Junior Achievement of Central Ohio is honored to be hosting the 18th Annual Hall of Fame Ceremony. Sixty prominent business leaders are now Laureates, and this year, we add three more distinguished business leaders.
I would like to congratulate Ed Overmyer, Bill Blaine and Jim Hopkins for being chosen as this year’s inductees. Each displays the type of entrepreneurial spirit, relentless drive and community leadership with which we are proud to be associated. They set a great example with their passion, leadership and people skills.
The Central Ohio Business Hall of Fame allows us to recognize the excellence that we see in local leaders and strive to pass on that excellence through our volunteers who teach in the classrooms of Central Ohio. It is this tradition of excellence that drives us to continue to be the largest and fastest-growing organization dedicated to teaching young people about business, economics and personal finance.
Our volunteers teach children how to balance a checkbook, get a job and run a business. We explore the basics of personal finance, global economic issues and real-life small business risks. Each year, we reach more than 20,000 students in Central Ohio, ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade.
We at Junior Achievement of Central Ohio are committed to our push into the urban and rural school districts in Central Ohio. The needs of these children are diverse, but the potential impact of a solid economic education, combined with the knowledge that a volunteer from the community cares enough to spend time in the classroom, can yield immeasurable results for our community.
We will also continue to deliver quality programs to our current JA school districts.
I invite you not only to join us in congratulating our honorees, but also to help us develop the business leaders of tomorrow. In the short run, our children will be better prepared for their schoolwork and standardized tests. In the long run, they will be better prepared employees, future business leaders and community citizens.
I look forward to working with the leaders of today to develop the leaders of tomorrow.
MICHAEL SCHOEDINGER is chairman of the board of Junior Achievement of Central Ohio.
