A competition co-sponsored by PP&L, Inc. that encourages students to develop solutions to everyday corporate issues wraps up Saturday (3/20).

Teams of students from four high schools in Pennsylvania, including a team from Dieruff High in Allentown, will present their solutions to a panel of PP&L, Inc. judges.

The oral presentations of the "Let's Get Real" competition begin at 9:30 a.m. in the PP&L, Inc. corporate headquarters building at Ninth and Hamilton streets in Allentown. The high schools participating are Dieruff, Millersburg, Huntingdon (near State College), and South Allegheny (near Pittsburgh). Winners will be announced at noon.

The teams already have submitted written reports. In addition, judges will evaluate the teams on the practicality and the potential for implementation of their solutions; the cost/benefit analysis of suggested solutions; creativity and originality; and documentation and clarity of solutions.

This year's problem: how PP&L, Inc. could measure the value of its Community of Volunteers program, which includes more than 1,300 PP&L employees volunteering in their communities. The students were asked to address the value of this effort to the volunteers, the company and the economy of the local communities.

"This competition is another opportunity for students to use their classroom skills and their knowledge to present innovative solutions and practical approaches to problems and issues businesses face daily," said Larry Sparta, director of Education Relations for PP&L, Inc.

Other sponsors for the competition are Hershey Foods, AMP Incorporated, Procter and Gamble and the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education.

Students in sixth through 12th grades in all public, private, parochial and home schools in Pennsylvania are eligible for the competition.