WHAT IS FLEX? The goal of the Foundational Leadership and Entrepreneurship Experience (FLEX) is to create prosperity and revitalize rural entrepreneurial ecosystems through the education of students on the rewards, sacrifices, and processes incurred in the establishment of small businesses. Through a collaboration of the Fitzgerald High School College and Career Academy, Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Chamber of Commerce and Fitzgerald and Ben Hill County Development Authority, the Fitzgerald Leadership & Entrepreneur X-perience, or FLEX, was created with one goal in mind – to spark an entrepreneurial spirit in the students of Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County. Program developers knew that with the right mix of sacrifices and rewards, students would learn to launch successful small businesses of their own that would eventually lead to a more vibrant, robust economy for the local community. With proof of concept in Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County, we are eager to further develop the FLEX competition so that it can be implemented in other schools and scaled statewide. This growth would culminate in a Statewide competition where district winners compete for a state title. We are developing a FLEX non-profit that will serve as a resource center that facilitates local and statewide competitions. FLEX will become financially self-sustaining by utilizing program fees and statewide industry sponsorships from Georgia companies and industries interested in the development of rural entrepreneurship.
