Offsetting the cost of the JBHS yearbook and applying professional communication and marketing strategies, The Citadel staff members visited businesses across Franklin County Wednesday, September 27 in order to sell ads which are included in the publication. 

Splitting up allowed each member to practice their sales pitch about why people should invest in the school’s yearbook which allowed the opportunity to strengthen their professional communications skills and their trust in their fellow staff.  Some people, like Cabella Shaffer, wished they could have gone to help support our yearbook and spend time with their peers.  

“I just think it would have been a good experience overall to go with someone and try to sell ads for the yearbook to support the yearbook,” Shaffer said.    

Managing paperwork and contracts, this experience took skill but also helped the staff learn professional communication skills.  Lainey McCulloh found that working with the paperwork became easier over the course of different stops.  

“ At first I was really confused about the receipts and what to do with them but the [second place] we went to wanted a receipt, so we got pretty good at it and we got good at telling them the information,” McCulloh said.  Some of the other staff agreed that once you complete the process a couple of times, it became a lot easier.  

Riding around to find new businesses that did not buy an ad last year was a way the staff connected with the community.  

Sawyer Strine found that while taking his tour around Greencastle, he was able to find businesses that he has never stopped at before.  “I definitely…got to go around and see different places in Greencastle that I really don’t go to that often or that I’ve really even been to and talk to some local business people about their business and how it is going,” Strine said. 

 Finding out the businesses and variety of people that work in Greencastle allowed Strine to become more comfortable selling ads.  “I found the businesses to be very welcoming,” Strine said.

 Having such a warm welcome, gave staff members confidence in their job.  Members of staff found that businesses were understanding of the cause even if they did not purchase an ad.  

While Isabelle Hoffeditz and her partner rode around McConnellsburg, the stops made were met with mostly young, welcoming people.  “Most people were like ‘oh ya sure…,’ they loved us.  They were like glad we were here and glad we were doing this…,” Hoffeditz said.  

The time that was spent selling these ads to businesses was also used for connections and learning.