Friday, December 2, 2005
Marketing students learn steps to open a business

     In the fall semester each year, the class Entrepreneurship is offered at PRCC.
     "Mostly students working toward a degree in Business Marketing and Management take the class, but it is open to anyone interested in the potential of opening a business," said Carol Williams, Business Marketing instructor.
     "In the class, students are taken through the steps it takes to open a business with the
culmination of the students writing a business plan and an interview with a banker. The bankers role play the loan request situations with the students. The role play is
part of the students' final grade in the class. If it were not for local bankers agreeing to let the students role play with them, the project would not have that real-world feeling."
     According to Williams, Wayne Alexander from First National Bank in Poplarville, along with Hancock Bank in Poplarville, have been longstanding participants in this program. "They have been helping with the projects for the past six years," she said. This year, Sean McGee, President of Bancorp South, Lamar County, and Frank Foster of The People's Bank of Wiggins as well as Shelley Frierson from Hancock Bank participated.
     Said Williams, "They commented on how much more prepared the Pearl River students were to actually consider opening a business than some actual customers. One banker commented that he felt that the Pearl River students appeared to be better prepared than some university students because they are put in real-world setting."
 

CAPTION:
 

    Business Marketing and Management students who participated in the Entrepreneurship class this fall were from left: First row - Margie Aborom of Poplarville, Dianne Rawls of Columbia, Michelle Burge of Picayune, Sean McGee, President of BancorpSouth-Lamar County, Frank Foster of The People's Bank in Wiggins, Julie Morse of Picayune and Andrea Hurst of Lumberton. Back row - Instructor Carol  illiams, Laurie Oglesbee of Picayune, Brittany Moore of Columbia, Contrellis Pittman of Columbia, Margo Porter of Picayune, David Blankinship of Hattiesburg, Ken Garner of Carriere, Whitney Williams of Picayune, Lisa Tilghman of Hattiesburg, Justin Nunez of Carriere and Brandon
Cage of Poplarville.