Agri hosts FBLA students

Thirty Fairfield High School Future Business Leaders of America members toured Agri-Industrial Plastics Wednesday.

Students had the opportunity to tour the manufacturing facility and see what is involved with molding and creating plastic components for a variety of businesses.

They also were able to view different positions available at manufacturing facilities.

Agri-Industrial Plastic President Lori Schaefer-Weaton and the senior management team talked about job opportunities in Fairfield. She said keeping a strong employment base in the local community is extremely important for the success of all businesses and, in particular, Agri. She said employers need students to pursue careers in STEM ? science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Students also heard about the ?business world? and how suppliers need to answer to the demands and needs of their potential buyers. The process of a customer needing a particular part, and it being designed and fabricated, exemplified the working relationships manufacturing plants have with businesses not only in Fairfield, but in Iowa, the United States and the international market.

Agri is one of the Fairfield supporters of the Business Horizons program. Business Horizons is a week-long summer program available to current ninth- through 12th-graders in Iowa to learn about value-centered entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership, teamwork and goal setting skills. Several Fairfied FBLA members attend the program.

For more information about Business Horizons, students can contact FBLA advisor Diane Goudy at the high school at 472-2059 or email her at diane.goudy@fairfieldsfuture.org.

Goudy and Schaefer-Wheaton had been planning the visit to Agri for months. Jodi Kerr, a member of Friends of FBLA, also facilitated the field trip and joined the group that day. Lori Mueller, a Friends of FBLA member and parent, also accompanied the students on the trip.

?It was an awesome opportunity for students to see the contribution industry has in our community and beyond,? said Goudy. ?Students have probably driven by this facility many times in the past, without being aware of what actually happens inside.?

Goudy said she is appreciative of this experience for the FHS students.

The tour was the first time some students saw people they knew, including family, at their jobsites.