I don’t know if you have ever met Jimmy Fritz, Dharia Crum, or Maddy Steele from Wurtland Elementary. If you haven’t you should take a moment and find a way.

Last week on one of our weekly magazines, Education in Action, members of the fifth-grade class at the school are part of a project at the school call Warrior’s Café.

Along with principal Steve Branim, teachers Cassy Fannin and Heather Lavender were on the show to talk about what I consider to be an amazing entrepreneur’s adventure.

The children sell Brazilian coffee each day for $2 per cup, but there is way more to this to be told.

Carma Crum who operates JC Mercantile, a small Kentucky business specializing in Brazilian furniture and Brazilian Coffee joined into the educational process.

The children created the concept and then went to the school administration and created a loan for working capital and thus began the business.

The debt allowed them to operate and repay the loan plus make enough to make a profit to replenish supplies.

This allowed the fifth-grade students to learn the math necessary, marketing of which Jimmy is the best, and customer service along with the production skills necessary to operate the business.

Members of the club are involved with certain responsibilities. There are workers who make sure the product is prepared and then sold and accounted for.

It is much like any business. It must be something that can make it work. These young people have made it work exceptionally well.

There were two teachers on hand, who teach the fifth grade, and they were Heather Lavender and Cassie Fannin.

Heather is an English teacher which would help with the communication portions and possibly some of the organizational skills and Cassie is a math teacher which of course would help with all the math principals necessary.

Pricing, purchasing, profit and loss, daily balance and all that goes with a successful business operation.

Steve Branim explained that the children balance the receipts against the cash drawer and then the receipts are verified again. This is done only to make sure the tally is correct.

There are so many aspects to this operation it is hard to recall everything, but I do know that when the children go to the Mercantile in Lloyd the coffee they get to watch as the beans are dry roasted.

This must be an amazing experience for all who are involved.

What impressed me so very much about this is the funds raised after expenses are used for field trips for the fifth-grade class.

I know the school children have been on at least two such field trips this year and if I understand correctly one of the goals is to take another one before the school year is out.

When I talked to these young people I asked them their roles which they quickly described pointing out that Jimmy is the marketing whiz.

When I asked them what their true mission for the future is I was quickly told it is to make more money to be able to do more things.

These young people have been exposed to what is right and a way of life that will benefit them.

Thanks for visiting with us. View the show at greenupbeacon.com under the Education in Action banner.

And so, for another week, thanks and thirty.