Northern Bedford FBLA Updates on Recent Events

Northern Bedford FBLA Encourages Entrepreneurship

The 2023-2024 Northern Bedford FBLA project is titled Encouraging Entrepreneurship. As part of the project, co-chairs Avery Aungst, Aiden Wadel, and Myah Douglas, encouraged the community to shop local during the holiday season. Two radio ads aired on Bedford County stations promoting Small Business Saturday and Bedford County small businesses during the months of November and December. Members also created a display the Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Nights of Lights with a "Shop Small" message.

On Small Business Saturday, co-chairs volunteered at the Night of Lights and handed out over 200 flyers with ways to support small businesses during the holiday season. The tips are:

1. Share Social Media Posts.

2. Buy Gift Cards

3. Pay Cash When You can

4. Write Online Reviews

5. Refer Family and Friends.

Encouraging Entrepreneurship has also been implementing a social media campaign called "Small Business Spotlight." To view "Small Business Spotlight," visit the Northern Bedford FBLA Facebook and Instagram pages.

Northern Bedford FBLA Celebrates American Enterprise Day

Northern Bedford County School District celebrated National American Enterprise Day with a district-wide career dress up day (shown). On Nov. 15, students from grades PreK-12 dressed as their careers to express the American Enterprise pillar of Freedom of Choice. Elementary students who did not dress up were given a name tag to wear, giving the project 100 percent participation.

Northern Bedford FBLA Brewing Success with the Coffee Coop

Northern Bedford FBLA has been partnering with local business, The Coffee Coop in a project titled Brewing Success. FBLA members have completed over 50 total hours of community service assisting in business operations at local events such as the Southern Cove Power Reunion and Heather's Kup. Through this experience, FBLA members have learned money management, customer service, and communication skills as well as learning about the food truck business.

Project co-chairs Wesley Horsh, Savanna Hershberger, and Nolin Snider completed a social media takeover during the week of Dec. 3-9. Co-chairs strategically designed social media posts promoting the Coffee Coop's holiday menu and created a Coffee Coop Instagram. Through the take over, page engagements increased by 476 percent, post reach boosted by 228 percent, and the number of page followers increased by 5,000 percent. The Coffee Coop Facebook page now is rated 5 stars with 40 reviews, 5x the amount of reviews from the previous week. This project benefited both parties in the partnership, as co-chairs learned social media management and marketing. Owner Betsy Franke reported that the social media takeover had a tremendous effect on business sales, as she even sold out of multiple holiday flavors.

Another aspect of the partnership included the entire elementary school. Co-chairs created a "Design an Ad" contest where elementary students utilized their creativity to design a Coffee Coop advertisement promoting holiday specials. The three top winners earned a free small drink from the Coffee Coop. Third grader Katy Baker drew the Coffee Coop's trailer with a menu featuring the holiday drinks. Fifth grader Jayson Vaux even drew Mrs. Franke inside the trailer. Through Brewing Success, students were able to express their creativity while learning about the power of advertisement while the Coffee Coop gained more exposure in the community.