In Nome, Alaska, even the local store manager values Adventist education. "I am very impressed with the students from Nome Adventist School,” said Bill Cash, manager of Nome's Alaska Commercial Company (AC) store.
Cash has been using upper-grade students from the school since 2001. Students work as inventory clerks alongside regular store employees to count the $1.7 million inventory three times a year. Cash appreciates the reliability of the students and reports they are faster and more accurate than most groups. “They show up, are dedicated and are focused on the job,” Cash said. “It’s nice to have kids on the floor of the store that I know will not be an offense in dress or words to the public we serve.”
When AC’s main office in Fairbanks scheduled the inventory to include a Saturday, Cash insisted that the dates be changed so that he could use the students from the Adventist school.
The students must earn the privilege to spend two days doing the inventory by keeping their schoolwork current and maintaining good grades. Students raise approximately $1,500 during each inventory cycle, money which primarily goes toward the annual upper-grade educational trip outside of Alaska. Some of the students would never get outside of Alaska without such an opportunity.
Cash likes knowing that he is helping his community by contributing to such projects. He has watched the students from the Adventist school over the years. “Those kids get a solid foundation in more than academics from that school.”
Bill Cash likes using Nome Adventist School students to do store inventory because they are reliable and leave a good impression with those around them.
