“The way I view my calling changed while I was at Acton. It is no longer just about creating a legacy solely based on my job.” - Michael Hanson '07
A Sales Challenge To Make A Difference
03/11/2005
Students in The Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship program are
working to meet a sales challenge selling golf sponsorships for the ABC Bank Homebound Classic Golf Tournament on May 9th, 2005 at Twin Creeks Country Club benefiting
Meals on Wheels and More. The collaboration is the first between the MBA program, an innovative leader in graduating qualified entrepreneurs into the business world,
and Meals on Wheels and More, one of Central Texas’ oldest and most respected charities.
The sell in period is February 20th to April 28th and students will
be graded after they complete this task. The amount they will raise is expected to reach at least $30,000 and will go directly to the organization’s general operating
purposes helping feed more than 2,000 homebound people in need in Central Texas.
Acton interviewed several Austin area non-profits interested in becoming the
beneficiary of this opportunity and decided that Meals on Wheels and More offers all the elements that reflect its philosophy taught in the Life of Meaning course.
Throughout the curriculum -- and especially in this course – students are encouraged to think hard about what is truly important in life. By the time the students
graduate, they will have a clear vision of their lifelong goals and a framework for making the right choices at work, at home, and in their community.
Building a sales challenge for a good cause seemed a natural tie in. For this task, students not only sell sponsorships for the golf tournament, but also
perform a transactional sales piece where each is challenged to sell 50 of the Stubb’s Gospel CD (with proceeds going to Meals on Wheels and More). Additionally, the
students are required to deliver meals to Austin’s homebound elderly and disabled citizens, thereby experiencing a true, hands-on service to the community. Meals on
Wheels and More currently home-delivers approximately 2,000 nutritious hot meals each weekday and provides other services to the homebound elderly and disabled, and
others in need.
Acton MBA, based in Austin, Texas, is in only its second year of operation. The one-year program is taught by successful entrepreneurs and
features intensive 80 to 90 hour work weeks, where students tackle real-world problems and have even sold products door-to-door. The student-faculty ratio is lower
than any MBA program in the country, allowing students to develop strong bonds with their entrepreneur mentors. The Princeton Review recently ranked the Acton MBA in
Entrepreneurship program the third-best MBA faculty in the country, while designating its MBA students as America’s “most competitive.
