LSB teams do great in Stock Market Challenge to benefit Junior Achievement

At the recent Stock Market Challenge event to benefit Junior Achievement, Laconia Savings Bank teams came in third and fourth place. Playing on the third place team were Lou Guevin, executive vice president of Laconia Savings Bank, Joseph Phaneuf, Kelly McCoy-Hebert and Teri Linden. The fourth placed team, captained by Randy Haas, included Mindy Coppola, Steve Bradbury and Paul Nee, all Laconia Savings Bank employees.

The Stock Market Challenge was held at the CR Sparks Event Center in Bedford, where the ballroom was transformed into a frantic trading floor where investors were hurriedly trying to ditch losing stocks and buy rising stocks. Floor traders equipped with hand held computers recorded team orders instantly via wireless transmissions. The room was loud, energy was high and an intense, frenetic air held throughout the evening.

Attending the event were representatives from BAE Systems, the New Hampshire Banking Commission, Bellwether Community Credit Union, Ernst & Young, Laconia Savings Bank, Northeast Delta Dental, NH Division of Economic Development, Verizon, Twincoast Enterprises, McLane Law Firm, Tyco International, PSNH, Wachovia, Loyalty Builders & Millipore Corp.

Teams were given 26 fictitious stocks to choose from and $500,000 trading dollars to invest in their portfolio. Throughout the evening hot tips and press releases gave teams insight as to how certain stocks might perform and duly affected the market.

This is the first corporate Stock Market Challenge event ever held in New Hampshire. The winning team, sponsored by PSNH tripled their initial $500,000 investment finishing with a net worth of over $1,700,000. Seven of the 14 participating teams ended the evening with over a $1,000,000 in stock portfolios.

The Stock Market Challenge is a fundraiser that was created to fit Junior Achievement's purpose, to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through hands-on programs. With a committed volunteer network, JA offers in-school and after-school programs that help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.

All proceeds from the event will be used to fund Junior Achievement programs in New Hampshire. These programs are provided to schools at no cost. They are all taught by business volunteers from the community, and align with the NH Department of Education’s curriculum framework, providing real value to the teachers and students who participate. Junior Achievement of New Hampshire, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization. JA is supported by corporate contributions, individual donations, foundation grants and special events like the Stock Market Challenge. The JANH Stock Market Challenge is sponsored by AG Edwards, Northeast Delta Dental and Business NH Magazine.