Activites (08-09)

Traveling down Highway 27, many members commented about the litter problem that exists on our highways. We decided to do something about it. This fall, FBLA joined with the Department of Transportation, and has officially “Adopted a Highway”. Our stretch of highway is from Darknell Road to the Palouse Highway, approximately two miles. On May 31, we hit the road for our second time this year and picked up 36 bags of litter. Helping out were: Chelsa Ayers, Danny Cossey, MacKenzie DeRuyter, Josh Grandinetti, Stacy Sainsbury, Travis Sorensen, Felicity Weathers, Hanna Weathers and Advisor Scott Moore.

On Saturday, November 22, fifteen FBLA members and four adults spent three hours cleaning up the highway, collecting over 56 bags of trash! Kudos go out to Andy Coumont, Dalton Fetsch, Brandon Hollen, Taryn Wingett, Audrey Fish, John Peters, Amanda Malloy, Allie Fetsch, Carlee Gude, Leah Willard, Austin Fish, Cameron Moore, Rachel Kettenburg, Megan Primmer and Dalton Reilly. Parents helping out were Leslie Malloy, Candy Fetsch, Kelly Fish, and advisor Scott Moore. Scott Hollen also contributed by bringing hot chocolate and donuts when the group took a break.
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We are encouraged to lead by example throughout our lives; however, nothing emphasizes this point more than a sixth grader mirroring your bad example. Business Boot Camp, sponsored by the Freeman Chapter of FBLA, gave the opportunity to lead such sixth graders to the high school members of the club. For a week, the entire sixth grade class at the Freeman Middle School participated in a business simulation designed to expose them to all of the essential components of starting and managing a business. The interesting thing? I’m sure that the high school students learned just as much as the sixth graders that they were teaching. The whole experience was something different from the average classroom experience, forcing the FBLA members to think on their feet and consciously consider their actions before acting. The consequences if these steps were not taken? Sword fighting with glue sticks. In between the shenanigans, the lessons were well-received, and the results produced were impressive. The companies created produced catapults, athletic gear, and musical instruments. They advertised with music, flyers, and sponsorships. Being at the end-of-the-week Investor Fair made me want to be in sixth grade again, and made me marvel at all of the miraculous ideas that these middle school students had thought of. The whole experience made the chapter realize just how important our teachers are, as well as showing us just how quickly you have to think to nip a problem in the bud. And yes, I did succeed in ending that glue stick sword fight… eventually.

-Felicity Weathers

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Freeman FBLA has supported the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery since 1999. In the "Burgers with a Heart" program, FBLA members volunteer at Red Robin (in February) and sell paper hearts to community members for donations of $1 or more. Red Robin also donates $.50 to the nursery for every gourmet burger sold. For the last four years, Freeman High School has raised more money than any other high school in the greater Spokane area. This year, we raised $1559! With this accomplishment, our chapter has been awarded with the “Spirit With A Heart” trophy for the fourth straight year! During this time, we are proud to have raised nearly $7000 for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. Funds raised in the “Burgers with a Heart” program go directly to support the Nursery.

On Sunday, December 14, Freeman FBLA sponsored our sixth annual "Freeman Cares 4 Kids". This was a day where parents could drop off their kids and then go shopping, decorate the house, or simply take in a movie! Although the freezing winter conditions kept some kids at home, those that came had a wonderful time! They had the opportunity to make a "bunch" of things in our craft area; Could play one of a number of board games (Chutes and Ladders, Twister, Candyland, etc...); Relax and watch one of our many movies (Walle, Elf, How the Grich Stole Christmas, etc...); Jump and bounce to their hearts content in our new feature - the Jumping Castle; Challenge themselfs in our video game room (four different game systems, with numerous games, projected onto large screens); Play one of many "athletic games", including basketball, bowling, and/or whiffleball; and also enjoy some snacks to get their energy back to do it all over again! Our Chapter is especially thankful for "Charlie's Produce". For the sixth straight year, Charlie's donated a great deal of fruit to our snack room! Thank you for your continued support of our chapter! We couldn't have done it without your generosity.
Parents - Thank you for trusting us to watch over your kids! Also, thank you so much for your donations to help us be able to provide this program and to raise funds for FBLA.
Members - Thank you so much for working during this day! We couldn't have done it without your commitment and energy!

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The weekend before Halloween, our chapter, with the tremendous help of numerous parents, especially Candy Fetsch, Brent Fetsch and John Grandinetti, transformed the cafeteria and stage into a haunted house.    We began setting up after school on Friday, from 3 to 11 pm.  After spending Friday night and all day Saturday building walls and decorating (over 40 sheets of plywood and 5 gallons of paint were used), we were ready to scare our “customers”.   As visitors arrived at the school, they were greeted by 3 gruesome “villains”, one chasing after people with a chainsaw.   After walking though a haunted cemetery, our guests entered our “house”.  Complete with ghouls, headless prisoners, and spiders galore, the house terrified just under 200 people.  After going through the house, our guests were treated to a dance (music provided by FBLA members Dalton Fetsch and Andy Coumont) and concessions in the gym.   The Haunted House was a way for us to provide a fun event for the school and community in addition to raising funds for our FBLA chapter.  We also used this night as a way to give back to the community.   If our guests bought 3 cans of food  it reduced the cost of admission.  All food items were then donated to the Rockford Food Bank.  We’re looking forward to the Second Annual Freeman Haunted House, coming Halloween 2009.  Stayed tuned!  A big thank you goes out to all the parents and members that help to build and run the haunted house that night, and to all those that supported us with your attendance!

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The Portland trip was awesome, we learned a ton at Mcafee and UL, and the Trailblazers game was intense!

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