PERU - Peru State College is hosting the 52nd annual high school business contest on Feb. 12.

Competitions include accounting, business math, keyboarding, personal finance and web design.

Students from auburn, Falls City, HTRS, Johnson County Central, Johnson-Brock, Palmyra and Syracuse are among competitors.

Here is the college's press release

Peru State College to Host 52nd Annual High School Business Contest on February 12, 2025

(Peru, NE) One of the longest-running high school academic competitions held in the region is the Peru State College High School Business Contest. This year will mark the 52nd annual event, first held on February 28, 1974, under the direction of the late Jack Hamilton, PSC business education instructor.

As is the case today, students from Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri will compete in a variety of business-related events on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. In 1974, competitions included bookkeeping I and II, economics, shorthand I and II, general business, typing I and II, business law, office practice, and sales demonstration.

This year’s events are similar but with different titles – accounting, advanced accounting, business communications, business ethics, business math, computer concepts, economics, entrepreneurship, introduction to business, job interview, keyboarding (skills), marketing, personal finance, web design, and word processing.

The schools participating in the first contest in 1974, many of which are now consolidated or closed, were Barneston, Elmwood, Humboldt, Plattsmouth, Southeast Nebraska Consolidated – Stella, Weeping Water, Wymore, Palmyra, Pawnee City, Tecumseh, Auburn, and Nebraska City Lourdes from Nebraska. Out-of-state schools included Rock Port, (MO), Tarkio, (MO), Horton, (KS), and Glenwood, (IA).

The current contest director, Lisa Parriott, is anticipating the following schools, with the teachers, to participate in the 52nd competition.

  • Auburn – Maranda Gerdes
  • Beatrice – Dustin Hahn
  • Elmwood-Murdock – Laura Rikli and Ben Bohling
  • Falls City – Donna Eickhoff
  • Freeman – Ross Rumsey
  • Gretna – Chris Swantek
  • Hiawatha, (KS) – Kathy Lindstrom
  • Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer – Scott Burger
  • Johnson County Central – Angie Huskey
  • Johnson-Brock – Seth Feeken
  • Lincoln East – Lori Anderson-Stowe
  • Lincoln North Start – Davis Ball
  • Lincoln Northwest – Joyce Sadd
  • Lincoln Southeast – John Seymour
  • Lincoln Southwest – Josh Hinrichs
  • Lincoln Standing Bear – Jacob Shaffer
  • Louisville – Carrie Smith
  • Omaha Central – Randy Rouse and Denise Powers
  • Palmyra – Andrew Conn
  • Platteview – Teresa Starks and Patti Layher
  • Sabetha, (KS) – Joseph Gruber and Trevin Edelman
  • Syracuse – Joe Pavlik
  • Tri-County – Caleb Armstrong
  • Waverly – Tara Bohaboj

Winners are announced and medals are awarded to the first through fifth-place winners in each contest following the competition. The Peru State College Foundation provides a $500 tuition waiver to the first-place winners who choose to attend the College.