Forty students from nineteen West Virginia schools attended the in-person Youth Leadership Association Entrepreneurship Camp at YMCA Camp Horseshoe near Leadmine June 13-19, sponsored by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Barbour County Chamber of Commerce.
Pictured above, from left, JoLynn Powers, the Executive Director of Adaland, presented the Barbour Chambers’ check in the amount of $ 1,000 to Emily Huguenin, Assistant Camp Director and Camp Director David Cooper while Philip Barbour High School freshman Joe Kittle looked on.
Except for the special precautions required by Covid-19, the camp’s schedule included the usual camp activities, campfires and cabin inspections, while focusing on workshops and field trips to and about working businesses. A full quota of judges from the business community spent most of the day judging the multiple facets of teams of students organizing and implementing their own business plan, including a mock-up of their establishments.
This year’s virtual mall floor plan included a Books Café, Mono Salon featuring hair and nail treatments, a Farmer’s Market, and Ink + Bung, an upscale tattoo parlor. The judges declared the Farmer’s Market to be the most cooperative team, Mono Salon to be the most creative, and the Books Café to be the “Best Enterprise.” Judging was based on business plans, loan applications, customer service and personnel priorities, an employee manual, advertising, and demonstrated team spirit.