SIFE Chapter at Lehigh Valley College Shines in Regional Business Competition
(Center Valley, March 31) - A team of students from the Students in Free Enterprise chapter at Lehigh Valley College captured five national awards in the SIFE Regional Competition March 28 at the Franklin Wyndham Plaza Hotel, Philadelphia.
The team, working under the guidance of faculty advisor Larry Moyer of Allentown, a business professor at the school, finished as first runner-up overall, and will attend the national SIFE competition in Kansas City, Mo., May 21-23, 2006. This is the fourth consecutive year that LVC's SIFE team has reached the national competition.
The LVC team, competing in the two-year division, won top national honors in four out of the six individual topic competitions: Market Economics, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Business Ethics. Each individual topic competition winner is awarded $500 by a sponsor of the competition.
For this year's competition, the LVC team carried out a wide range of business and service projects in several of the categories. For example, projects in the Entrepreneurship category included a business card exchange, power luncheons with local executives, and a four-day tour in New York City, during which participants interacted with executives in the city. In the Financial Literacy category, students worked on a credit card management conference and bankruptcy information conference, both held at the college, and a program called Piggybank, which helps teach inner-city children how to handle money wisely and build personal savings.
In the Business Ethics category, the projects included a dress-for-success dinner, a business etiquette seminar for student council members held at William Allen High School, Allentown, and e-commerce and etiquette training for local Brownie troops.
Members of the LVC team are Isaac Kriens of Boyertown; Craig Kautz of Lancaster, Brandon Stricker of Ephrata, Jocelyn Wagner of Pottstown; Veronica Figueroa of Stroudsburg; and Joseph Ramos of Lebanon, supported by Chris Scott of Lower Merion; Scott Piotrowski of Waymart; Linda Lam of Lebanon; Ashley Miranda of East Stroudsburg; and Roxana Olivares of Stroudsburg.
Finalists' reports from the regional competition will be judged prior to the national competition by a group of representatives from sponsoring companies, and the top three teams will be recognized during the 2006 SIFE National Exposition.
The competition is sponsored by Students in Free Enterprise organization headquarters in Springfield, Mo. SIFE is an international business education association organized by Sam Walton, the late founder of Wal-Mart. Faculty advisor Moyer is a Sam Walton Fellow.
About Lehigh Valley College
Lehigh Valley College, an accredited educational institution located in Center Valley, Pa., offers career-focused programs in a wide range of disciplines. Founded in 1869, the school has always been committed to offering industry-current curricula that support a variety of employment opportunities. Building on this tradition, Lehigh Valley College remains committed to developing the self-discipline and individual potential that enable achievement on the job and in society. Accredited member, ACICS. For more information, visit: www.lehighvalley.edu.
