(News Channel Nebraska file photo of 2023 Youth Entrepreneurship Trade Show at Sidney High School)

 

SIDNEY -- In 2023, Sidney and Cheyenne County E3 partnered with the business classes at Sidney High School to introduce an entrepreneurship program.

Sarah Sinnett, a member of the E3 leadership, approached Ashley Fehringer and asked if the high school would be willing to start the entrepreneurship program as part of the Career Technical Education (CTE) program. The program focuses on business, marketing and management. 

The program came together with the support of local individuals and businesses. The curriculum was loaned from an existing program in Kansas. 

Students who graduated from the program talked highly of what they learned. 

Businesses and supporters of the program likewise said it is necessary for the future of the community. 

Jeff Klare and his wife Amy Kitching backed the 2023 course and resulting event and are returning this year. His motivation is simple: give youth a reason to follow their dreams locally. 

“If we don’t endorse our future, where are we going? There’s got to be a way to keep kids interested in rural America. Everybody thinks you’ve got to go off to college and get a job in a big city, but that’s not always true,” Klare said. 

He said the bottom line is encouraging students to pursue their dreams locally. 

Cory Keen, IT Director for Nelnet, said with Nelnet it starts with caring about the community.

“First and foremost, one of our core values at Nelnet is giving back to the communities in which we live, which is certainly part of the reason that we’re investing in it and a strong partner. It’s our belief that fostering innovation, education and community development will help support youth entrepreneurship, and this competition aligns with those values,” Keen said. 

Western Community College President Greg Dart was convinced of the program's importance after visiting the 2023 Trade Show.

"We could not be more excited to really focus on entrepreneurs here in this area. This Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is an amazing event. Last year I remember just seeing these great ideas from these students just doing amazing work. We looked at what they were doing and what that means for these communities and think this is something we want to be involved in," he said.

Dart also recognizes the entrepreneurship spirit present in the Sidney community.

"I think that as you look at this community and think what the entrepreneurship spirit already brings to this community, and building that within the youth is one of the most important things that can be done," he said.

Brody McKnight, Public Relations and Marketing Director for Safe at Home in Sidney, said much of the reason Safe at Home is supporting the YEC is because the owner is involved in the local community. 

“I know our owner is the big reason why we’re sponsoring the Youth Entrepreneurship program. It’s mostly because she’s just so involved in the local community which is Cheyenne County and surrounding counties here in the Panhandle,” McKnight said. 

Malarie Gabel, Community Navigator at Sidney Regional Medical Center, described sponsoring the YEC as a proper relationship. 

“Currently, we partner with the interns at the high school, so we really want them to sponsor the program because we at Sidney Regional Medical Center like to say we grow our own within the hospital, and we want students to know they can do that within their own local community whether it’s healthcare relate or not. There are multiple ways that we’re able to partner with local businesses in the community. We need the youth to be able to stay in Sidney because they will be our leaders one day,” Gabel said. 

She said the hospital could offer opportunities for entrepreneurs to partner with the hospital as well.

Hometown Liquor is also a supporter of the YEC this year. Paul Strommen, one of the partners in the business, said programs encouraging entrepreneurship and business are important to Panhandle communities.

"It's important to have those types of programs in our high schools out here. We have a youth retention problem. A lot of these kids they graduate from high school, then they graduate from college, and it's difficult to get them back here to Sidney, to all of our small towns really in the western part of the state, and to have a program like the Youth Entrepreneurship Program, it gives those kids the knowledge and understanding of A) how to start a business, how to build a business, how to create a business, but then also lets them really understand that it's possible to come back to your hometown and run that business," he said.

Strommen said the YEC equips students with the tools to bring their business vision home and be successful.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Trade Show is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at Sidney High School.