From left, South Baldwin Chamber Vice President of Investor Relations Travis Valentine, Coastal Alabama Business Chamber VP of Education & Programs Penny Hughey, Lemonade Day Mascot Zesty, and Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich.

Photo by Jessica Vaughn

FOLEY - During the May council meeting, Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich proclaimed Saturday, May 15, as Lemonade Day Coastal Alabama. The event began in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach via the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber. This year, it is expanding to Foley through a partnership between the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber and the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce.

On May 15, local elementary school students in Kindergarten through fifth grade will set up lemonade stands in various places throughout the south and coastal Baldwin communities.

“Lemonade Day is a community-wide educational event providing children with the opportunity to learn and apply entrepreneurial thinking and create a foundation for the success of the global free economy,” said Hellmich. “It exists to infuse today’s youth with the spirit of free enterprise, teaching basic business entrepreneurial skills necessary to become successful contributing members of the community.”

Leading to the event, students have been working hard to learn basic skills necessary to open and operate a business. Skills taught include, but are not limited to, selling, goal setting, business development and planning, budgeting, seeking investors, customer service, and giving back to the community.

If you’re out and about on May 15, you may spot these student-run lemonade stands in various places throughout Foley, Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach. Booths are planned to be at OWA, the Gulf Coast Zoo, in front of businesses in Downtown Foley, and many other locations in the area.

“Hopefully we’ll see lemonade stands all around South Baldwin County on May 15, so please go buy some lemonade from these young entrepreneurs,” said Penny Hughey, VP of education & programs with the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber. “They’ve been attending classes, they’ve learned how to build the stands, they’ve learned about branding and marketing, they even attended classes taught by chefs at Coastal Community College on what makes a good lemonade recipe. They are very excited and looking forward to Lemonade Day, so drive around, find a lemonade stand and support these young entrepreneurs.”