BPA Marketing and Public Relations BPA Cares Award Morris Area Business Professionals of America Written by: Ian Howden 30-0135-0037 Emma Zosel 30-0135-0096 Peter Schneider 30-0135-0076 Anika Mundal 30-0135-0063 Cali Larson 30-0135-0050 and Madison Wevley 30-0135-0092
Clock Hour Breakdown Details Twitter Facebook YouTube Interest Meetings Superior Ribs and Rides Superior Internships Billboards Total Hours 10 Hours 10 Hours 15 Hours 90 Hours 43 Hours 780 Hours 10 Hours Total Hours: 958 Hours
Twitter Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity Morris BPA Chapter members were interested in using new ways to communicate to one another. For the past three years Morris Business Professionals of America has continued to use social media as a communication tool. The Morris chapter continues to use Twitter to stimulate more opportunities for involvement and advertising purposes through each individual. Morris Business Professionals of America Official Twitter page alerts all members about important and necessary information regarding Business Professionals of America. The Twitter account consists of all material in relation to Morris Business Professionals of America. The Twitter page is helpful as a good reminder for all upcoming events. It features meeting times and days, furthermore displaying due dates of specific Business Professionals of America content and showcasing all Business Professionals of America talent. It has a remarkable way of getting the word out and delivering way its messages to everyone involved. The Official Twitter page also congratulates the chapter on all accomplishments including contest and service projects throughout the community. In the year 2015, Morris Business Professionals of America has posted numerous pictures of Business Professionals of America related news. This included pictures of the local blood drive in Morris, held by the towns Business Professionals of America members, giving thanks to all who donated and participated. There were also images relating to upcoming meetings and interest meetings in hopes to bring together a larger united chapter. The Morris Business Professionals of America Twitter account promotes a business atmosphere and the idea of giving back to others who are in need. It also opens up new ways for the chapter to access information at an apparent level. Twitter sparks interest throughout the general public, as well as applauding all individuals for the service and hard work relating to Business Professionals of America and community projects. By using media, via Twitter, the Morris Chapter is brought together in new forms, measuring leadership, communication, and responsibility roles though each member.
Goals and Results of Activity The goals of the Morris Business Professionals Twitter page are to alert members on information pertaining to BPA. This gives end results of prompt schedules, with exceeding cooperation and clarity. Another goal is to thank and praise all individuals involved for the hard work and effort put forth to create a striving Business Professionals of America chapter and community. Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Amazing Job Today! All your hard work was on showcase and we couldn t be more proud of the chapter! Congratulations Morris BPA! Qtd. From a Tweet from Ian Howden Total Hours 10 hours
Facebook Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity As the social media world expands more rapidly than ever before, the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter utilizes this amenity to convey information to chapter and community members. Social media and social networking has grown more and more rapidly every year since it s unveiling. With the number of users skyrocketing, Facebook has become the powerhouses in the social media world. In this generation, all ages of people use Facebook. High school students and senior citizens alike are accustom to this form of social networking, making it an efficient resource for communication. The Morris Business Professionals of America chapter has utilized this resource throughout the year because of its efficiency. Facebook is easily accessible by both chapter members and the parents of our members. This keeps the students and parents in the loop on all Business Professionals of America happenings. The Morris Area High School Business Professionals of America page is run by the 2014-2015 officer team, more specifically the Public Relations Officer. Postings on the page includes everything the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter is involved. Important dates such as upcoming meetings, chapter projects, or competitions are all sent out frequently as reminders for attendance. This is also done in conjunction with other social media and communication applications such as Twitter and GroupMe. Other Facebook postings include picture uploads of chapter activities such as blood drives, food drives, and a haunted house put on for the Morris Area Elementary School. The Morris Business Professionals of America Facebook page has accumulated likes from many of the chapter members and parents of members also. Outstanding community members have liked the page as well, as they are looking for a way to keep up with the happenings steaming from Morris Area High School. The Morris Business Professionals of America Facebook page is only one of many forms of social networking the chapter uses to notify the students, but it is the most effective way to reach, and inform parents and community members.
Goals and Results of Activity To relay information, such as important dates and meetings coming up, to both chapter members and parents of the members. Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Total Hours Thank you so much for utilizing a Facebook page to keep us parents informed on everything our son forgets to tell us Mary Huebner (chapter members mother) 10 Hours
Morris BPA YouTube Page Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity To increase our sphere of influence and increase the number of individuals that we can relay information to. Social networking is an intertwined part of today's society. It used not just for entertainment, but also as a means to transfer information to a mass audience instead of telling each individual. Many social networking entities have emerged in the past couple of years. Snapchat, Vine, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are the most prevalent. But there is one that has existed for far longer than all of these combined. This is YouTube. YouTube is a special kind of social networking site because it isn't considered one by today's society. The YouTube domain was activated in 2005 but it wasn't until mid-2006 that anyone in the public could upload a video. In 2010 the current thumb rating system was introduced and it was the first site to have this feature. In 2012 it was merged with Google and is now interconnected with a dozen different social media sites. By simply watching a single video you can "share" it to a wide variety of people. The most common being Facebook and Twitter. YouTube is so massive that every day over forty-six million minutes are added to its collection. The way that the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter utilizes YouTube was creating videos for the Celebrate My Drive Grant fundraiser this past year. We needed to get votes for our school, and only so many were available in our rural school district. To help increase our numbers of supporters we used YouTube to create videos so that we could reach out to more people than those who were just around the sparsely populated town of Morris, a city of only five thousand residents. It was essential that we got people to vote for us because we were competing against schools around the nation, and most of the upper ranking schools were two to three times our size in both the school district and the surrounding towns. Through our YouTube videos we were successful in winning the $100,000 grant. We utilized that grant money in helping out in a variety of areas, but predominantly helping our local food shelf, the Special Olympics, and updating our school's water fountains to prevent the
Goals and Results of Activity spread of harmful water transmittable diseases and illnesses. To increases our range and ability to get information out to the public. Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Total Hours It is a lot harder to create a video than I thought it was, but it s well worth it! Carly Gullickson 15 Hours
Interest Meetings Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity Goals and Results of Activity Morris Area Business Professionals of America chapter hosted a fall interest meeting to bring in new members. In the past, the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter had organized a fun interest meeting at Pomme de Terre Park with games, food, and campfire treats. This year we decided to keep it simple by having it in the Morris Area High School auditorium. Since it was held before school, more people were able to come and participate in the meeting compared to when we held it in the park during summer vacation. The purpose of our interest meeting was to encourage more people to join the Morris Area Business Professionals of America chapter. Our target audience was the new ninth graders in the school as they were the kids who have not had a chance to hear about the organization yet due to the age limitations. At the meeting, we made sure that everyone learned about what the organization does together and what you do separately. We made sure they know all the opportunities that Business Professionals of America gives you at becoming a better person. Some of the kids did not know anything about Business Professionals of America so we started by informing them about the different contests and activities there are. Something that the students all were really excited to hear about was nationals being held in California! The notion that they could possibly earn an amazing trip to Anaheim, if they performed well in their contests or in torch, sparked much interest. Another topic we were sure to cover at the meeting was how important the torch awards program was to our chapter. Not all schools do as much community involvement as ours, which makes torch awards program all the more important. Interest meetings might not seem important to some schools, but in Morris they are extremely vital. The Morris chapter always makes sure that every student has an opportunity to learn about and understand Business Professionals of America so that they are equipped make the decision whether or not Business Professionals of America is the right fit for them. The goal was to recruit new members and teach them about Business Professionals of America.
Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Total Hours The interest meeting is always helpful because we get so many new members out of it! Local officer, Emma Zosel 90 hours
Superior Ribs n Rides Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity Goals and Results of Activity The Morris Area Business Professionals of America Chapter was invited to help set up and take down an event for Superior Industries. The annual Ribs and Rides is an extraordinary event put on by one of Morris s most up and coming Business s. Not only has Superior grown a tremendous amount in the past two years, it still allows and recognizes students through community service. The Morris Area Business Professionals of America Chapter looks forward to the annual Ribs and Rides celebration. During this time the members who help out are expected to set up tables, chairs, and other amenities that Superior needs to run the event. Not only do the members get to help with such a phenomenal event, they get to stay, eat, and ride some rides for free! The students begin the day at one o clock p.m. as they set up 50 plus tables and 1,000 chairs. This takes two hours and seventeen people were there to help this past year. Along with setting up the tables and chairs the chapter member s help in setting up silverware, napkins and making sure that there is soda in the coolers. After their initial duties, the members are given a wristband where they can ride the fair rides with all of the Superior Employees. The Ribs and Rides event is only for Superior Employees and their family members. Superior rents out the Stevens Community Fair for one night to host the event. When the night slows down, and the rides quit, the Business Professionals of America chapter members are required to help tear down. This too averages about two hours. The members dissemble the tables and chairs along with taking down awnings and bring back coolers to the trucks. The Morris Area Business Professionals of America Chapter is so grateful for the opportunities that Superior Industries gives them. Along with the fun filled day, the Business Professionals of America members are given the opportunity to network with Business Professionals and get involved with members of the community. The goal was to give aid to Superior Industries to ensure that their event ran smoothly. We worked together successfully and the event went smoothly.
Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Total Hours We really appreciate all of the Morris Area Business Professionals of America help in setting up. It makes our jobs a lot easier. Sydney Beyer 42.5 Hours
Superior Internships Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity Superior is happy to be able to help Morris Business Professionals of America by offering the students internships Superior Industries is a locally owned business that continues to climb the charts of the nation s top fortune 500 companies every year. Superior has extended a special partnership to the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter in this past year; an internship for chapter members. The Superior internship program is way for Business Professionals of America chapter members to pay off expenses necessary to attend State and National Leadership Conferences. The funds are transferred directly to student intern s individual Business Professional of America account. The managers of Superior Industries work the interns and assist them with any questions that may come up. Currently, Kjestina Bruer, Carlie Zimmel, and Madison VanBatavia are partaking in the internships opportunity through Superior. The internship is two days a week from the hours of 3:30 to 5:30pm. When these three students are at work they make lock out tags, taken from safety manuals, for every piece of machinery in the workplace. These manuals will be displayed on each machine to show how to properly lock out the machine in case of an emergency. This is a requirement distributed and monitored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Another job done by the interns is to hold meetings with the shop workers and retrain them on how to properly use the machines they work with every day. To do so, the interns must read the employees all the steps in order to start the machine, how to run the machine properly, and how to lock it down and tag out the machine in an orderly fashion. This is beneficial to the company because it helps keep all workers safe, while also keeping them up to date on the job required of them. More specific work is assigned to the students. Jobs such as updating leadership boards for each shop floor, as well as updating and entering audits for machine parts are among these more specific jobs. Superior s partnership with the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter has proven to be extremely valuable, as the experiences of the interns paired with the numerous community connections made while in the work place have prepared the young High School students to succeed in all their future plans within Business Professionals of America, as well as outside in the community.
Goals and Results of Activity From doing this internship students will benefit by having better work experience, learning about safety requirements and being able to have support from a local business by providing money to attend BPA trips and the other expenses. Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Total Hours I am so excited about the partnership formed with Morris BPA through this internship program. These students are gaining great skills that are unmatched to many experiences they will encounter. Jim Wellendorf (Superior) 780 (10 hours a week X 26 weeks X 3 people)
Billboard Display Reason For Involvement Full Description of Activity Multiple businesses throughout the community have formed a sponsorship together to fund a billboard located on the highway entering Morris. Over the past two years this billboard has displayed congratulatory messages to Region, State, and National officers from the Morris BPA chapter. Over the past five years, the Morris Business Professionals of America chapter has prided ourselves on hard work and involvement within the chapter, as well as outside in the community. These movements and dedication are often student lead, providing those students with a greater sense of leadership and responsibility. With that said, every year a one or two chapter members seek out higher forms of leadership and campaigns for a region, state, or even national office. This year local Business Professionals of America chapter members Ian Howden and Aaron Jones took this opportunity and campaigned for higher offices. Mr. Howden campaigned for Minnesota Region 7 office and was elected Vice President. Mr. Jones campaigned for the Minnesota State Officer Team and was elected to State Executive Historian. Both of these are great accomplishments and reflect the talented and hard working students of Morris Area High School. Local businesses in the town of Morris acknowledge this accomplishment as well and in turn create a billboard to showcase the students. Image Xperts, a local t- shirt and printing business, has formed a partnership with Morris Area High School in order to legally display the student s images. Once this partnership was made, Image Xperts was able to print off the numerous billboard images displayed over the years. Additional businesses that fund the billboard include Morris Electronics, Pizza Ranch, Heartland Motors, Acira, West Central Wiring, and Taco Johns. The billboard is located at the junction of Minnesota State Highway 9 and Minnesota State Highway 28 and can be seen as you enter Morris from the north. The billboard is a city wide known figure and represents the youth in the community proudly. The billboard display is well liked by all generations of Morris resident s as students, adults, and senior citizens are all proud of the community accomplishments of those who call it home.
Goals and Results of Activity To showcase local students, in Morris s BPA chapter, for all their hard work and dedication within the program and in the community. Photo(s) Quote from Someone Involved Total Hours That s an awfully nice display, congratulations you too, you represent the community well! Paul Martin (local Business owner) 10 Hours