On May 17, more than 550 BestPrep stakeholders – teachers, students, volunteers and donors – came together to celebrate the accomplishments of our educators and volunteers at the Annual Luncheon. Cargill Chairman and CEO David MacLennan provided an engaging keynote address on the constants of leadership in an ever-changing world.
Each year, one individual is selected from the more than 4,400 volunteers that BestPrep works with to receive the Bunzel Volunteer of the Year Award. This year, Jason Kley of Carlson Capital Management was selected as the recipient for going above and beyond in his engagement as a BestPrep volunteer.
Jason first was involved with BestPrep through his participation in Minnesota Business Venture as a high school student in the 1990s. He later returned to camp as a Resident Business Leader, volunteering the entire week at camp to mentor a team of high school students through developing a business plan. He’s continued his role by coming back many times as a day volunteer to judge the student business plans.
Jason has gone on to increase his involvement with BestPrep by speaking to classrooms of students on financial and career topics. He currently serves on the Financial Matters Ambassador Committee, working to improve, review and update Financial Matters content. Since his first experience with BestPrep nearly 25 years ago, Jason has gone above and beyond to educate and inspire Minnesota students.
The event also featured the President of the SIFMA Foundation, Melanie Mortimer who recognized BestPrep’s 25-year exemplary partnership with SIFMA Foundation. Melanie had the opportunity to interact with winning Stock Market Game students and share with the audience the growth in the program from a national perspective. There are currently more than 600,000 students participating in the Game nationally.
We would like to thank all who attended BestPrep’s Annual Luncheon and invite you to visit our Facebook Page to see photos from the event. Please save the date for next year’s Luncheon on May 23, 2017!