Lakeview FBLA members pose for a photo Thursday at Behlen Mfg. Co. after touring the local manufacturing plant.

 

 

February 14, 2015 12:00 pm  •  By Tyler Ellyson / tellyson@columbustelegram.com

 

COLUMBUS — A group of Lakeview High School students added safety glasses to their wardrobes Thursday while getting an inside look at one of the city’s largest manufacturers.

Members of the school’s FBLA chapter toured Behlen Mfg. Co. as part of National FBLA Week.

Jan Went started organizing the business tours when she became the Lakeview FBLA adviser 20 years ago. And she sees plenty of reasons to keep them going.

“It’s amazing what (students) get out of it, much more than they imagined they would,” she said.

Lakeview FBLA members tour local businesses during the spring semester and out-of-town companies in the fall.

Went said she looks for a mix of traditional and nontraditional business settings to expose students to a variety of career options. Last fall, they took a trip to Lincoln to tour Ameritas — the traditional option — and Hudl, a software company founded in 2006 that works with coaches and athletes across the country.

Went said the tours serve as a recruiting tool for her — students love to go on field trips — and they show FBLA members how the classes, conferences and seminars they’re attending now will benefit them in the future. Company representatives also talk about what skills and educational backgrounds they look for in prospective employees.

The business tours allow students to get their foot in the door at a company by establishing contacts and learning about the day-to-day operations at a young age, according to Went.

“Maybe there’s going to be something in one of those businesses that they’re really interested in,” she said.

There are benefits for the businesses, too.

Behlen Mfg. Co. hosts middle and high school students several times a year at its Columbus headquarters and holds an open house in October for Manufacturing Day.

Phil Raimondo, the company’s president and CEO, said people who have never been in a modern manufacturing plant often think of the workplaces as dingy, dirty environments.

“We want to dispel that,” he said. “We want people to actually see what we’re doing.”

During tours, students get to step onto the production floor and take a look at the high-tech tools used to make steel buildings and grain bins, farm and ranch equipment and other Behlen products.

The local company also offers summer internships, a program that’s discussed with high school students.

Although most of the interns are college-aged — employees must be at least 18 years old to run some of the heavy equipment — Raimondo said students remember the tours and may return later for summer or full-time work.

“You just never know when somebody is going to connect that,” he said.

Lakeview students planned five days of activities for National FBLA Week.

A cupcake-decorating competition held Tuesday at the junior/senior high school and sweetheart raffle during halftime of Friday night’s home boys basketball game raised money for the March of Dimes. Local businesses donated more than 20 items, including movie passes, stuffed animals and restaurant gift certificates, for the annual Valentine’s Day-themed raffle and tickets were sold for $1 each.

With 186 members, Lakeview has the largest FBLA chapter in the state. Nearly 70 percent of Lakeview High School students participate in the business organization, the highest percentage among chapters in the nine-state region.