Several area students took part in Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week 2011 this summer. Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week brings students from across Pennsylvania to Lycoming College and Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport each summer to participate in one of the four one-week programs. Local students that graduated from PFEW 2011 include: Ananya Anmangandla, Eric Bai, Tilman Borhan, Sarah Carlin, Daniel Damato, Jessica De Lucia, Erik Desantis, Brett Duvernois, Megan Earley, Nate Forzato, Reed Hostrander and Reeba Ivan, all of Methacton High School

PFEW is designed to give today’s youth a better understanding of our free enterprise system and how businesses operate and succeed with it. When a student arrives at PFEW, he or she is put into an imaginary company with approximately 16-18 other students. These companies will spend their week as part of a new management team where they will name this new company, which produce’s anything from cellular phones or backpacks to tooth brushes or skateboards, just to name a few. This new management team makes decisions on the cost of their product, the amount to spend on marketing, budgets for production, research and development, stock offerings, and market strategies. The company also puts together an advertising campaign completing the decision-making that managing a business typically demands.

Several competitions take place during the week, including a computer-driven business simulation, a stockholders’ presentation, an advertising presentation, and in an attempt to release the days’ stress an executive fitness competition (volleyball). In addition to these competitions, there are numerous speakers that discuss topics such as the relationship of business and government; leadership and management skills; setting and achieving goals; money and baking; environmental issues; business ethics; personal motivation and more. With all of these speakers and competitions, you would think that there isn’t time for anything else. However, each week students make and promote imaginary products with junk, as well as, debate some of the issues facing the business world today. The Foundation for Free Enterprise Education, PFEW’s parent organization, is currently supported by more than 800 companies and organizations.

Plans for PFEW 2012 are already underway. Anyone interested in receiving information may write or call Michelle Warofka, Manager of Schools, Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week, 3076 West 12^th St., Erie, PA 16505, e-mail us at info@pfew.org, call us at (814) 833-9576, or visit our Website www.pfew.org.

Photos above includes students from around the state.