Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s Business Hall of Fame Event Honors Laureates, raises more than $276k

FORT MYERS, Fla.  – Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s annual Business Hall of Fame event was held at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples on Tuesday, April 19, drawing more than 400 attendees and generating more than $276,000 in funds for the organization.

Ingrid Aielli and Chef Fabrizio Aielli of Aielli Restaurant Group, Larry Lipman of Lipman Family Farms, and Brian Rist of the Rist Family Foundation were recognized as the newly inducted laureates to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. The prestigious acknowledgment honors influential, visionary leaders from the business community that have made a significant impact, created new opportunities and elevated the educational landscape for youth in their communities regarding financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness.

Funds raised at the event will support Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s life-changing, no-cost programs on financial literacy and career and work readiness delivered to students in the Southwest Florida community. To learn more about Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida and how you can support their mission by donating, volunteering, or becoming a sponsor, visit www.JASWFL.org.

First Horizon was the presenting sponsor for the event. Title Professionals of Florida was the Diamond sponsor, and Stock Development and Wells Fargo were the Platinum sponsors. The Gold sponsors included London Bay Homes, Publix Super Market Charities, and Seacoast Bank.

About Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Junior Achievement programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 4.8 million students per year in more than 107 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations in over 100 other countries worldwide.

Locally, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with classroom business volunteers during the 2020-2021 school year to provide nearly 126,000 hours of instruction to nearly 13,900 students in 576 classes throughout Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties. For more information on Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, visit www.JASWFL.org, call 239-225-2590, or email info@jaswfl.org.