A team from Queen Elizabeth II High School has won the Junior Achievement Company of the Year 2013 title.
Cameron Avery, Nick Corlett, Alex Eaton, Adam McCauley and Dan Martin, who make up Team Vindex, took away the trophy at the Company of the Year awards ceremony supported by the Boston Charitable Foundation and held at the Palace Hotel, Douglas on Wednesday March 19th.
The Company of the Year challenge tasks students taking part in Junior Achievement’s company programme to form and run a company, with the support and advice of teachers and mentors drawn from the local business community.
Vindex came up with the idea of supplying organisations with products that can be branded with their corporate logo and also works with charities to provide ‘memorable merchandise’ to help in their fundraising efforts. The team recently sealed a deal to supply branded promotional material to Celton Manx for two events being sponsored by the global online sports book operator.
Presenting the Company of the Year award Boston Group chief executive Greg Ellison said Vindex had started with a ‘solid business idea’, were distinguished by their professionalism, had grasped the importance of sharing responsibilities and showed ‘huge energy’ throughout the months-long process.
The company programme was, he said, ‘the flagship’ of Junior Achievement, which exposed would-be entrepreneurs to the highs and lows of running a business, taught them how to overcome challenges and equipped them with real-life skills for the world of work. It was against this background that the Boston Charitable Foundation had confirmed its significant three-year financial commitment to Junior Achievement, said Mr Ellison.
In her opening remarks Junior Achievement’s chief executive Sue Cook said all the teams should be proud of what they had achieved and she praised them for ‘doing a brilliant job’ in the imaginative way they had presented their stands at the trade fair, a key component in the Company of the Year judging process. Concluding with a vote of thanks to the many organisations and individuals who had lent their support she said: ‘Anything is possible with Junior Achievement.’
The evening was also marked by a welcome return of SuperJam founder and Junior Achievement ambassador Fraser Doherty, back in the Island to present the Fraser Doherty Award for Innovation which went to another QEII team, Mist 3, for devising mist-free swimming goggles.
A musical interlude was provided by Mae Challis, the 14-year-old singer/songwriter from St Ninian’s High School who was placed in the top three in Junior Achievement’s Next Big Thing talent contest held in February.
Junior Achievement Company of the Year 2013 awards:
The Appleby Award for Social Responsibility: Active (QEII)
The Deloitte Award for Outstanding Team Member: Joshua Croston, Smooth-Easy (Castle Rushen High School)
The AXA Isle of Man Special Recognition Award: Dan Martin (Vindex, QEII)
The Friends Provident International Award for Volunteer Mentor of the Year: Bev Critchlow 5* Systems (Castle Rushen High School)
The Barclays Award for Best Trade Stand: Vindex (QEII)
The Junior Achievement Award for Best Report: Vindex (QEII)
The Fraser Doherty Award for Innovation: Mist 3 (QEII)
The Maggie Galloway Memorial Award for Inspirational Leadership: Charlotte Burke, Reflect (Ballakermeen High School)
The Richard Holt Award for Students’ Choice: BeesKnees (Ballakermeen High School)
Team Vindex will go on to represent the Isle of Man in London this July in JA-YE Europe Company of the Year competition.
With the support of more than 300 volunteers (and more are needed) from business and the wider community Junior Achievement reaches more than 5000 young people from five to 18 in schools in the Isle of Man. To continue its work Junior Achievement has to raise ?300,000 each year. To find out more contact Sue Cook, suecook@jaiom.im or visit www.jaiom.im.
Please like the charity’s Facebook page - Junior Achievement Isle of Man – where you can view the video and the photos from the event.
Photo - Boston Group chief executive Greg Ellison with Junior Achievement Company of the Year winners Vindex from QEII. Front row, Cameron Avery, Alex Eaton and Nick Corlett. Back row, Adam McCauley and Dan Martin with the team’s business mentor Will Kelly of Lancaster and Kelly. Picture Andrew Barton
