Recently, Jim Thorpe Area’s High School and Middle School Future Business Leaders of America have been pushing their program to new heights. One way they have done this is by recognizing American Enterprise Day. American Enterprise Day celebrates free enterprise in the American economy. It was established in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter and it offers

FBLA the chance to observe and celebrate the American entrepreneurial spirit.

JT FBLA honored American Enterprise Day by planning two separate field trips. The first group, consisting of LB Morris students and some high school students, visited Lehigh Valley Hospital - Carbon and the Lehighton Outdoor Center, and the second group, consisting of Penn Kidder and some high school students, who visited Pocono Organics and Pocono Whitewater. A total of 68 members attended from Jim Thorpe’s three chapters.

The first group visited Lehigh Valley Hospital - Carbon, which started with an informational session about the kinds of jobs that they can have in the hospital (nurse, laboratory tech, IT department, pharmaceuticals, etc.).

The group then toured the emergency room, radiology unit, physical therapy, and the laboratory. The trip was mainly geared toward informing students about jobs that you can have in a hospital, not just doctors and nurses.

Next, the group went to the Lehighton Outdoor Center, where owner Jerry McAward talked to the members about how he started his business. McAward focused on the importance of standards in the workplace and how it has shaped his distinguished reputation across Carbon County.

The second group began with a tour of Pocono Organics. The Pocono Organics staff was welcoming and thoroughly went through each of their operation management systems including the greenhouses, café, market, mushroom garden, and composting processes. Pocono Organics was very family oriented and offered much insight into their sustainability goals, as well as history.

Following the tour of Pocono Organics, the group traveled to Pocono Whitewater where they learned about Pocono Whitewater, Skirmish Paintball, and Pocono Biking and were given the opportunity to learn about the marketing process and requirements of running a business. The current co-owner and chief financial officer Sky Fogal, and the director of marketing Nikki Hurley, were informative when describing what it takes for a business to not only succeed but to thrive as well.

The experiences that students had on American Enterprise Day helped them to understand some of the behind the scenes actions that occur in local businesses in our area.