BRISTOL, Tenn. – About a dozen Virginia Middle School eighth-graders looked over the shoulder of technician Roy Hall on Wednesday as he repaired cell phones using a soldering iron and other tools.

Students talked briefly with Hall and other technicians before working their way through other parts of the Touchstone Wireless facility in Bristol, Tenn. The trip was part of a series of business tours organized by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce to highlight area businesses for middle-school students.

Guides from 14 companies – including Touchstone, the Bristol Regional Medical Center, the Bristol Herald Courier and Embarq – showed students around their businesses, talked about the types of jobs available and discussed what skills students would need to work there.

"We want to encourage them to take math, science and English seriously," chamber spokeswoman Karen Witcher said while shadowing the tour. "We want them to be aware of the various career opportunities in the region and get them thinking about what they want to do after high school."

Witcher said 147 Virginia Middle School students participated in Wednesday’s event, which is now in its fifth year. A group of 350 Vance Middle School eighth-graders took part in a similar tour on Monday.

Both events ended with lunch and a tour of Bristol Motor Speedway. The Touchstone tour ended in the company’s training room, where technician Steve Russo said strong math, science and computer skills are required to work at the company, which employs 607 people.

"It’s a great job," said Russo, who’s worked for the company for two years. "It beats digging ditches."

He said employees do not receive free cell phones – a question asked by a number of students – but they do get discounts on certain products.

"It was pretty interesting," Virginia Middle student Brandon Harden said. "If my professional football career doesn’t work out I’ll [apply for a job with Touchstone]."

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