JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — What started as a project through a Junior Achievement class at Jackson Township High School is now recognized globally as the best business created and operated by students.
Current Jackson students, along with some recent graduates, took home first place in the De La Vega Global Competition for FlameGuard, a fire prevention company launched by the teens in 2023.
The World Championship award earned FlameGuard $15,000. The company, made up of Justin Lackey, Matt Smith, Joe Lattarulo, Zach Ferguson and Jack Lancy, competed against other teams from Tanzania, Brazil, Korea, Austria and United Arab Emirates.
The win, announced virtually this week, was the first world championship for a Junior Achievement team from the U.S.
"We were sitting there and he pulled out that golden envelope and he announced that FlameGuard had won. It was a surreal moment. It was definitely a moment that I will never forget," Lancy said.
Smith said the award validates the team's hard work over the last two years.
"Quite honestly, I don't think that feeling has fully sunk in yet that we are world champions," Smith added.
The company sells fire kits at two price points, which include fire blankets, extinguishers, smoke detectors, and escape ladders.
As sales continued to grow, so did the honors. Last June, FlameGuard was named company of the year at Junior Achievement's National Student Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.
Including the global award, the company has received about $35,000 in prize money.
From the beginning though, the mission was greater than sales. The kids wanted to spread awareness about fire safety after a 2023 fire in Jackson Township that killed four members of the Hawk family, including two children.
"Just knowing that we can help prevent this from happening to anybody else has been a great and fulfilling feeling," Lancy said.
Smith believes the company has resonated worldwide because house fires can happen anywhere.
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"It's a global issue. It's not just an issue here within the Jackson Township community," Smith said.
After the national championship, Lancy, another FlameGuard student, and their teacher/adviser, Shawn Donaldson, bought national championship rings.
There is no word yet on whether they will try to add a world championship ring, but the students are clearly determined to keep the company going.
They plan to invest their winnings back into FlameGuard and continue to market their kits.
"For us, its just kind of continuing the business and trying to push this thing, and get it as big as we possibly can," Lancy said.
