Vision Quest Program Mentors High School Students
Published Mar 03, 2008
Envision this: high school juniors with an entrepreneurial inclination being mentored by business leaders who have “been there, done that.” Well, some Fannin County, Ga., visionaries saw the potential benefits of such an arrangement and decided to act on it.
With a $10,000 Entrepreneur Friendly Implementation Grant, the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce and the Fannin County Development Authority partnered to launch Vision Quest, a program aimed at developing the county’s future business leaders.
“Most of the businesses in our area are small, locally owned [establishments], and the owners were concerned about getting kids to come back here after college to start businesses of their own,” says Kristin Gunia, director of the Fannin County Development Authority. “So that’s how we came up with
the idea. The program’s goal is to get kids to come back to Fannin. And, hopefully, they will develop leadership skills they can use anywhere.”
At weekly meetings from September through November, participants engage in team-building activities, practice public speaking, learn about work ethics and business practices, and formulate their own ideas and plans for future businesses in Fannin County – all under the mentorship of local business owners.
The program culminates with a competition in which teams of students present their business plans to community leaders.
Story by Carol Cowan
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