Business Students Give Back to Community Through Framed Photo Sales

The students in Kim Nidy’s business management class are at it again. For the next several weeks they’ll have one thing on their minds: selling a product that’s been years in the making.

The students start off in a general business course that teaches them the basics of business, and they work their way up to the business management where they, now seniors, operate the business Viking Enterprises.

And this year, one Viking Enterprises team is determined to sell at least 100 framed photographs of Don Hertler Sr. Field at Memorial Stadium, which was . Ten percent of sales go to the Memorial Stadium Improvement Campaign.

“There was a need for money, and we were looking at the charitable part of selling,” Division 8 President Warren Davidson said. “Then we thought, ‘Hey, we’ll take photos of the stadium and portion of the proceeds will go toward the fund.’”

One photograph is an aerial view of the field taken by someone in a hot air balloon during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival in 2011 and sent to District Superintendent Michael Gallina. The second is a panoramic view taken by .

The photos, printed by , are framed by FastFrame in Hudson and feature acid-free matboards and UV-filtering glass. Both the aerial and panoramic view are $100 each. The students say the framed photos are a great way to show school spirit and celebrate the school’s new field, .

Division 8 team members said they hope to make a $1,000 donation to the improvement fund at the end of the selling period.

See the attached order form to order a framed photo, and check out the students’ website for more information about them and the class. Click on the "8" and "12" buttons to see the different divisions.

The team, which took time to talk to North Canton Patch this week, said they’ve learned lessons about planning, setting reasonable goals and the extensive market research that should go into a product.

The class, which is geared toward students who have their sights on business careers, follows two courses students elect to take between their freshman and junior years. Twelve college credits await those students who successfully complete the curriculum. Each class builds on the next, so by the time the students reach their senior year, they are ready to run their own businesses, Nidy said.

Students, who are divided into teams such as marketing and human resources, earn a paycheck at the end of the year. Nidy has seen those checks weigh in anywhere between $3 to $750 per student.