Future Business Leaders of America at Crunch Pak article

CASHMERE— While keeping an eye ahead, the Future Business Leaders of America must also live in the present. FBLA students from Cashmere High School recently combined real-time skills with financial forecasting. On December 14 eight members of Trevor Kert’s Advanced Computer Applications class presented on the important of 401K and investing to over 40 employees at Crunch Pak, a local company that focuses on healthy snacks.

“It is always difficult to get up in front of a group to present, so any opportunity to do this helps grow and develop this skill,” said Chad Zimmerman, Vice President of Human Resources at Crunch Pak. “The students spoke well and answered questions.  It was a great experience for the students and a great partnership for Crunch Pak.”

Kert leads the students in FBLA and CTE (career and technical education) classes. Both entities contain leadership components. FBLA has nine specific goals, one of which is community outreach. In Kert’s classes, he teaches his students modern programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel. During fall, he and several students toured the new Crunch Pak facility where these programs, and others, are used every day. After the tour, Kert posed a question to Zimmerman. “How can we come back and do something for you guys?” The two conceived the idea of students visiting with employees and using PowerPoint to emphasize the importance of early investments and starting a 401K. Kert made the project a classroom assignment and divided his group into teams. After they made their slideshows, the class voted on the best presentations, and those students earned the right to bring their projects to Crunch Pak. For most of the students, this project proved their first time speaking in public. Yet Kert didn’t have to twists the arms of his kids. The students were eager to volunteer and practiced in front of the class with a big audience. Zimmerman also visited the classroom to help hone the presentations. He sent the students the Crunch Pak 401K plan details which helped influence the content of their slides. The chosen students presented in both Spanish and English. Each group had over 20 employees. The students’ poise and flexibility impressed Kert as they had to answer questions and in some cases translate those inquiries on the spot.

“The big part about CTE classes is you try to bring the real world into the classroom,” Kert said. “A cool part of this project is that they got to leave the classroom twice, once this fall to see a real office that was using what they were learning in the advanced computer class, and then they also got to get into a real office.”

Before the presentation, the students were immersed in the complex world of retirement and financial planning after partaking in a nine-week budget simulation called Budget Challenge. This activity helped accomplish another FBLA goal: increasing students’ knowledge of sound financial management. Through the Budget Challenge, done mostly outside of class, these budding investors learned how to pay bills and budget their assets. They placed money from their paychecks into the simulated 401K and watched it shrink or grow. Kert said this experience helped them directly with their Crunch Pak presentations.

“We cover the important things that will help them learn to pay bills on time and to invest early. There are all sorts of stuff about credit cards and credit score,” he said. “That simulation helps team them that part. That’s where they got some of their material to teach others by learning the importance of starting to invest early.”

With the students becoming teachers, both parties benefitted. Zimmerman feels partnering with local schools and expanding these efforts is a key goal of his company moving forward.

“We received feedback from our employees that they enjoyed having the group of high school students here presenting to them and how it was a great opportunity for us to continue to partner with local high schools,” Zimmerman said. “The true benefit for our employees was that the presentations created conversation and raised additional questions around benefits offered by the company, what employees needed to do to participate in 401k benefits, and generally had people thinking and talking about saving for retirement.”