KENT Celebrates Junior Achievement BizTown Grand Opening
MOLINE, Illinois (October 23, 2024) – Muscatine students were among the first to experience the new Junior Achievement “BizTown”, which marked its official opening with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, October 15. Students from Franklin and Grant Elementary Schools in KENT's home community, were in attendance.
KENT made a three-year commitment to have a mock-business within the space, formally named the “Michael Duffy JA BizTown” at the Junior Achievement Inspiration Center in Moline.
BizTown has long been a favorite memory for students in Muscatine and beyond. Schools from more than 20 counties around the area participate in the day-long field trip. At BizTown, students take on jobs such as Mayor, banker, radio host and, as is the case with KENT's store: Chief Executive Officer, store manager and merchandiser.
Children of KENT employees were part of the classes in attendance, including Jack, whose dad is a GPC Shift Superintendent; Bryce, whose dad is a GPC MALTRIN Division Superintendent; and Carter, whose dad is a GPC Starch Sales Executive. GPC is part of KENT Corporation. A ribbon cutting is part of the BizTown workday, so JA piggy-backed off the real one, for the grand opening.
Muscatine Elementary School Students and children of KENT employees: Jack (left), CFO of KENT Corporation; Bryce (middle), Mayor; and Carter (right), CEO of the Quad City Times. The ribbon cutting of the new BizTown happened October 15, 2024.
“It’s great to see our company involved with this organization,” said Nick Martin, whose son Bryce served as Mayor of BizTown (pictured middle, above). “The commitment to teach our kids personal finance is so critical to their future success. Getting to share in my son’s day while seeing my employer supporting the whole class’s experience was a special day for me!”
KENT Corporation is a strong supporter of the communities in which it operates.
“We wanted KENT's booth to provide a hands-on, enjoyable work experience for the BizTown students, while exposing them to jobs that relate to KENT,” said Kyle Fintel, VP, Procurement for KENT and Junior Achievement of the Heartland Board Member. “Several of our brands, from Native® High Performance Dog Food, to World's Best Cat Litter®, Sqwincher® and GPC® are now on display at the booth. Students will be challenged to merchandise our KENT products within the store, advertise them to their fellow citizens and, of course, sell them."
From left to right: Rich Dwyer, Sr. VP Corporate Affairs & Risk Mgmt; Johnnie Arnett; Director of Corporate Communications; Jimmy Kent, President; and Kyle Fintel; VP, Procurement.
Muscatine School District Communications Director, Tony Loconsole shared this post on LinkedIn, interviewing students at BizTown, including Jack, who served as CFO of the KENT Corporation for the day.
About KENT Corporation
Founded in 1927, today KENT Corporation is a diversified, family-owned company headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa (USA) with operating subsidiaries involved in corn wet milling, the production of animal feeds, and the manufacture of food, beverage an ingredients, agriculture and pet-care pet products. KENT is led by third generation family member, Gage A. Kent.