UNION SIFE TEAM WINS FOURTH REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Jackson, Tenn. — 51ÉçÇø's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team captured its fourth consecutive regional championship title during competition Tuesday in Atlanta.
Union's team swept the regional competition, also capturing a first place "Halt the Deficit Award" for their projects geared toward educating the community about the national debt and a first place "Success 2000 Award" for projects targeting the economically disadvantaged. In addition to trophies, the team won $3,500 in prize money.
Upper-level executives from Fortune 500 organizations judged the event, which drew a field of approximately 700 students representing universities from across the Southern United States. Judy Leforgee, administrative assistant in the McAfee School of Business Administration, said that many of Union's students were able to obtain job interviews with top companies while in Atlanta.
This year's presentation showed judges a sampling of 104 projects that were completed during the year. Stephanie Goode, a Union SIFE team member, explained the intensity of emotions during the competition. "It was a natural high," she said. A day after the event, Goode said, "I'm still on 'cloud-nine."
The team's dynamic performance in Atlanta earned Union it's fourth berth in SIFE's international competition May 19-20 in Kansas City, Mo., where they will compete in a field of 50 teams representing universities from across the United States and several foreign countries.
"We think we have a good chance in this year's international competition," Bobby Walker, a SIFE team member, said. "We have a lot of preparation left to do before we head to Kansas City." "And we've got a lot of potential," Goode added.
The Union team's key projects from the past year include Junior SIFE, a five-week project in which team members taught 29 area sixth and seventh grade classes basic free enterprise principles. Modeling their own organization, SIFE members then sponsored projects and competition among the 29 "junior" teams in March.
Another successful project was their cooperation with CARE, Jackson's Center for Adult Reading and Enrichment. SIFE team members were trained to tutor individuals in basic learning skills. Team memebers worked with five Jackson residents – one has already passed the GED and the other four are scheduled to take the test in May.
SIFE is an international, not-for-profit organization that promotes a better understanding and greater appreciation of the free enterprise system.