KILLEEN, Texas — Young entrepreneurs gathered April 19 for the Best Tasting event at the Franklin & Emily Pratt Learning and Leadership Center.
It was an opportunity to check out the competition and, ultimately, decide whose lemonade reigns supreme, just ahead of Lemonade Day May 3-4.
The competition is part of a series of activities that included conceptualizing a design for the lemonade stand, learning to make lemonade from the experts at Chick-fil-A in
Copperas Cove and building a stand with supplies and assistance from professionals at Heights Lumber & Supply Inc. in Harker Heights.
Command Sgt. Maj. Loyd Rhoades, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos command sergeant major; Chris Albus, Cavalry Family Housing project manager; Killeen Mayor Debbie Nash-King; Copperas Cove Mayor Dan Yancey; Harker Heights Mayor Michael Blomquist; Bryan Ruiz, H-E-B partner; and Jeffery Reed, Raising Cane’s partner, had the honor of judging the competition, a task Albus said becomes more challenging each year.
“These young entrepreneurs just get more and more confident every year,” he said. “Their product improves every year. It really does inspire young people to strive to develop that entrepreneurial spirit, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Nash-King agreed, praising the young entrepreneurs for their efforts.
“I am very proud of the young people that are here today, and any kind of way the city of Killeen can continue to support them in their unique endeavors to become business owners in the future, we are here for them,” she said.
The youths were judged in three categories: Best Overall, Most Unique and Best Presentation. Barbara Henson and her children Julia, 10; Hannah, 8; and Zachary, 5, of “lemon sweetness Lemonade,” combined flavors from last year’s strawberry lemonade with coconut water and raspberry lemonade with honey to create this year’s strawberry
honey lemonade.
“That’s our specialty, is that it’s strawberry lemonade with the honey in there,”
Barbara said.
She added the entrepreneurial lessons learned from the event are invaluable.
“That is why we do this,” she said. “The entrepreneurial aspect of it — we love
that. We look forward to this every year now that we’ve started doing it and it’s such a blessing.”
“Abby’s Lemonade Surprise,” named after 6-year-old Abigail Smith, also participated last year, but impressed the judges this year with the elaborate presentation of juicing lemons and mixing each custom beverage to order and homemade cookies, earning her the title of Most Unique.
“CoLe’s Mango Blast Lemonade,” manned by her big brothers Caleb Smith, 16, and Connor Smith, 15, scored points for creativity and presentation as well.
The duo served a blend of freshly squeezed lemonade, a pineapple mango juice mix, fresh diced pineapple and mango and a drizzle of Chamoy, finished with a rim of Tajin, inspired by a tropical drink served in a pineapple they enjoyed while in Florida.
1st Sgt. Marcus Smith-McGee, 510th Combat Engineer Company-Armored, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, father of Abigail, Cole and Conner, said having his family involved in the event connects them with one another, but also with the community. His wife Paula Smith-McGee and oldest son Isaiah Smith
also participated.
“Community involvement with the family will help them continue to stay together, to love each other and to be a big part of the community themselves,” he said.
He added the event is a “creative tool” to bolster entrepreneurship, as well as a fundraising opportunity for his family, with “Abby’s Lemonade Surprise” supporting Army Emergency Relief and “CoLe’s Mango Blast Lemonade” supporting Boy Scouts of America.
Nadiya Byrd, 10, also believes in giving back, supporting Central Texas Theatre selling her “Galaxy Lemonade.”
“We call it Galaxy Lemonade because it is out of this world,” she said.
Freshly squeezed lemonade flavored with strawberry or blueberry, mixed with edible glitter that revealed shades of purple, pink, blue and green, earned Nadiya the title of Best Overall.
She explained the inspiration for her lemonade stand stems from her aspirations of attending Space Camp and becoming a NASA engineer.
“I was like, ‘Why not base it on one of my dreams?’” she said.
Rhoades applauded Nadiya and her peers for their ambition.
“The young lady over here — she’s 10 years old,” he said. “She wants to go to astronaut camp this summer in Alabama. The two gentlemen are in 10th grade; they want to go to Boy Scout camp here in Texas this summer, so it’s helping them understand the importance of raising funds. Basically, they’re chasing their dreams.”
Best Presentation was awarded to Trinity Barker, 9, of “Trinity’s Unique Lemonade.”
The young entrepreneurs will officially open for business on Lemonade Day
May 3-4 all over the Fort Cavazos area.
Visit local.lemonadeday.org/fort-cavazos-area for more information.
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