The Enumclaw and White River high school student stores are being honored by DECA – again.
The School-Based Enterprise at both were among 43 school stores to achieve Gold Level Certification this year. They will be recognized at DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Louisville, Ky., April 23-28.
School-Based Enterprises are educational tools that help prepare students for the transition from school to work or college. For many students, they provide the first work experience. For others, they provide an opportunity to build management, supervision and leadership skills.
DECA’s SBE certification is designed to recognize achievement and encourage excellence and growth.
School stores can be certified on three levels: bronze, silver and gold. SBEs submit extensive documentation which is reviewed by a committee.
This is the second straight year for the Enumclaw store to be honored and the third consecutive for White River.
It’s not an easy feat, advisers Carol Jackson, EHS, and Randy Wilson, WRHS, said. The first step is for students to put together an 80-page manual.
“It’s a lot of work for the kids,” Jackson said.
“We’re just lucky because we have good kids,” Jackson said of the two schools’ success. “He’s got good kids and I’ve got good kids.”
The two stores are similar. Both operate on campus and students make the decisions. Both sell coffee drinks, beverages, snacks and apparel or spirit items to students. They also open their doors to the community. Jackson anticipates the store will generate more than $30,000 in gross sales this year. Sales, she said, were boosted by EHS’s appearances at state athletic tournaments.
Enumclaw, which has operated a student store in some form for 22 years, has Allison Smith at the helm this year. She will make the trip to Kentucky along with store accountant Breanna Flaquinti. Both are seniors.
“They do a really good job,” Carol Jackson said. “I’m going to miss them next year.”
White River’s Hornet’s Nest opened seven years ago on the new campus and is expected to generate $50,000 in gross sales this year. Senior Jacob Klein has been the driving force behind it’s three straight honors.
“He’s rolled with it and made it happen,” Wilson said of the full-time Running Start student who squeezes store management into his schedule. “He’s a bright, young man who takes ownership.”
Klein is White River’s first student to double qualify. He will not be making the trip as a student-store representative, but rather has chosen to attend with classmate Frannie Nunn in the Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making category. The pair placed sixth at the state level to earn a shot at the International contest.
Amedeo Gallucci and Jaron Cramer will go as SBE representatives and Jessica Tidwell will attend the future leader academy.
At the conference, SBE representatives will exchange information with student store managers from across the country. They are also asked to make a presentation. White River, which talked about promotions last year, has chosen operations for its presentation this year, while Enumclaw plans to talk about customer service.
