While the NH Business Education Association (NHBEA) has been around for more than 90 years, it has flown under the radar in the past few years as its membership dwindled to about 60 as members retire from teaching. However, the board of directors is working to reinvigorate the association with a goal of boosting membership to 250 in the coming years, says Board President Steve Foster.
The NHBEA is a group of business teachers, business students and business professionals who provide resources for business educators to collaborate, share best practices, and stay current in the changing field of business education. It also promotes the value of a business education to students, Foster says. Its members include teachers and students at the high school and college and university levels.
NHBEA holds an annual conference and workshops for its members and conducts the Business Educator of the Year award.
“If you have an interest in business, this is the place to be,” says Foster, who has served as NHBEA’s president since 2017 and served as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs director at Berlin High School until June when the business program was cut due to budget constraints. Foster has also been a business and marketing adjunct professor in the Community College System of NH and is an adjunct professor at Southern NH University.
The NHBEA will be offering a conference in the fall, which will include information about school safety in response to members’ concerns, Foster says. NHBEA is also working to encourage NH schools to make financial literacy a required part of their curriculum, Foster says. “We think every student should have a handle on finances,” he says. “We would like to be the driving force behind business education and development” in the state, he says.
Annual dues for NHBEA are $20, but membership for students is free. For more information, visit nhbea.com.
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