BUSINESS FOCUS Briefs Money Jungle for teens Parents and guardians of all area students in grades 9 through 12 are being encouraged to register their youngsters for Consumer Credit Counseling of Forsyth County's "Money Jungle," a first-time finan cial -education experience, to be held Saturday, April 19, at Winston-Salem State University's CJE. Gaines Gymnasium. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., area high-school students will get a chance to test their knowledge of money and finance. Each student will undergo a real-life, 20-minute "simulation," under the guidance of CCCS staff and financial-professional volunteers, involving a series of financial trials: Applying for housing, going through credit checks, balancing checkbooks and other real-life situations. At the end of the simulation, students will take an exit exam and receive a Money Jungle "diploma" (T-shirt) repre senting their participation. CCCS developed the Money Jungle to increase students' financial awareness using everyday situa tions in an entertaining, non-threatening environ ment. The event i? free and open to the public. For registration information, call Shenell Thompson at 837-0641, or email her at shenell ,thompson@cccsforsyth .org . The "Money Jungle" is sponsored by Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros PA, Brown Jenkins & Oneyear PA and Weston & Associated. McDonald's exec featured in advertising campaign One of McDonald's top African American execu tives is featured in new advertising highlighting career opportunities within McDonald's. This is the latest in an Employment Opportunity campaign that was first introduced in ZUUj. James Collins is vice president and general manager of McDonald's Greater Southwest Region and oversees mar keting, finance, opera tions, franchising, train ing and human resources for over 700 restaurants located throughout Oklahoma, New Mexico, northern Texas and Arkansas. Collins is fea * I akl. IU1CU 111 U112> ^COl 5 colli paign. Collins started as a McDonald's crew member back in 1976, went to work for other places and rejoined the company in 1985. "I came back to McDonald's as a store manage ment trainee because I recognized all of the opportu nities that were available for me, not just at this one Cleveland-area restaurant, but also at other restau rants and the company itself," said Collins. "I recog nized then that McDonald's creates an environment for people to be successful. The company will make available resources - training, mentors and develop ment opportunities - all of which motivate and inspire employees to excel." The advertising campaign includes print ads in March issues of Rolling Out and JET magazines, and the April issue of Black Enterprise, as well as radio and online advertising, to showcase the great employment opportunities available at McDonald's. H j ^oiiege runa ? to help provide financial support to UNCFs 39 member institutions and scholarships to students at more than 900 colleges and uni versities around the country. PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, made the donation on March 7 at UNCF's 64th Anniversary binner in New York, where it was the presenting spon sor. The event raised a total of $2.7 million. The dinner presented UNCF's highest honor, the Frederick D. Patterson Award, to Denzel and Pauletta Washington for their support for UNCF member col leges and for Denzel Washington's recent film, The Great Debaters, about the history of UNCF member Wiley College. "PepsiCo is a proud supporter of UNCF and has been for 60 years. We are committed to expanding opportunities to help minority students secure higher education," said Indra Nooyi, LfcU and chair man of PepsiCo. "That's why we're excit ed to present this gift of $1 million to UNCF to ensure that deserving young people continue to get a chance to go to college and earn degrees - and have the opportu nity to make their. mark in the world." Minority education has long been a funding priority for PepsiCo 's Foundation. In 1981, PepsiCo donated $1 million, the largest multi-year corporate donation ever pledged to UNCF's Annual Campaign at that time. Last year alone, the PepsiCo Foundation provided grants for education programs in excess of $8 million dollars to fund education programs that promote academic excellence for all students. 'Over and above the amount Nooyi Dr. Michael L. Lomax heads the UNCF. committed by the company, PepsiCo's African-American employees also raised $75,000, creating a UNCF/PepsiCo African American Legacy Fund, which will be matched by the PepsiCo Foundation, for a total of $150,000. This new education al endowment fund will provide scholarship support for students at UNCF member schools. "This fund honors the many African-American employees who have made contributions at the company and most especially those who broke through barriers in the 1940s," said Ron Parker,, PepsiCo senior vice president and chief global diversity officer, referring to corporate America's first all-black sales team at Pepsi. "UNCF is grateful for PepsiCo'^ investment in young minority men. and women," said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF's president and CEO. "PepsiCo's commitment will enable thousands of students to secure degrees that will help them to launch careers in fields0 like science, math, technology, business, medicine, law and edu cation; and prepare them to ?? become leaders in an ever-chang ing global economy." Photo by Jaeson Pitt Wachovia was among several companies honored by the BBB. Local companies win BBB ETHICS AWARDS CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The Better Business Bureau of Northwest North Carolina handed out its second annual BBB Marketplace Ethics Awards J*st week. Several awards were handed out in categories based on a company's size. There was also a non-profit award pre sented this year. The winners, all of whom are based in Winston-Salem, are: Lusk Tree Service, Inc., Anderson-Moore Builders, Inc.,; BB & T Corp.; Wachovia Bank; and Partnership for a Drug-Free NC, Inc.. The 2008 Honorable Mentions are: Dry Cleaning Station .Winston Personnel Ciroup, Winston-Salem; Flow Companies and Children's Center for the Physically Disabled. The winners were picked by judges Deanna K. Ray of Forsyth Technical Community College; Alice B. Sineath of Forsyth Technical Community College; Ananda Mitra of Wake Forest University; and Jessica Bailey of Winston-Salem State University. "The judges had a tougher time this year than last," said David Dalrymple. president of the BBB of Northwest North Carolina. "Our goal each year is to increase the competition - to make it hard er for them to make their decisions. If we are doing that, then we are building a mar ketplace of trust." ? Only a select few companies/agencies nationwide are honored with the award, the BBB said. Th& winners were feted at the Benton Convention Center. The guest speaker for the event was Rusty LaRue, a former Wake Forest University basketball player and the athletic director at Forsyth County Day School. LaRue spoke on the importance of integrity and ethics in athletics. LaRue Veteran . x educator Johnson has a new title She was recently named head of alternative education for the school system CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT Dr. Gwendolyn S. Johnson has been named Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools' director of alternative education. me veteran educator began her new job March 10, leaving her position as dean of stu dents at Griffith Academy, a school on Clemmonsville Road. John so n has spent more than 32 years in the education field. Nineteen of those years have been in the local school system. She also served as a classroom teacher in High Point Cjty Schools for 13 years. In addition to serving as dean of students and a classroom teacher, Johnson has also been an assistant principal, curriculum/test coordina tor and a district-level technology specialist. In 1991, she was named Walkertown Middle School's Teacher of the Year. Johnson earned her under graduate degree from Winston Salem State University and her master's degree from N.C. A&T State University. She holds a doc torate from North Carolina State University. Johnson