BRATTLEBORO — Business students at the Windham Regional Career Center have returned from the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Vermont state competition in Burlington with significant victories.
Twenty-four Career Center students competed against peers statewide in such arenas as accounting, banking, business law, business ethics, finance, public speaking, economics, and marketing.
They placed in 47 events and brought back 62 awards, including 18 for first place and nine each for second and third place. The local chapter earned second place as the state's overall outstanding chapter and first place in the March of Dimes Award.
This year, the chapter set out to solicit professional members in the community, a goal it not only met but also took an award for: the chapter has the greatest number of professional members in the state of Vermont.
FBLA is the largest and oldest business-career student organization in the world, with nearly a quarter-million high school members. It's been affiliated with the March of Dimes for nearly 40 years in a fundraising capacity.
The Career Center's first-place victory in this area was due in large part to contributions they collected through their local sales campaigns, members said.
James Ferris of Brattleboro, the Career Center's FBLA president, said he enjoyed the competitive aspect of the conference and how it benefitted him to see how he and his chapter matched up with students across the state.
FBLA secretary Katelyn Donovan of Putney said that the competitions were intense: “Student teams were given about 10 minutes to prepare for a challenge before presenting solutions to a panel of judges. I feel like we learned and perfected so many skills.”
Barb Vinci, a Career Center business teacher and an FBLA advisor, said she was especially pleased with the feedback she received about her students while at the conference.
“Everyone told us how prepared, responsible, and mature our students were,” she said. “They've all grown from the experience, and have been challenged to find out who they are and what they're capable of doing. I found the whole experience to be extremely worthwhile.”
Maribeth Cornell, Career Center business teacher and FBLA advisor, said she was proud to see the students win award after award - and she was prouder still of who they have become as young, professional adults:
“They work well as a team, interact professionally with others, know how to make new friends, and consistently present themselves as kind and compassionate human beings.”
She added: “Once students get really involved with FBLA, they love it: They love the leadership development and the validation of their salesmanship skills, and they they see how what they are learning in school will be used in their futures.”
Cornell said she loves watching students' enthusiasm grow: “Our local towns have a lot to be proud of in these future business leaders, and we appreciate all the support we get from local businesses.”
Students who won first-place honors included Dan Richardson in accounting and banking and financial systems; Casey Gould in agribusiness and global business; James Ferris in banking and financial systems and business presentation; Hunter Smith in banking and financial systems; Dan Fooks in business communications; Eamon Martin in business law and economics; and Greg Wood in business math, introduction to business, and FBLA principles and procedures.
Also winning first place honors: Matt Anderson in business presentation; Joshua Champney-Lester in introduction to information technology; Molly Atamaniuk in Job Interview I; Brandi Butler in Job Interview II and hospitality management; Oliver Huestis in management decision-making; Katelyn Donovan in public speaking and business presentation; and Casey Manning in sports and entertainment management.
Rounding out the first place honorees: Kayla Yurkevicz in global business; Maria Tevolini in hospitality management; Skyla Harvey in management and decision-making; and Marissa Semenovich in sports and entertainment marketing.
Other award winners included Jennifer Clark, Adam Richter, Sarah Kampner, Rebecaa Freeman, Jessica Fox, and Sofie Hansen.