Aspire Financial Services CEO Peter Kirtland joins JA Tampa Bay Board of Directors
Kirtland’s wealth of experience in the financial services industry bolsters JA Tampa Bay’s shared vision of financial literacy
Pete Kirtland is the latest member of Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay’s Board of Directors. The Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay Board is composed of local community leaders with a strong and balanced blend of skills and experience, providing guidance and support to Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay’s staff and volunteers as we strive to uphold our mission.
With 18 years of experience as CEO of Aspire Financial Services, LLC, Pete brings an abundance of knowledge, experience and wisdom to JA Tampa Bay. He has a proven track record of success, and was instrumental in growing a nationally leading retirement solutions company, which use innovative technology and business processes to serve their stakeholders and customers. Kirtland’s leadership allowed Aspire to grow to over $14 billion in plan assets, and over 300,000 participants.
“I am excited to join the Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay Board,” Pete Kirtland said, “Their mission aligns perfectly with what we do every day at Aspire and our parent, PCS Retirement.”
Pete joins the JA Tampa Bay Board at an exciting time. His vision and leadership, alongside other members of the Board, enhances the positive impact that JA Tampa Bay programs can have on the students of the Tampa Bay region.
“I believe that financial literacy should be a core element to everyone’s life, and educating young people is an essential component.” Kirtland said.
To find more about our Board of Directors, click here: https://juniorachievet.wpengine.com/about-us/board-of-directors/
JA Inspire Career Expo Introduces Hundreds of Students to New Career Opportunities
JA Tampa Bay held their third JA Inspire Career Expo in an event that exposes middle school students to a variety of professions, careers and industries
Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay held their third JA Inspire Career Expo this week, introducing hundreds of young students to new career opportunities and pathways. The all-day event, held at Pinellas Technical College, is a community effort of Junior Achievement, Pinellas County Schools, local businesses, and educators to help shape students’ positive attitudes about their academic or professional futures.
Over 700 middle school students from Dunedin Highland Middle School, Tarpon Springs Middle School, Clearwater Intermediate School, and Lealman Innovation Academy attended the event, while volunteer coordinators were instrumental in the programming and management.
One student said, “I enjoyed learning about health, business, trades and other career fields from experts.”
JA Inspire Career Expo gave almost 60 companies, businesses, education institutions, and organizations the opportunity to reach out to middle school students, forming a future pipeline of potential talent. Research suggests that middle school grades are a crucial time to engage, or reengage students and put them on a path to college and career success and readiness.
“Thank you Junior Achievement for hosting the event,” said one company representative, “It’s refreshing to see young minds so eager to learn and tap into potential opportunities. I very much enjoyed the event and hope to make it out with our team next year.”
Junior Achievement and the Pinellas County School District would like to expand the event to cover all 6,000 6th grade students in Pinellas County schools over the next 3 years. If you would like to know more about the event, get involved as a volunteer, or showcase your company to the next generation of the Tampa Bay workforce; contact kym.mcgee@ja.org
June, 2019
Farm Grant Awarded To Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement (JA) of Tampa Bay recently announced that it has received grants totaling $18,000 to fund JA’s work readiness and financial literacy programming. The grants, from State Farm Insurance, are part of a larger statewide initiative totaling $60,000 that will support Junior Achievement programs in 11 localities throughout Florida, enabling over 5,000 young people to participate in JA’s nationally recognized economic education programs.
May, 2019
PCS Students impress local employers for summer internships!
This is the second video in a series about the 2019 Pinellas County Schools Summer Internship program. At this event, students learn job skills from Junior Achievement and then have the opportunity to meet and interview with prospective employers from Pinellas County. We meet some of the students vying for the internships and we also meet some employers who are participating in the program
