Sunday afternoon I was rolling through the Village when I noticed several tables surrounded by a small crowd outside Bar(n) and saw there was a Lemonade Stand fundraiser taking place. As usual for lemonade stands, I stopped.
Typically for me if I see a neighborhood lemonade stand with little kids, I stop and it isn't for the beverage. I stop to interact with the young proprietors, (I wink and nod at the parents hoovering behind letting them know the children are doing great) then I lightly assess the children's sales skills by interacting and asking easy questions, then I inquire on where the money is going, is it for a charity, are you saving for college? They then deal with cash and start making change, if they ask if I would like to donate the change to the cause, I sometimes do. The talented one's would also be offering me a cookie, as on this stop if they are selling, I am buying. I let them know that the lemonade is always the best I've ever had, I thank the sellers and give kudos to the parents for raising young entrepreneurs.
Today the young entrepreneurs were a few Dunwoody High School Seniors embarking into the second phase of the Dunwoody High School Academy of Finance who under the tutelage of Mr. Steve Fortenberry (and others) were asked to set up Lemonade Stands in the community. Today wasn't about the lemonade, it was the interaction where it enabled me to learn the hopes & dreams of high school seniors and through those interactions I learned of their school plans, their business ideas that each of them were about to embark upon for the class, be it selling t-shirts, or hosting basketball tournaments.
If you ever have the opportunity to stop at a lemonade stand, I hope you do and if you are able to support the students in the Dunwoody High School of Finance and take advantage of their goods &and services, I hope you can do that too.
Instead of saying kudos to the parents, I offer a special thank you to Mr. Steve Fortenberry who for the last 23 years has been instrumental in raising the next generation of Dunwoody entrepreneurs! Kudos fine sir!
Below is a link I previously publicized to an article published in 1995 in the Atlanta Business Chronicle written by Mr. Fortenberry exploring the class and its goals. I included a snip it of the article below the link to give you some flavor but the whole article is worthwhile.
One of the most important missions that a
high school has is to properly prepare our students for the ever
increasingly competitive global workforce.
The Dunwoody High School Academy of Finance
looks to fulfill this mission and graduate students who are focused and
ready for the challenges that await them. The DHS Academy is a two year
program (11th -12th grades) in which students are exposed to many facets
of the business environment. It is likened to a “mini” MBA, as students
take courses in corporate finance, marketing, entrepreneurship,
personal finance, AP macroeconomics and international business. Further,
the course is heavy in group projects, team competitions, and
interaction with many local business leaders that sharpen the students
networking skills. It is a program that provides students with unique
experiences and a real world curriculum that allows them to begin to
focus in on their potential career path.
The Academy is in its 16th 23rd year at Dunwoody.
Teaching is a second career for me, having left the business world
after 10 years to pursue my passion of teaching. I returned to my alma
mater to establish the Academy of Finance after the parent organization,
the National Academy Foundation, selected Dunwoody High School to have
an Academy. It started with a small group of students in 1999, and has
now grown to an Academy that has 95 juniors and 90 seniors.
