesses. During a discussion on promoting a business, Sam’s Club Co-Manager Marcel Coley reminded students of the importance of good customer service. “When people have a positive experience at your establishment, they will support it and recommend it to other people,” he said.

Sam’s Club also sponsors an annual trip for Fleming fifth graders to JA’s Biz Town, which combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town where they operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks and vote for mayor.