Middle and high school students and their advisors from the Northwest Region of North Carolina attended the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Regional Conference on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at Jacobs Fork Middle School. The conference theme was Paving the Way for Our Future Leaders and was organized by the JFMS students and their advisor, Ms. Leslie Smith. Education Matters helped plan the conference, the activities, and worked with Ms. Smith to secure dynamic speakers from the business community to lead workshops that would be of interest to the students.

Lee Yount, Programmer Analyst & Social Networking Specialist for Catawba County, gave a presentation titled “Social Media in an Emergency: Crash, BOOM, tweet…with a Twist!”

Mr. Yount kicked off his presentation with a video about the power of social media called Social Media Revolution Socialnomics 2011 and then talked to the students about his role as a Social Networking Specialist for the County. He told the students that social media allows the County Government to communicate in a variety of ways with Catawba residents and it can be especially helpful when the power is out and there is a need to send out warnings when storms present dangerous conditions.  By using Twitter, the County is able to send out concise messages and updates as conditions rapidly change. Mr. Yount also touched on the caution that students should use when posting personal information and the importance of posting the correct information for their friends and family to see.   Mr. Yount also showed the students how Catawba County is using Flickr, a photo sharing service, to not only show the citizens what Catawba County is doing, but to ask for photos as well.  By simply emailing a photo to uploadphoto@catawbacountync.gov, photos can be sent to Catawba County during an emergency or if someone would like to share an event they are attending. 

Following the presentation the students were given the opportunity to test their communication skills. The students were told that an emergency alert had been issued and there had been a toxic spill in Catawba County! Students were divided up into mini command centers and were given the task of communicating with one another to remove the toxic waste to ensure the citizens of Catawba County were safe from any danger. Prizes were awarded to the command center that established the safety of area residents by removing the toxic waste in the least amount of time to avoid contamination.

“Entrepreneurship: Building a Successful Business” was presented by Meredith Ross, owner of The Hickory Tree, a fine furniture consignment store. Mrs. Ross told the students how she got the idea to open the store, the steps she took to start her business, and provided insight into what makes her business a success.  She emphasized the importance of researching and developing a business plan and suggested that communicating with other entrepreneurs in the same field can be beneficial, learning from their experiences and expertise.  Determining the location of her business and the need for the services and products she planned to offer were two very important considerations for Mrs. Ross.  She also talked about the challenges of running a successful business and the value of getting friends and family involved to provide support and help when needed. An activity designed to sharpen the students’ entrepreneurial skills followed the presentation. The small groups had to come up with an idea for a new business and then had to present their ideas to the “shark tank” panelists, who determined which business idea had the best success rate based on innovation, need, and market.

Ms. Smith closed the conference with video created by Corning called A Day Made of Glass portraying Corning technologies that may be available in the near future. The video depicts a world in which interactive glass surfaces help you stay connected through seamless delivery of real-time information – whether you’re working, shopping, eating, or relaxing. According to Corning’s Chairman and CEO, Corning’s vision for the future includes a world in which countless ordinary surfaces transform “from one-dimensional utility into sophisticated electronic devices.” With technological advancements such as these developing at such an incredible pace, Ms. Smith encouraged the students to begin planning for their futures by doing their best academically and getting involved in activities that will build their leadership skills and better prepare them to become our future leaders. She said that they already had a great start by participating in their school’s FBLA club and attending the regional conference.