Donetta Josey, Stephanie Stuckey, Alyssa Stephenson, Tameeka Wallace, Fred Monk, Pamela Patterson, and Sue Hodges In the fall of 2009, Junior Achievement of Central South Carolina received a grant from the UPS Foundation to implement a rigorous, innovative program for local high school students called the “Be Entrepreneurial Business Plan Challenge.”

According to Stephanie Stuckey, president of the Junior Achievement of SC, the program required student participants to write a business plan that is “so realistic that they could walk away and start their business.”

They were required to participate in activities such as conducting market research, networking with other business and community leaders, financial planning, and presentation skills.

The program was structured with nine class sessions and taught by high school personnel and by the volunteers who are always the driving force behind all Junior Achievement programs. The final competition for the winner of the “Be Entrepreneurial Business Plan Challenge” was held on March 4, 2010 at the Junior Achievement office on Greystone Blvd. The final four contenders were required to make a formal PowerPoint presentation, video presentation, and be interviewed by the panel of judges.

Alyssa Stephenson and Stephanie Stuckey, Junior Achievement of SC president The students competing were Alyssa Stephenson, a junior at Lexington Technology Center in Lexington, Donetta Josey, a senior from Darlington County Institute of Technology in Hartsville, SC, and Tameeka Wallace, a junior at Ridge View High School in Columbia. Joshua Mc- Dowell was a qualified participant but was unable to attend the event.

There were three leaders in the business community who served as judges for the presentations and interviews:

• Susan Graybill Hodges, a former employee of SCE&G and graduate of the Culinary Insitute at the University of South Carolina is currently the owner of the Happy Café on Forest Drive.

• Pamela Patterson has an MBA from the University of South Carolina. She has worked for 20 years as a computer analyst and has been an owner of a local Subway franchise for the past 5 years.

• Fred Monk has been a resident of Columbia for 44 years. He is the former business editor of

The State newspaper. Currently Monk is the president of ECI/Find New Markets, president of the Midlands International Trade Association, chair of the Columbia World Affairs Council, and is involved with other business related associations.

Alyssa Stephenson of Lexington was the first place recipient of the final competition. She has actually already started her own business called, Bella Dolce Creations, and has been managing this business as a teenage attending high school full time. She says she has always wanted to be a chef and is enrolled in the Culinary Arts track at the Lexington Technology Center located just adjacent to her school, Lexington High School. She has received formal training in the culinary arts and her business plan presented to the Junior Achievement program was the expansion of her business which already exists. Her participation in the “Be Entrepreneurial Business Plan Challenge” has helped her to plan for the future with the guidance and curriculum provided by Junior Achievement.

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. The organization “brings the real world to students, opening their minds to their potential, and preparing them for the world of work.” Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in–school and after–school programs for students, which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.

For further information visit www.ja.org.