The Millstone Times April 2022

MONMOUTH REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HOSTS ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL TEAM CHALLENGE

In December 2021, the Monmouth Regional Chamber of Commerce (MRCC) Education Founda- tion was proud to host its annual Team Challenge event, which provides local high school students with hands-on experience in team building, creative problem solving, and dealing with the ethical decision-making process within the context of real-world business problems. Nearly 100 students from all six FRHSD schools participated in the Team Challenge. The program is presented each year by the MRCC Education Foundation, whose mission is to serve current and future business leaders within the greater Monmouth area by providing information and programs designed to develop the business and leadership skills needed to successfully serve employees, cus- tomers, and communities, in a profitable and ethical manner and to promote public awareness of business and its value to the community. By day’s end on December 2, trophies were awarded to the top three finishing teams, with Marl- boro High School taking first place, Colts Neck High School taking second place, and Howell High School in third place. Monmouth County Commissioner, Director Thomas Arnone, presented the awards and spoke enthusiastically about the merits of the Team Challenge program and its poten- tial expansion as a county-wide initiative for students throughout the Monmouth area, with hopes of having it held at Brookdale Community College in future years. Afterwards, Team Challenge participants were given the opportunity to submit essays about their personal experience and involvement with the program. In February 2022, the MRCC Education Foundation presented two of the essay contestants with $500 scholarships, courtesy of the Vasa Foundation. Hosted by Erika Boyer at Edward Jones – Marlboro, the evening turned out to be even

more exciting when featured guest NJ Senator, Vin Gopal, surprised everyone by presenting matching scholarships for both students, bringing their total awards to $1,000 each. The happy essay contest winners were Katrine Birkeland fromManalapan High School and Jonna Crocker from Howell Township High School, who were applauded at the reception by MRCC members and Freehold Regional High School District (FRHSD) administrators. Team Challenge uses the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics framework from Santa Clara University to explore business issues that have complex eth- ical implications. Prior to the actual competition, the MRCC brought in a guest speaker and conducted a teacher training program as well as a student orientation to provide an overview of the challenge and the process. The topic of this year’s “Ethics and Business Initiative for Tomorrow’s Leaders” was an Apple vs. FBI case study. Over a period of weeks, the students worked together in teams to show their understanding of the dilemma, formulate solu- tions, and create presentations for a panel of judges from within the business community. Judging this year’s competition were Monmouth County Com- missioner Deputy Director Susan Kiley, Sharon Konvit of CentraState Healthcare Foundation, Sylvia Allen of Allen Consulting, Bill Bladel of Integrated Health & Business Solutions, Gerald Cioci of Cioci Law Firm, and Tom Principe of SalesSXess. Hailed as a true partnership between local business and education, the Team Challenge program prepares students to effectively enter the workforce and assume leadership positions in their careers and in the community by encouraging teamwork, creative interdependence, communication skills, and ethical decision-making. Businesses and organizations from throughout the area generously lent their support as Team Challenge sponsors. Thanks go to: Essay Scholarship Sponsor – Vasa Foundation Platinum Sponsor – Brookdale Community College Gold Sponsors – New Jersey Natural Gas, Monmouth Medical Center/RWJ Barnabas Health Silver Sponsors – CentraState Healthcare System, Allstate, Springpoint Living at Manalapan, Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, Society for the Preven- tion of Teen Suicide, Investors Bank Bronze Sponsors – Glen Eagle Advisors, Farmers Insurance, Monmouth University, Central Jersey Pools, Sunrise Optimist Club of Freehold, New Jersey City University @ Fort Monmouth, County of Monmouth, NJ The dedicated members of the 2021 MRCC Team Challenge committee included co-chairs Mitali Vasa and Erika Boyer, Mark Viggiani, Bonnie Pres- ton, Anne Dubon, Jay Robinson, David Jacobs, Maureen Fasano, and Brand Ambassador Jeremy Posluszny. Additional support was provided by Dawn Malinowski, Joanne Colella, Terese Rölke, Kathleen Hoffmann, and FRHSD Committee Liaison Annette Piazza, plus Mackanic Media Video Production and Printing2Go Promo. Thanks also to the many teacher facilitators at Colts Neck High School, Freehold High School, Freehold Township High School, Howell High School, Manalapan High School, and Marlboro High School who lent their time and effort to this year’s Team Challenge.

52 The Millstone Times

April 2022