By Roger Allen
with Kevin Gartman
The National Personal Finance Challenge national finals took place at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on May 19-20.
The state champion teams from each of the 50 states were invited to attend the competition, “bringing the best of the best in terms of knowledge and application expertise to one location,” said Kevin Gartman, teacher and coach of a Montezuma team that tied for fifth place nationally.
Members of the team were Alivia Cline, Camryn Brennan, Makenna Johannes and Madison Van Zee.
Coach Gartman noted, “Over 15,000 teams competed at the initial levels of regional and state competitions. Up against many schools far larger, or private finance-focused academies, the girls represented Montezuma very well!”
The initial round of competition pitted student teams against each other in a case study competition. Each team received an identical case study consisting of a newly-divorced mother and her two children, who just gained possession of an expensive home with one income, no college savings plan, and inadequate retirement planning and insurance levels.
The team had one hour to break down the case, prepare a full budget for the family, and make specific financial recommendations for saving, spending, debt management, investing, and insurance to a panel of judges.
Coach Gartman reported, “The top four teams from four judging panel rooms advanced to the round of 16. The Montezuma girls shined in their presentation, with a combination of strong financial knowledge and excellent presentation skills bringing them to the top.”
“Once down to 16 teams, teams faced off in a quiz bowl-style competition, answering questions ranging from information about past chairmen of the Federal Reserve, face values of currency no longer in circulation, contrasting types of bonds, breakdowns of insurance policies and more,”Gartman said.
“Unfortunately, the girls did not make it past this round, losing to the 2024 national champion team from Severn School, a private prep school for the Naval Academy in Maryland,” said Montezuma’s coach.
Gartman concluded, “as their teacher and coach, I could not be more proud of the girls. At every step of the competition, from regional competition, to the state finals, to the national finals, they handled themselves with confidence and grace, and were an example to many others of how to act professionally in difficult circumstances,” he said.
“They could not have performed at a higher level when it comes to the case study breakdowns, which means a great deal to me as they have shown the knowledge and application piece that will help them in future financial situations in their lives,” Gartman said.
“If I had to choose between the girls knowing how to manage their finances for an early retirement or having the knowledge of who used to be on the $10,000 bill and what year it left circulation, I would take the life-knowledge piece every time,” Gartman said.
“It was a fun experience for the kids and a tremendous opportunity to grow.”