The San Pedro High School (SPHS) hosted their annual Business Fair on Friday, February 10th. With the goal of developing entrepreneurial skills, junior and senior students majoring in business studies were tasked with creating a viable business concept. Held at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium, the fair was open to the community, providing a forum for the students to showcase their hard work.
Over the years, the SPHS Business Fair has grown and developed, with 2017 hosting the largest number of projects yet. While the juniors were only tasked to create a business concept, the seniors were challenged to make their business plan a reality for the day. To encourage the students further, great prizes were awarded to the top projects in each division.
Prior to the official opening of the event, Chairman of SPHS and local businessman, Andre Perez addressed the students. He spoke about hard work and commitment’s importance in developing oneself, challenging the students to strive for their dreams and to never give up. After the official remarks, the gates were opened to community members eager to take part in the fair.
Throughout the day, four judges were tasked with visiting each booth; grading the students on a set criteria. The judges were Janelle Cowo and Carlo Flores for the juniors, while Gladys Urbina Alamilla and Joanna Lisbey judged the seniors.
The students’ creativity took center stage, as their projects were both elaborate and innovative. Each project saw students identifying a product or service, creating a business plan, identifying a location, securing funds, preparing a projected financial statement and having a marketing strategy. Business concepts ranged from restaurants and delis to facilities for recreational activities.
For the judges it was a difficult task to choose the winners among such great projects, but seven groups exceeded expectations. In the junior division, third prize was awarded to the project “Citrus Fertilizer” who created an eco-friendly plant growth enhancer. 
Second prize when to “Nana’s Children’s Day Care” who created a service aimed at assisting single working mothers on the island. 
Finally, taking top honours was “Inspiration Inc.” a business plan for a vocational institution which would provide training services in the hospitality industry, as well as career placement services.
In the senior division there was no third place award, instead three projects ended up with the same points. The three groups who shared the podium for the second place award were “Fruttissimo”, “The Krusty Krab Pizzaria” and “Infruitacious”.
The first place award for the senior division went to “Fry Me” who offered up a tasty menu of unique fried treats.
“Everyone did a great job. We are proud of our students,” commented Head of the Business Department at SPHS, Martin Santos. The faculty and staff of SPHS would like to thank everyone who came out and made this event a huge success.
Special thanks go out to all those who sponsored the 2017 Business Fair, including: Coco Beach, Belize Bank Ltd, Caye International bank, Lino’s Meats, San Pedro Town Council, St. Francis Xavier Credit Union, Blue Water Grill, Castillo’s Hardware, FC’s Aluminium, Save On, Go Fish Belize, Lion’s International, Suya Tours, A&R Enterprises, Captain Sharks, Caribeña Enterprises, Cart’s Belize, Casa Pan Dulce, Cholos, Elvi’s Kitchen, F&S Golf Cart Rentals, Harmouch Hardware, Hollywood Realty, La Divina Providencia, Lily’s Treasure Chest, Rapidito Loans, San Pedro Belize Express, SandBar Beach Hostel, SuperBuy, Caye Supplies, Tropic Air, Xanadu and Reef Radio.
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