Jeremy Barnhart

Jaime Jay welcomes Jeremy Barnhart to today’s podcast. Jeremy is the co-owner and co-founder of Apex Fun Run, a fundraising franchise that helps schools raise funds while teaching leadership and fitness awareness throughout the country. Tune in to the entire episode of Jeremy Barnhart Jump-starting a Dream Career to learn how following your passion can lead to success!

Pursuing Passion

Jeremy used to work as a consulting and audit partner in a public accounting firm. He traveled throughout the US and around the world to help clients. Jeremy retired from the firm in 2006.

He always had the entrepreneurial bug, and so started his own ventures after retirement. Jeremy shares that he’s always looking for something that aligned with his passions in education and fitness. That’s how he came upon Apex Fun Run. Along with his team, they sought to help make the community a better place, build future leaders, and help schools raise money.

Meeting Common Needs

Apex Fun Run started as a combination of the needs of Jeremy’s wife and his business partner’s wife. Scott, Jeremy’s business partner, was the original founder. He was founding it to meet his wife’s needs as a first grade teacher.

“They don’t get paid a lot, and we’re very lucky that there’s people that have the passion to do that and they are obviously not doing that for the money.” –Jeremy Barnhart

On her first day as first grade teacher, Scott’s wife had to stop on the way home from school to buy about 500 dollars worth of supplies for her classroom. However, she didn’t get reimbursed for the expenses. The school apparently had issues raising money, and didn’t had the funding due to budget cuts in education.

At the same time, Lisa, Jeremy’s wife became the PTO president in their children’s school. She also became the fundraising chair. Since she didn’t want to do unhealthy product-based fundraisers, Lisa looked for something fun, healthy, and beneficial to the kids.

The Fundraising Solution

Jeremy shares that Apex Fun Run is the actual solution for raising funds. He and his team go to elementary schools to teach kids leadership skills and fitness awareness. The activity then culminates in a fun run that raises money on a per-lap pledge basis for the school.

“We came up with the solution that not only helps teachers but also benefits students and doubles or triples the money of the schools.” –Jeremy Barnhart

Both teachers and students benefit from the cause. Teachers get to keep 10% of what’s raised in their classrooms. They particularly get reimbursed for the supplies or have money for their classrooms as they see fit. On the other hand, students benefit from leadership and fitness lessons.

Listen to the rest of the story of Jeremy Barnhart for some valuable insights on jump-starting a dream career. Connect with Jeremy and learn how you can pursue your passion as well. Remember to let Jeremy know you heard about him on Stop Riding the Pine!

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Apex Fun Run

Here are the highlights of my conversation with Jeremy Barnhart if you are in a hurry:

* Who is Jeremy Barnhart? ([3:54])

* How Apex Fun Run started? ([5:00])

* Apex Fun Run as the fundraising solution? ([7:18])

* How Jeremy’s background helped? ([11:52])

* How the business was organized?