- Coshocton High School launched an Entrepreneurs Club last year with support from Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio Achievement in Canton.
- The club meets during the day with 6-8 members. They use Junior Achievement's Be Entrepreneurial curriculum and have speakers from the community. Kirby Hasseman is in action.
- In addition, students took field trips to businesses in downtown Coshocton last spring, and 105 students attended the recent Junior Achievement College and Career Fair in Worcester.
- Club officials say the idea is to provide networking and encourage young people to start their own companies and make a positive impact on their communities.
COSHOCTON – Encouraging the next generation of local small business owners is the goal of Coshocton High School's Entrepreneurs Club.
The advisor is Adam Clark, who has taught at CHS for 17 years and is currently a lecturer in economics and personal finance. He said the club was started last year and had six to eight members this year. We meet during open days on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The concept was based on Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio's desire to start such a local group, said Clark, owner of Hasseman Marketing and Communications and Coshocton. He said discussions were held with Kirby Hasseman, former president of the county Chamber of Commerce.
“I had wanted to start an Entrepreneurs Club in Coshocton County for years. There just wasn't the right time or the right partner,” Hasseman said until Junior Achievement got involved. “The idea is simple: give interested kids a bit of information about how to start a business. And give them practical ideas on how to get started.”
Clark said they utilize the organization's three-part “Be Entrepreneurial” curriculum and have guest speakers talk about their businesses and how they started. They include Mr. Hasseman, Carly Thompson of Howard Hanna Real Estate, Michelle Turner Gantz of Dean's Jewelry and Tiffany Swigert of the Coshocton Port Authority. Last spring, a walking tour of downtown Coshocton was held where students visited local businesses and learned about projects such as the Coshocton Collaborative.
“Kids get real-life advice from businesspeople and networking begins,” Clark said of the value to students.
Along with her real estate company, Ms. Thompson told students about the other businesses she and her husband Jason operate. This includes the Thompson Business Center and Annex, Thompson's Ninety-Nine Restaurant, and Glasson Property and Construction.
She talked about how when she first got an apartment and wrote a rent check, she knew she wanted to at least be a homeowner, or perhaps the person receiving rent checks from others.
“Having regular people come and visit classes makes it meaningful to them,” Thompson said. “This is something down-to-earth and real that anyone can invest their time, effort, and education into, where they can put all the resources they have into something and graduate from high school.” You can immediately make a difference for your students.” ”
In the future, Clark would like to further develop mentor-mentee relationships and participate in national business competitions sponsored by Junior Achievement.
Junior Achievement also sponsored a recent trip by 105 of the school's students to the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Worcester for the College and Career Fair. This moved not only the club members but also many students.
“It helped students personally outside of the club. It came from networking with me,” Clark said of the connections the Entrepreneurs Club has made with Junior Achievement.
Clark said they are always looking for new speakers and connections to the community, and those interested can contact Clark at Coshocton High School or Hasseman at Hasseman Marketing.
Leonard Hayhurst is the community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune, with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. Contact him at 740-295-3417 or [email protected]. Follow @llhayhurst on X (formerly his Twitter).
