Catch You Later, Campbell!

Today is the day we all knew was coming. Not only is today the last day of FELC at Campbell University, it's the LAST and FINAL day of the Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge for the year! I must say, it's an emotional day for both the FELC students and counselors. Some of us, like me, have been here for 4+ years and always look forward to seeing our fellow counselors again and getting the chance to make a different in the student's lives. Its truly a rewarding experience that can't exactly be put into words!

Before I get all teary-eyed...let's move on to talking about the presentations today!

The first round of presentations is the Virtual Trade Mission projects. The company's chose a country and a product to trade with that location. Then, they calculated purchasing costs, travel expenses, storage costs, etc. to get their final profit amount. Team Liberty's million-dollar idea was sending "life straws" to Uganda!  The creativity and attention to detail in these presentations is phenomenal. All it takes is an idea! Then, you fill in all the financial details and BOOM! You've got a business!

Next, we have the Founding Father's Principles project! Each company was assigned a founding principle including constitutionalism (or limited government), the right to bear arms, equality of opportunity, and free trade. The Founding Fathers Principles project were designed to allow the students to teach their peers about that founding principle and why it is important to the free enterprise system. The students could act out a skit, sing a song (or a rap like we witnessed last week), write a poem, or create a video in order to get their message across! There were no boundaries on creativity! Most students enjoy performing in a good old fashioned skit but some take it a step further and record it! Check out MAP Publications Founding Father's Principles video below!

Unforunately, this video, too, will not let me post it directly to the website! (I think it has to do with amount of time the video has been public...) So here is the link! Click here to view MAP Publication's Founding Principles project video!

The final activty for FELC students of the day is the "Company Close Out." The president, vice president, and chief financial officer of each company will meet with the company store manager (AKA Brian, our program director) for "Company Close Out." During close out, each team will count out their profits and analyze their earnings. The company's will have THREE options for what to do with their profits:

1. Keep it. It's a free enterprise system, after all! These students worked HARD for this money! The students have the absolute freedom to distribute their profits equally between their teammates or in any way they choose. However, if the company does decide to keep it, their will be a tax imposed by the government on the businesses income. The FELC government will impose a 20% income tax on the gross earnings - not the profit!
2. Donate it to Kiva.org. Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through
   
   lending to alleviate poverty. Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. Since 2008, FELC students have been contributing their profits to the online micro-finance lender Kiva.org. Through FELC staff, money is loaned to entrepreneurs in developing countries, and when loans are repaid the funds are reinvested in different entrepreneurs. This allows the network of giving to continue years after students complete FELC and helps reinforce the positive message of personal responsibility and hard work.Watch the short video below to see exactly how Kiva works!
   
   
   
3. Last but certainly not least, there has been a new addition to our FELC close-out options this year. Companies have the option to donate their money to the Reagan Hartley Memorial Scholarship fund. Let me begin with talking a little bit about Miss Reagan.
   
   Many of our graduates of the FELC program knew Reagan. She was a senior college student,

   

   Reagan loved President
   Ronald Reagan!

    age 22, studying elementary education at Western Carolina University, excited to graduate in May 2014. She had been a counselor with FELC since 2011 and was very well-known for her beautiful and hilarious quirks. She had an unwavering love for Taylor Swift and she could talk all day about her cats like they were a person. She believed every lady should own a good set of pearls and wear them for every occasion possible.
   
   On April 3, 2014, Reagan Hartley was killed by a drunk driver who was in a high-speed police chase over 90 mph. She was such a special girl who loved the students of FELC and she was supposed to be here with us this week. At the family's request, memorials may be made to our program's scholarship fund in her name. We are touched to be able to honor her legacy with pride. The funds donated in her name will be directly deposited in our FELC scholarship fund that helps students, just like the students we have this week, be able to afford and attend the FELC program. Though it may be hard to believe, there are several eager and talented students who want to come and learn from our program, but do not have the funds. The Reagan Hartley Memorial fund makes it possible for those students. You can click here to view Reagan Hartley's obituary and view her tribute video.

Ready for it? TIME FOR WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ALL ALONG! The Closing Ceremony awards!

CONGRATULATIONS TO TEAM VIRTUE! Team Virtue's counselor this week was Jillian Hancin. Jillian is a second-year counselor and we cant express enough how much her team deserved this honor! Team Virtue's company was a concessions business called "Snacks on Stack" and along with raising the most money this week, the team excelled in nearly every competition they came across! I also want to give a big congratulations to McKay Dula for winning first place in the speech contest! Not to mention, congrats to Jessica Thompson Worley on taking home first place for her exceptional essay on her law of life.

Thanks Campbell! We enjoyed our stay here and REALLY enjoyed the students we have the privilege to meet! I'm very, very sad to say that today concludes our Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge for the year 2014.

Until next year, peace and blessings!