EOU Students in Free Enterprise named regional
champions, qualifying them for national competition
Getting down to business: 2005 SIFE team members who attended the national competition from left: Ted Atkinson, (SIFE advisor) Sara Flesher, Cullen Gilbreath, Jennifer Benton, Andi Aliko, Ben Baker, Adam Owens, Eyrn Adams, Larry Weaver and Mike Lueck.
By Laura Hancock
Media and Publications Writer
lhancock@eou.edu
La Grande, Oregon – The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team at Eastern Oregon University came away with a regional champion title at a recent competition in Seattle, qualifying them for the national competition in Kansas City held in May.
Colleges and universities from all over the Pacific Northwest send their SIFE teams to compete at regionals. EOU’s team was named champion for their league along with Northwest Nazarene University, taking the lead ahead Western Baptist College, the University of Nevada, and Weber State University. A total of 160 SIFE teams qualified for the national competition.
“I felt we did extremely well at the regional competition. We finished ahead of other more well-financed teams,” said Ted Atkinson, EOU SIFE team advisor for the past 6 years.
Atkinson said that when it comes to the competition, there is no separation between universities, no breakdown in size. That means that the 14 members on EOU’s team were competing with schools like Washington State University and Brigham Young University.
“Just to make it to nationals puts you in the top 10 percent in the nation,” Atkinson said.
There are 20 divisions in the first round of the national competition. EOU’s team presented their annual report to a panel of high-powered business executives. Six students highlighted projects involving community outreach.
“People are really, really into the competition,” said EOU student Sara Flesher, who presented two of the team’s projects at nationals. “We competed against much larger teams and we did really good. I was very impressed. Nationals motivated everyone.”
One of Flesher’s favorite projects was called Smart Shopper – a grocery store simulation for kindergartners. The goal was to teach children about the different roles of manager, checkers, shelf stockers and customers in a grocery store. Using empty recycled food containers, the youngsters learned about the cost of goods, brand names versus generic and nutritional values.
Flesher graduated from EOU on June 11 with a degree in business and a minor in media arts. She was a member of SIFE for three years and plans to enter the master’s program at the University of Tennessee.
Although they didn’t make it past the first round of the competition, the SIFE team lived up to its mission to “promote and support the principals of free enterprise through participation and leadership that fosters economic growth and community involvement.”
The La Grande Playground Project, completed during the summer of 2004, found SIFE students showing their support for the community. The team donated more than 250 hours, helping in the planning, organization, and building stages of the new playground structure at Riverside Park.
SIFE has also been working closely with the Rural Oregon Institute, developing economic help programs with more than 20 businesses in rural areas. Atkinson is serving as interim director of this program designed to help support and create primary and secondary manufacturing jobs in rural Oregon. The program is funded by a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant and EOU.
Contact Information for Admissions
Eastern Oregon University
University Advancement
One University Boulevard
Ackerman Hall, Room 209
La Grande, OR 97850
Phone: 541-962-3740
Fax: 541-962-3680
Email: advancement@eou.edu