Businesses should take advantage
By Brad Franklin
May 06, 2008

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a person with infinite wisdom to ascertain that the economy isn’t in the best shape right now. And it also wouldn’t be the acme of foolishness to suspect it might take a while for said economy to turn around.

At the local, state, and national level, everyone is trying to figure out ways to save money while also trying to make money. In so doing, people are also having to leave some of the comfort zones they’ve frequented in the past.

In Goochland, business owners are feeling the effects the same as everyone else. But they may just have a secret weapon.

Last week, the Chamber of Commerce held a community forum on the budding internship program at Goochland High School, hoping to talk with local businesses about what they could do in such a relationship. In turn, the program’s coordinators and school officials wanted to provide as much information as possible to those who required it.

From the start, this seems like a no-brainer—kids get great experiences in real-world environs while businesses get help that they, quite honestly, don’t have to pay for.

All the program really needs from the community are mentors who are willing to take that extra step. It’s not nearly as much work as one might think.
In the interest of full disclosure, I suppose this is the portion of the show where I admit to being somewhat involved. The Gazette is very lucky to have one of the program’s first interns, Zach MacDonald, who not only compiles the information and photos we print weekly in our “View From the Dog Pound” feature, but also writes stories.

It’s been a great partnership for the paper, one we hope lasts a long, long time.

But not all students want to be writers. Some want to be accountants, for reasons I might never understand. Others want to be nurses or veterinarians or engineers.

It would be great if every child in America went to college once they finished high school. But we all know that isn’t really practical or possible.

Some students aren’t meant for that particular path. And this program not only allows kids to get experience in fields they sooner-rather-than-later might call their careers, but it also gives kids like Zach a chance to figure out if their targeted field is something they want to stick with.

People in Goochland always rave about its community-minded spirit. And businesses always talk about spending locally.

Well, how about everyone meet in the middle and do something positive?

There is a real opportunity here for Goochland to help its own while helping itself. And there aren’t many downsides to such an arrangement besides the minor headaches and bumps along the way.

If apathy or fear of work is what keeps this program from being successful, then frankly, I guess Goochland isn’t nearly as special as we all thought.

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