Miners bring Youth Entrepreneurship Program to East Kentucky
January 13, 2008 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
East Kentucky Miners News Release
PIKEVILLE, KY. - In Eastern Kentucky, tomorrow's businesses are taking shape today. And the mold for many of the promising new business leaders is a sweet one. The East Kentucky Miners professional basketball team is bringing an international program called the "Honey Project" to the area.
In the program, high school students create their own company that imports and sells organic honey from Africa. The money raised is split between participating students from area schools and poverty stricken countries in Africa. Organizers say the idea is to teach students real-world business skills they can use later in life.
Many Eastern Kentucky cities, including Pikeville, continue to enjoy considerable economic growth. The emergence of young business leaders is vital throughout Eastern Kentucky. Some business leaders in Eastern Kentucky believe The Honey Project can teach teenagers all they need to know about starting, funding and running their own businesses.
"They're competing in a global economy, so we want to expose them as much as possible to options and opportunities and business ownership is one of those options," said Honey Project Director Nathan Burrell. Last year, Florida students in the program earned more than $6,000 dollars. Directors say most students in the program go on to own their own business after college.
"I've witnessed first hand how powerful this program is," Miners co-owner and president Demetrius Ford added. "I've watched it turn young, shy teenagers into confident and outspoken young professionals." When asked why he wanted to bring the program to East Kentucky, Ford said,
"After spending a few months in Pike County, I quickly learned that this area was built on coal mining. Most of the kids here believe that their careers will be tied in one way or another to the coal industry, and little thought is put into working in other sectors or professions. There is also a trend whereby those students who are a bit more ambitious and go off to college, don't return to East Kentucky and apply what they've learned here in the region. Business leaders I've spoken with fear that if and when coal production slows, there may not be enough non-coal related industry to continue to grow the local economy. What we're trying to do is reach out to the kids who have been blessed with skills and aptitudes they don't yet know they have, and encourage them to become the business leaders of East Kentucky's future. I firmly believe that if you give kids an opportunity they didn't know existed, and through training, help them unveil talents and strengths they didn't know they had all along, they will be excited and encouraged to excel. The hope is that most of these young, future leaders choose to stay in Eastern Kentucky, and take what they'll learn and pass it on to the generations that follow."
All area high schools will have an opportunity to take part in the Honey Project. The first class will commence on Wednesday, January 23 at the Pike County Schools central office. For information about the Honey Project or how to help sponsor or support support the program, e-mail Nathan Burrell at HYPERLINK "mailto:nburrell@honeyproject.com" nburrell@honeyproject.com or Barbara Johnson, East Kentucky Miners Director of Community Relations, at HYPERLINK "mailto:bjohnson@ekminers.com" bjohnson@ekminers.com. The Honey Project website address is www.honeyproject.com.
The East Kentucky Miners is one of four expansion franchises in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The Pikeville-based team plays all of its home games at the East Kentucky Expo Center.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from January 13, 2008
- Miners bring Youth Entrepreneurship Program to East Kentucky - East Kentucky Miners
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