Pictured is Jace Duckworth and Renan Campos of "D3," making a pitch to local business woman Trish Bisbee. The company produced a pair of glasses that do just about anything, according to the salesman.
The buzz in downtown Raymond last weekend was the annual Business Week, which brings the juniors from all three high schools together.
The week-long Washington Business Week Program placed students into dynamic teams, led by industry professionals, where they spent the week launching a company and sharpening leadership skills.
The program was sponsored by many local businesses as well as the GEAR UP Program. There were about 10 students in each company made up from a mix of the different high school students. Students learned about running a business, the various decisions that must be made, including financial planning and marketing.
Each company worked with a volunteer Company Adviser, who helped enlighten them on the various facets of a businesses. These included such local businessmen as Chris Halpin, Ron Brummell, as well as Pacific County Fair Manager Dotsi Graves,, Christy Vessel, of Northwest Credit Union, Kelsey Hopstad, of Grays Harbor College, Tali Cooper, Becca Manlow and Boeing employee Traci Oden.
Different businesses and churches volunteered space so each company could have their own private setting, including Great Northwest Credit Union, Security State Bank, New Life, Raymond Fire Hall, Raymond City Hall, and Raymond Elks.
Then Friday came with the students dressing up to present and market the products they had invented to local volunteers. There were more than 30 volunteers from the community and local businesses who acted as judges and investors.
Maria Chavez, one of the interns, said, "It is the community support that makes this program so great.
It gives our students opportunities to show strengths they did not even suspect they had. Overall, the week brought out some wonderful connections and outreach opportunities for our students."