Business by Emma

Written by: Anne Dancy (eadancy@mtu.edu)

After an exhausting week of final exams, we were so excited to go the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder’s meeting in Omaha, Nebraska! Friday night we attended the Cocktail Party for all shareholders at Borsheims, an upscale Jewelry store owned by Berkshire. We had a great time networking with businessmen, longtime shareholders, and a variety of other attendees. We were definitely younger than a majority of the people there, but that enabled us to easily start up conversations and tell others about Michigan Tech’s APMP.

On Saturday we started the morning bright and early at the Qwest Center. The stadium seating itself was overfilled, so we sat in one of a dozen ballrooms with a projector and watched the movie. The movie included excerpts from interviews with Mr. Buffett, new commercials for many of the companies he owns, a specially-made ‘Office’ episode staring Mr. Buffett alongside Steve Carell, and several songs rewritten with lyrics to reflect Berkshire Hathaway. After the movie, the most important part of the day- the actual meeting- began. Mr. Buffett discussed Berkshire’s performance over the past year and major events which affected their results. He also talked about his projections for next year and his opinion of the market in general.

After, we moved into the stadium for the question and answer session, where we sat about 50 yards from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger! So close that we could hear the crunch of the peanut brittle Munger was nibbling all day! There were several hours of open questions for the public to address their issues directly with Buffett and Munger. We really enjoyed this session because it was enlightening to learn about their perspective on everything from different sectors of the market, future investments, and raising children. It was humbling being in the presence of such successful and intelligent individuals. I really gained a lot from this experience by learning from both the successes and failures in Buffett’s and Munger’s personal lives and careers, and I hope I can use this knowledge as I continue to pursue career options and make investment decisions.

Afterward, we explored the exposition of booths of all the companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway. There was a DQ booth where we snacked on ice cream, a Mars booth with candy bars, a BNSF Railroad booth with a big train set, a booth with every color and style of cowboy boots, a booth displaying an electric car, and much more! Overall, it was a fantastic day! We learned so much and
bonded as future teammates and mangers of the APMP portfolio. Now we are so excited to head back to school and use our new knowledge and enthusiasm to create another successful year with APMP.

We are very grateful that we had the opportunity to experience this meeting, and we hope students in the future will also be able to learn as much as we did!

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder’s meeting
Omaha, Nebraska
Thursday, April 28th- Sunday May 1st

Students who attended: Jake Carlson, Mike Harri, Bai Lu, and Anne Dancy

The School of Business and Economics recently celebrated the end of another academic year with an honors banquet to recognize leaders and high-achievers. The event also hosted guest speaker President and CEO of Quincy Hill Advisors George Butvilas. A second congratulations goes out to all award and scholarship recipients. The complete list of honorees and photos from the event are below.

Students inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society included: Meng Dai, Yingqi Gu, Tao Guo, Thomas Harri, Kali Jeter, Wei He, Stephanie Kantola, Carissa Miller, Caitlin Pionke, Wade Thelen, and faculty member Anne Warrington.

Rebekka Mikkola received the Beta Gamma Sigma National Scholarship.

Teddy Broe and Bryan Endres received the Richard C. Chandler Memorial Scholarship and the McNair Parker Endowed Scholarship awarded to undergraduate students majoring in economics.

Stephanie Behrens, Daniel Eskola, and Amanda Gimler received the Dewaine Olson Book Scholarship awarded to an undergraduate majoring in economics.

Jane Lahti received the Dean Clyde T Hardwick Memorial Scholarship awarded to a junior majoring in business management.

Dawn Stronski received the Dorothy M. Johnson Memorial Accounting Scholarship, presented by Assistant Professor Joel Tuoriniemi.

Theresa Laubrick received the Michigan Association of CPA Scholarship presented by Senior Lecturer Anne Warrington. This scholarship is awarded to students who intend to sit for the Michigan CPA examination and practice public accounting.

Jeni Hammstrom received the Eino Reini Memorial Endowed Scholarship for an undergraduate student focused in accounting.

Michael Schott received the Kelly Ann Long Memorial Scholarship for a student who has demonstrated high academic achievement within the School.

Stephanie Behrens, Gregory Olson, Caitlin Pionke, Michael Schott, and Jacob Vehring all received the Ross Roeder Endowed Scholarship for students with demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

Bret Kilpela received the Donald W. Seaton Memorial Scholarship prestented by Tim Seaton to a student demonstrating exceptional capabilities and leadership.

Timothy Fox and Megan Plis received the Marvin L. Isles Scholarship awarded to undergraduate students in our School.

Britney Estola and Kathryn Danielson recived the A. Marshall and Janis R. Forsberg Scholarship given to students focusing in industrial marketing and management.

Nicole Cholette and Jacob Vehring received the James and Dolores Trethewey Scholarship awarded to students who previously attended Luther L. Wright High School or Gogebic Community College.

Kathryn Danielson received the Joyce and Richard Ten Haken Scholarship that is awarded to freshmen who have demonstrated high academic achievement.

Jacob Carlson and Leanna VanSlooten received the Upper Peninsula Power Company Scholarship that recognizes students who were born in the Upper Peninsula.

Jonathan LaPlant and Rachael Zerbst received the Wells Fargo Bank Scholarship, presented by Ellie Freeman, that recognizes students who are residents in the local area.

Bret Kilpela and Rachael Zerbst received the Citizens Bank Scholarship, presented by Julie Jennerjohn, that recognizes students in the local area.

Caleb Maki received the Superior National Bank Scholarship which recognizes individuals from the local area.

Kathryn Wysocki was announced as the 2010 School of Business and Economics’ Woman of Promise. This honor recognizes a current female student who went above and beyond what was expected of them in terms of being a well-rounded student – one who has demonstrated academic achievement, campus and community leadership, good citizenship, and creativity.

Danielle Linna received the 2010 Departmental Scholar award recognizing a senior who has displayed excellent academic standards, levels of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and communication skills.

Gregory Olson was awarded the Tidwell Outstanding Man in Business and Rebekka Mikkola received the Tidwell Outstanding Women in Business awards. The award is intended to recognize and celebrate two students who have brought honor and pride to the School.

Teachers motivate, inspire, and make learning fun. It’s hard to go anywhere without meeting a teacher and our School is fortunate enough to have some of the best. Through an award made possible by Wells Fargo, the School of Business and Economics is proud to announce that Lecturer in Operations Management Roger Woods is the 2011 recipient of the Wells Fargo Teacher of the Year. In 2010, the award was received by Assistant Professor of Taxation Joel Tuoriniemi.

Both recipients were honored alongside students at this years Honors Banquet in April. The Wells Fargo Teacher of the Year award is voted on by the student body through an online survey. The award recognizes exceptional teaching efforts and commitment to learning. Award recipients receive a $100 honorarium from Wells Fargo and have their names added to the plaque on display in the School.

Nominees for the 2011 award:

Bill Breffle, Associate Professor of Natural Resource Economics
Mari Buche, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems
Bob Mark, Professor of Practice
Latha Poonamallee, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior
Manish Srivastava, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management

Thank you to the School of Business and Economics faculty who possess a special talent for inspiring a love of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities.