Wednesday, April 17, 2013
LHS Virtual Enterprise Students Visit The Big Apple
The Loretto High School Virtual Enterprise firm, The Animal Kingdom, Inc., visited New 
York City April 9th-13th for the VE International Trade Fair and National Business Plan Competition.
Many hours of preparation and hard work are the prelude to this final event of the year, where the students represent LHS among students from all over the world.
The Business Plan Competition was held on Wednesday, April 10th at the McGraw-Hill Company Headquarters near Times Square.
Having entered this competition for the first time this year, the students won 1st Place honors at both regional and state levels to advance to the competition in New York.
The four-member team consisting of Collin Hooper, Ally McDow, Elizabeth Brown, and 
Holly Vanderford advanced to the final 20 teams in the country and received recognition for their accomplishments. Congratulations to these students!
The VE International Trade Fair was held on Thursday, April 11th. Over 2,900 students attended this year’s event, with Tennessee, California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Germany, Romania, Indonesia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Austria, and Belgium being represented.
The sales floor was bustling, with over 140 booths filled with students marketing their products and practicing their most professional sales techniques.
The trip was not all business, with the students and their chaperones enjoying the stunning 
sites of New York City, as well as the delicious cuisine. Famous sites such as the Empire State Building, Times Square, and the 9-11 Memorial were visited, as well as Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, which is filled with wax figures of the world’s most famous people.
Spotting a few celebrities while in the city was exciting for the students, and included Jenna Bush Hagar and The Today Show crew. During the visit toThe Today Show, one of the students was invited to meet Kathie Lee Gifford and be interviewed on the show.
After answering a trivia question from Kathie Lee correctly, the student was awarded $100. Needless to say, that money came in handy when the group traveled to Chinatown to shop!
Broadway is always an exciting experience for the students. This year the group saw Matilda during its opening week of production and enjoyed a spectacular show.
Delicious food was enjoyed at places such as Ellen’s Stardust Diner, where the waiters and waitresses sing and later star in Broadway productions, Justin Timberlake’s restaurant, Southern Hospitality, and The Hard Rock Café.
The trip would not be complete until a delicious piece of cheesecake from Juniors Restaurant and a limousine ride through the most exciting city in the world was enjoyed by all.
Traveling to New York this year were LHS students Amanda Brown, Elizabeth Brown, Emily Cothren, Emma Duplantis, Holly Franklin, Collin Hooper, Ally McDow, Kylee Reed, Holly Vanderford, and Paige Wilcoxson, along with the LHS Virtual Enterprise instructor, Mary Pack.
Also attending were LHS teachers Roberta Niedergeses and Dee Dee Brown, along with parents Tracie Reed, April Cothren, Anita McDow, and the Rex Hooper family.
The LHS Virtual Enterprise students would like to sincerely thank the community for the support given this year with fundraising and donations in order to make this trip possible.
Without the support of Lawrence County, these students would not be able to experience such a wonderful opportunity.
