The winner of the 2019 Junior Achievement Titan Business

Challenge, a business simulation contest, was a team from Kamiakin High School

in Kennewick. 

The three-student team beat 11 others from area high schools

and achieved the highest performance index at the May 14 event at the Three

Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

Aiden DeVere, August Sarrazin and Jaren

Matkowski took home a $300 cash prize, thanks to sponsor Washington River

Protection Solutions. Kamiakin also gets to display the Titan traveling trophy

for the next year. Olivia Clizbe was the host teacher for the Titan program.

The CEO of Year winner was Salomon Martinez from Chiawana

High School in Pasco.

Salomon, a three-year veteran of the competition,

represented his team with a three-minute presentation on their strategy for the

competition and lessons learned as they competed. He was also a member of

the winning team from the 2018 Titan Business Challenge.

The seven-week in-classroom entrepreneurial program is

taught by business mentors using lesson plans, administrator control and

economic scenarios.

The hands-on experience focuses on the concepts of research

and development, charitable contributions, price and inventory as related to

products and marketplace. 

Other competing students were from Kennewick and Richland

high schools.

All JA Titan students in the state also were invited to

enter an essay contest for the opportunity to win a trip to Seattle to attend

the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Gala and speak about their JA

Titan experience. The winner was local and will be announced June 14.