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Wilson County Career Technical Center

 Includes Classic Cars Southeast in Marketing Project

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(November 12, 2007 – Lebanon, Tennessee)  One of the most difficult situations for any teacher in today’s classrooms is to captivate and maintain the interest of students.  However, Sherry Buchanan, a marketing instructor with the Wilson County Career Technical Center, has developed an impressive training program for her class and it is receiving praise from both the educational staff and students alike.  For this particular program she requested assistance from nearby Classic Cars Southeast to create that extra spark of interest from her marketing students. 

Ms. Buchanan also sought assistance directly from multi-millionaire entrepreneur, Donald Trump, in a roundabout way.  Actually, she brought the same concept of his reality TV show, “The Apprentice”, into her classroom and it was a very successful inclusion.  The enormous success of Trump’s show is obvious by its impressive popularity.  It is viewed by millions of people each week in an effort to learn how to make millions of dollars in various careers.  The show is a 15 episode unscripted reality drama on NBC and according to the ratings, it will be around for a long time.  Participants are gathered from all walks of life to live and work together in teams. 

On the show, two teams are forced to “think outside the box”, each desiring to “Trump” the other and attain greater positioning during a struggle to “reach the top” in a simulated business experience.  A project manager is chosen to lead each team and individual participant accomplishments are judged by Trump and his staff.  Each week a winning team is declared and the one person not “making the grade” on the losing team is fired.  Finally, only one participant is left and this person will join the Trump Empire, as an employee, to lead a staff on a special project for the prestigious organization.  However, in Ms. Buchanan’s class, the “fired” students were all allowed to continue with involvement in the competition in order to achieve an important grade.

One of the groups’ “Apprentice” challenge was based on another very popular TV automotive program, “Pimp My Ride”.  This show selects a deserving individual and completes a total restoration of that person’s vehicle.  The challenge was an excellent training exercise, as twelve groups of four students each competed to win first place in the Technical Center’s marketing project.  This particular exercise was designed to offer a great experience where the students learned about business, social responsibility and creativity.  Each group chose someone in need of help repairing a car or truck from demographics such as senior citizens, students, single mothers, etc.  They were also required to develop a marketing plan, establish a budget and create a power point presentation, combined with an explanation of what factors led to the selection of the lucky recipient.

The four member “winning group” was taken to Classic Cars Southeast for a meeting with, Dale Nunnery, founder and president of the dealership and restoration facility.  This particular business was selected due to the nature of its daily operation so closely paralleling the subject at hand.  “It was a sincere pleasure to be included in the Wilson County Career Technical Center project”, said Nunnery, “it is refreshing to know that the younger generation has developed an appreciation for these magnificent automobiles of times past as.”  The students were also allowed to mingle among the 50 or so classic cars at the dealership museum-quality showroom.    

 Dale Nunnery, founder and president of Classic Cars Southeast (center), poses with

top students of a Wilson County Career Technical Center project.  They stand in the

 foreground of a totally restored 1956 Pontiac Star Chief convertible in the dealership’s

 showroom.  The students display certificates, signed by Nunnery, officially recognizing

 their visit to the unique dealership.  From left to right are Shawn Perrigo, Jeremy Sevier

 Jon Rollin and Amanda Warren.

Sherry Buchanan (center), marketing teacher at the Wilson County Career Technical Center,

stands with four of her top students in the foreground of a beautiful 1957Chevrolet BelAir at

Classic Cars Southeast.  Ms. Buchanan holds a cake that she baked and specially decorated for

employees of the dealership.  The cake presentation was a gesture of appreciation for the car

 dealership’s involvement with an automotive related course Ms. Buchanan developed for her

  class.  The students’ visit to the dealership was part of an incentive designed to captivate their

 interest in the innovative project.