Northern High School’s Future Business Leaders of American will attend the national FBLA competitions in Atlanta on June 28-July 3. The chapter has 32 members who qualified at states to compete in nationals, according to a press release by NHS FBLA reporter Dominic Brady.

The Maryland FBLA state competition was at the Hunt Valley Inn on April 14-16. There, the chapter had the largest professional division group in all of Maryland, the release states. Along with the competitors who qualified for nationals, three other students — Brady, Kyle Chiu and Daniel Carey — will also attend to experience a national leadership conference.

The school’s FBLA chapter also did a great deal for the community this year with three major projects: the Community Service Project, the Partnership with Business and the American Enterprise Project.

For the community service project, the chapter supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which is dedicated to funding Type 1 diabetes research. This project had a personal connection for the chapter, as one of the advisors, Mrs. Jackson, has a daughter with Type 1 diabetes. Her daughter, Tiffany Jackson, was one of the leads on the project, which raised thousands of dollars through events like the annual silent auction and a 5K run. Along with Tiffany, the other leads on the project were Abby Chew and Janelle Lindstrom. The project earned first place in Maryland.

For the business partnership project, the chapter supported End Hunger in Calvert County by hosting a schoolwide food drive, volunteering at End Hunger events like the bike race and obstacle run, assisting at several warehouse distribution days and helping the staff with the Calvert Cash program. The leads on this project were Alissa Lambert, Tommy O’Brien and Christian Kincaid. This project also received first place in Maryland.

For the enterprise project, the chapter partnered with Kid’s Campus Early Learning Center. Chapter members went to Kid’s Campus and taught the children lessons on financial literacy and various business skills. The target population was third- through fifth-graders twice a month at the facility. The chapter also participated in American Enterprise Day at the center, sharing future career plans and what freedom means to the chapter members. The leads on this project were Taylor Jackson, Samirah Brown and Clark Outridge. The project earned third place in Maryland.

Northern’s FBLA thanks Safeway, Ace Hardware and all of its patrons for donating over these last several weeks. Twenty-five chapter members will attend the upcoming conference, along with four teachers from Northern High, costing over $35,000. The chapter also thanks the NHS administration, FBLA members and their families and all the sponsors over the year.

Students competing at nationals include: Maddie Ashworth (introduction to business presentation), Abby Chew (community service project), Sam Cleary (computer game and simulation programming), Shayla Cook (banking and financial systems), Joe Fowler (agribusiness), Taylor Jackson (community service project), Christian Kincaid (partnership with business project and networking concepts), Alissa Lambert (partnership with business project and social media campaign), Janelle Lindstrom (community service project), Will Longsworth (cybersecurity), Hannah McBride (banking and financial systems), Saylor Mealing (social media campaign and local chapter annual business report), Ryan Magee (computer game and simulation programming), Rachel Niswander (introduction to information technology), Tommy O’Brien (partnership with business project and accounting 1), Clark Outridge (American enterprise project), Taylor Rossi (public speaking 1), Justen Serraro (computer game and simulation programming), Noah Stawinski (introduction to business presentation), Abby Sweeney (FBLA principles and procedures) and Andrew Younkers (introduction to information technology).

At Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown, church, Honduras, ending hunger and coffee all go hand in hand.
“It’s a lot bigger than it looks,” said the Rev. Robert Hahn.
First, there’s the church, which is central to the whole thing. Then, there’s End Hunger in Calvert County, the nonprofit that, through various community partnerships, is aimed at ending hunger locally. Then, the church supports a medical clinic in Honduras in partnership with other churches. While some churches support missionaries or missions organizations in various external locations, Chesapeake Church focuses on Honduras.
A new coffee shop called The Lobby Coffee Bar, which opened March 5 and moved to being open seven days a week April 18, is located in the church’s lobby at the intersection of all three aspects, Hahn said. By supporting coffee growers in Honduras (where coffee is a major export), by using a supplier and roaster who uses Honduran beans, the coffee shop supports the economy of the country in which the church is involved. Hahn said he has met with coffee growers in Honduras.
The coffee shop is staffed by graduates of the End Hunger cafe management program and the shop is owned and operated by End Hunger. Through the cafe management program and the culinary training program, End Hunger provides job training to help people be more employable. The cafe management program especially helps young people, Hahn said, as they can learn how to make coffee and other related skills to support themselves during college, thus decreasing the financial burden on themselves and their families. Baristas are paid about 15 percent more than those who work at national chains.
In turn, whatever proceeds come from The Lobby Coffee Bar will go to End Hunger or Honduras. The shop’s not profitable yet, but in time, it will be.
Hahn said the coffee bar isn’t intended to be a place where someone just grabs a cup of coffee and leaves.
“We’re looking to engage the Calvert County community,” he said.
It’s the hope that entertainment will be offered in addition to other special events like game nights. Additionally, businesses could use available space for meetings and the space could act as a hub for families and young people, providing somewhere for young people to hang out other than a bar. There’s also the hope that a lunch and dinner menu will be available.
The prices of the menu items are more affordable than those of chains, as the prices aren’t driven by profit, Hahn said.
Justin Rollins was a member of the inaugural cafe management class through End Hunger and is now a full-time coffee operations manager at The Lobby Coffee Bar. Before, he worked as a facilities technician at Chesapeake Church. His previous position was more behind the scenes, but working in the coffee shop allows for more connections with people.
“Now I’m usually the first person people see,” Rollins said.
Becca Lewis was in the second cafe management class. Now she’s one of the three full-time managers. Before working at The Lobby, she was a nanny.
Lewis said employees are encouraged to talk with customers and to make relationships the highest priority.
“It’s much more than giving people coffee. … It’s meeting people where they’re at,” Lewis said.
The Lobby Coffee Bar is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, go to www.chesapeakechurch.org/thelobby.
By SARAH FALLIN sfleischman@somdnews.com Twitter: @CalRecSARAH