Filming for the program took place at South Kitsap and Bremerton High Schools
South Kitsap
South Kitsap High School students Lindsey Porter and Jolynn
Jernigan aren’t regulars in the school’s acting class, but on
Tuesday, they stood outside the school cafeteria, facing a large
microphone and a television production crew for an upcoming Public
Broadcasting Service program called “JA’s BizKid$.” The show is set
to begin airing this fall on public television stations
nationwide.
Producers of the program, Seattle-based McKenna/Gottlieb
Productions, hope BizKid$ will do for financial literacy what Bill
Nye did for science. The show is produced in cooperation with
Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide and is exclusively underwritten
by America’s Credit Unions, including Kitsap Credit Union.
South Kitsap High School and Bremerton High School, both of which
have a Kitsap Credit Union branch on campus, were chosen as filming
locations through connections the Credit Union’s publicist, Cathy
Brorson, made to PBS. The crew also filmed at Bremerton High School
Tuesday.
During the taped interview, Porter and Jernigan described how, as
members of the school’s Future Farmers of America, they earn up to
$800 in a year raising and selling pigs. The girls have other jobs
as well, and they’re saving their money for cars and college.
Students like Porter and Jernigan are the types of youngsters Jeff
McKenna, the show’s executive producer, hopes will serve as
easy-to-relate-to role models for his audience.
McKenna has had considerable experience reaching young viewers. It
was his company that created and produced the Emmy-winning “Bill
Nye the Science Guy,” which transformed science from a subject for
geeks into something truly cool.
McKenna will use the same fun, fast-paced approach in BizKid$.
Using a cast of teenage actors, including South Kitsap High School
senior and aspiring actor Kaelon Horst, McKenna will introduce
topics like “net profit” and “compound interest.”
During one segment of Tuesday’s filming, Horst, dressed with style
in a T-shirt and rumpled jacket, stood in front of the South
Kitsap’s Credit Union branch explaining the term “transaction.”
“Money, when it’s not moving, it doesn’t have any value,” Horst
said. “At my high school, South Kitsap High, money’s moving every
day at Kitsap Credit Union. … “
“He makes my job a lot easier,” said audio man Todd Schmidt of
Horst, who made the cut out of 500 teens auditioning for the
BizKid$ cast of 10.
On-location segments are just part of the show, which features
antics of the BizKid$ — think Mouseketeers with money — and a crew
of other fun characters, including Zib (a giant purple nose with a
nose for business; his name is Biz spelled backwards) and Financial
Genius (who shows kids how to learn from his mistakes).
Fans of the Seattle-based comedy show “Almost Live” will recognize
former host John Keister and funnyman Pat Cashman, who will be
regulars on BizKid$. Keister is head writer for the show and stars
in a segment called “Cave Man Negotiations.” Cashman plays a
character called “The King of Ka-Ching.”
McKenna, who was a co-creator and assistant producer of “Almost
Live,” met Nye of the set of that show, which was when their
alliance began.
Kitsap County’s connection to BizKid$ traces directly to publicist
Brorson, part of whose job at Kitsap Credit Union is to promote
financial literacy among young people. As president of a group
called the National Youth Involvement League, she organized a
convention in San Antonio, Texas, where BizKid$ executive producer
Jaime Hammond of PBS was invited to film a focus group involving
young people.
In March, Washington Credit Union League, of which Kitsap Credit
Union is a part, held an event profiling the three-way partnership
between PBS, Junior Achievement and Credit Unions of America in the
production of BizKid$. The event raised more than $2.2 million for
the show from Washington credit unions alone, and money is still
coming in. Washington Credit Union League’s involvement has been
instrumental in raising money for the show, Brorson said.
BizKid$ fits right in with Kitsap Credit Union’s mission to educate
youth about money. Brorson herself teaches classes on a variety of
financial topics in Kitsap schools. The Bremerton branch of Kitsap
Credit Union opened in October, 2001. South Kitsap’s branch opened
in December, 2006.
Tellers at both branches are volunteer students, selected through
an interview process. But the transactions they take care of are
real. Students like Porter and Jernigan have convenient access to
banking on campus, while classes in the school’s marketing program
reinforce the principals of smart money management.
Julie VanCleef is a teller at the South Kitsap Credit Union
branch.
“It’s been great for references and networking,” said VanCleef. “
And it’s been great for our people skills and computers.”
In college, VanCleef said, she will likely major in marketing or
education. “I’m really not sure. It could change next week.”
Regardless of VanCleef’s path in life, at least this BizKid will
know how to manage her money.
