~Bennett, CFO Tacoma Water Company~On Friday, Bennett's 5th grade class went to Junior Achievement. This is such a great program. There is a small city set up inside the building...and before the kids attend they are given a job at one of the businesses, they are given a checkbook and basic information on how their day will progress. The kids are paid a salary twice during the day, and on their break and lunch they are to go to the bank, deposit their paycheck, open a savings account, and withdraw cash to purchase snacks and lunch at the restaurant. They are encouraged to go out into the retail stores and purchase items by writing checks (many corporations sponsor this program so for instance the Mariners Team store has items donated by the Mariners).
Bennett's job was, Chief Financial Officer of the Water Company. His job was to input his company's loan amount into their computer, do payroll for all of their employees (5), pay bills to the other businesses for their services (ie:newspaper advertising, electricity, IRS, Recycling, insurance, rent, etc...), and input payments other business made to the Water Company, and at the end of the day did all the bank deposits, and then printed out a balance sheet to make sure their company acquired enough assets to pay off their loan amount.
It was such a full day, but it is so amazing to watch these kids. There is another program 8th grade students participate in, and at the high school level, 9th graders attend "mock" job interviews in the field of their choice. Powell did his interview this year...had to wear a shirt and tie, go through the interview process, and then was notified if he got the job or not. He did
