26 June 2006

Graceland SIFE Wins National Championship

Graceland's SIFE team revels in their win.    photo by SIFE

Graceland University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team was named national champion at the SIFE USA National Exposition on May 23 in Kansas City, Missouri. Now, they begin preparations to compete with teams from 46 countries at the SIFE World Cup. SIFE is a nonprofit organization that gives students the tools to learn the free enterprise system in real working situations.

Graceland’s president, Ambassador John Menzies, said, “This a great moment in history for Graceland and for our amazing SIFE students. We congratulate them for their hard work, perseverance, and their truly noble desire to change the world.”

Dr. Kevin Prine, director of Graceland’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, has directed SIFE for 12 of its 17 years at Graceland. He said, “We must remember that this would not have been possible without the dedication of all the previous SIFE teams, and our two former associate directors of the Center, Sarah Wiltse and Andy Simpson.” Dr. Prine also voiced appreciation for the “generous donors” to the program who made its evolution toward excellence possible.

Graceland’s 2006 team is the largest ever with 86 students from around the world. Fifty-two students traveled to Dallas, Texas, for the regional competition and 40 went to Kansas City for nationals. About 500 teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. competed at regionals, with about 160 advancing to nationals. There, Graceland advanced to semi-finals, then the final four before emerging with a national championship.

Team members leapt into the air, hugging each other, and tears began to flow as fireworks erupted overhead in the indoor pavilion. It was pandemonium of the best kind as the huge crowd was on its feet to applaud a team judges had fallen in love with. It was a stellar moment in Graceland history.

CEOs numbering 150 from across the country judged the final competition. Dr. Prine reported that numerous students have received job offers since the competition. As an added bonus, the Graceland team photo will be featured on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes box for the next year.

The Graceland team will compete at the SIFE World Cup in Paris, France, September 11–13. Teams from around the world work in volunteerism, small-business start-up, economic development projects, and public education to promote the principles of free-market capitalism.

The Graceland team has been involved in projects in the U.S., Costa Rica, Bosnia, and Bulgaria. They have helped develop plans for the major biodiesel plant being undertaken in Lamoni, Iowa.

The team was also responsible for setting up a very successful national anti-piracy, public service announcement contest in conjunction with the Motion Picture Association of America. They received major recognition for these efforts at the national competition.

Amb. Menzies and the Graceland community extend sincere congratulations to the team for the historic victory—which places the university in the international limelight—and for changing the world, one project at a time.

Visit www.graceland.edu/sife/ to learn more about the Graceland SIFE team, explore a photo gallery from their win at nationals, and follow their World Cup journey.

—Randy Meline, Graceland Media Relations, reporting

  Graceland University, founded in 1895, is sponsored by Community of Christ.