They learned a lot, they built a business, they made some money, they had some fun. Now, a group of Yorkton Regional High School entrepreneurship students can add won some awards to their Entrepreneurship 30 experience.
At the Junior Achievement (JA) of Saskatchewan Hall of Fame Awards June 5, Homestyle Hockey and String Theory, the two businesses created in the entrepreneurship class in the fall brought home three awards.
Homestyle Hockey won the top provincial honour with Company of the Year. The group manufactured innovative home décor items such as chairs, tables, coat racks and picture frames out of broken hockey sticks.
Valerie Gendreau, the Entrepreneurship 30 teacher, said it is a big deal for YRHS.
"That's a major group award," she said, explaining that adjudicators take into account every aspect of running a company, from the business plan to meeting minutes, to the actual performance of the business in coming to a decision for the top prize.
"This award is presented to the company that achieved the minimum standards of 80 [per cent] attendance, strong sales, high degree of production and commercial development of the product, prompt payment of wages and invoices, meeting of shareholders reports requirement, general spirit and participation by all," according to JA literature. "The company will have embodied the spirit of JA, which is the gaining of business knowledge, as well, as the promotion of teamwork and cooperation.
"We're pretty excited," Gendreau said. "It's our second year and we were able to win awards of recognition."
Homestyle Hockey also won the Best Product award.
Bailey Pelchat of String Theory won the individual award for Best VP of Marketing. String Theory manufactured and sold decorative lampshades constructed from a glue and string mixture.
"I am so proud because at the Grade 12 level, students come in for a one-hour class, and yes, they have to do homework, but this class requires students to put in a lot of additional time," Gendreau said. "During the entire process, not only am I proud of the amount of time they've put in, but the quality of the work. The standards have increased in this class and they're always professional. I'm so proud of how they handle themselves in the community at various events, always with the highest level of professionalism. They are great ambassadors for this high school."
