Greensboro, Ga. (August 30, 2016) – The Lake Oconee Academy (LOA) high school Entrepreneurship class has created a brand new look for the Titans with the launch of custom Peach State Pride apparel available at the Titan Amory, the LOA school store. LOA has been named the first school-based retailer for Peach State Pride.

The Entrepreneurship class, headed by Mrs. Jennifer Blythe, is part of the DOE-approved CTAE course for the Business and Computer Science Pathway. This year, the class members assumed management of the Titan Armory and revamped store operations. Over the summer students worked to convert the entire inventory to a bar code scanner system with credit card and online sales capability. Students manage every aspect of the school store - merchant services, development and maintenance of the online store, merchandising, product ordering, inventory, delivery, and marketing/advertising.

In order to create demand for LOA merchandise and provide a real-world example of entrepreneurship in action, Mrs. Blythe reached out to representatives of the popular Peach State Pride brand based in Watkinsville, Georgia. Those conversations resulted in a partnership between the Titan Armory and Peach State Pride, making LOA the first ever school-based retailer for Peach State Pride. Periwinkle and white t-shirts hit the store racks on August 19 and the Titan Armory sold 120 adult-sized t-shirts in just two days. The Entrepreneurship class plans to continue its collaboration with Peach State Pride and expand the selection to include sweatshirts, hats, belts, and polo shirts.

LOA students welcomed Peach State Pride founders Derek and Kari Beth Chitwood to LOA on August 25 to speak to the Entrepreneurship classes about the retail business, the future of Peach State Pride, and promoting LOA goods. Mr. Chitwood explained to the students that the brand was born out of a sketch that he penned while sitting in a college class thinking about what could represent Georgia in a manner similar to the popular palm tree and crescent moon logo of South Carolina. After an initial two years of dedication and hard work, Peach State Pride is now an established brand available in over 100 retail stores in Georgia.

“We enjoyed our visit to Lake Oconee Academy, and we are so excited about Peach State Pride's partnership with the Titan Armory,” said Kari Beth Chitwood. “The students impressed us with their engagement and the caliber of their entrepreneurship and marketing efforts.”

For Immediate Release Contact: Kerry Minster 706.454.1562 kerry.minster@lakeoconeeacademy.org