Thomas County Central High School Future Business Leaders of America chapter members have proven their skills in state competition. Some will be taking those skills to the national stage this summer.
The 2018 Georgia FBLA State Leadership Conference and Competition was held in Atlanta this March. The chapter had numerous state placers in a variety of categories (see box). National qualifiers were finalized this week.
TCCHS FBLA has four students advancing to national competition. Advisor Nicholas Haskin says he could not be more proud of these students.
“More than 20,000 students compete in nearly 100 events with less than one percent making it to nationals in some events,” he said.
The Social Media Campaign team of Drew Lloyd, Haley Newman and Sydney Sanders banded together in 2017 with the specific goal to earn a place at national competition, Haskin says, and he could not be happier for them and their qualifying third place finish at state.
“Their hard work and dedication paid off,” he said.
Member Sydney Sanders said, upon realizing they were going to nationals, she could not contain her excitement or be more proud of her team.
“At the end of last school year, our team was put together in hopes of going to nationals,” she said. “Therefore, this achievement means a great deal to me.”
Member Drew Lloyd explains the team’s project, Grassroots Greenery.
“We created a healthy meal prep delivery service and marketed the company on three different social media platforms,” she said. “The event really gets you to interact with customers, and it was fun to run an account and see the advertisement side of social media.”
She’s extremely happy with her team’s placement and is excited for nationals.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up because the competition level was high, so when I found out I was just ecstatic,” Lloyd says. “It meant a lot because I didn’t compete at state my freshman year and then I made top 10 at state last year, so my progression of success in FBLA has been really cool to look back on.”
In written tests, senior Huntley Rodgers placed in the top five for Accounting II and earned a nationals slot.
“Placing in a written test event brings unique challenges,” Haskin explains. “You have a moving clock in the corner counting down your every second as you complete a 100 question test covering tough Accounting II concepts. It is a rare feat to qualify in a testing event because [of] the level of competition. We are excited that Huntley will get to compete against some of the brightest in the world.”
Haskin is also proud of the FBLA students’ accomplishments at state competition. He notes that expectations are always high but state competitions are never predictable.
Senior Faythe Choate and her partner Brooklyn Reese earned fifth place in the Social Media Campaign category, just shy of a nationals slot. Choate says they strove for excellence throughout the competition by being well-prepared, calm and enthusiastic about their campaign.
“We wanted to make our business as unique as possible, so we chose for portions of our proceeds to go toward environmental conservation and the protection of the honeybee,” she said.
Haskin says the success achieved at state is due to the students’ “amazing job” of preparing and studying for their events. Fellow TCCHS FBLA advisors Michelle Ausley, Mindy Pierce and Beth Adams also helped prepare the students for competition.
“We applaud all of the members’ hard work and dedication,” Haskin said. “Seeing the work pay off through competition successes makes all the endless hours worth it.”
Sanders says state competitions are her favorite part of FBLA.
“State conferences have allowed me to improve my personal presenting skills and have introduced me to a few of my closest friends,” she said.
The TCCHS chapter works hard to facilitate a place where students truly care for one another and want everyone to succeed, members say. Haskin said the school took its youngest group of students the chapter’s ever had to this year’s state conference.
“We do have an amazing group of seniors, and they proved that by making the stage in multiple events and encouraging younger members in their competitions,” he said. “Having so many sophomores and freshmen attending the conference will hopefully translate into success in the years to come.”
Choate says her participation in FBLA has taught her many valuable lessons and helped her to find her career path.
“FBLA has allowed me to hone my presentation skills to a caliber which reflects modern professional practices,” she said. “It has ultimately led me to major in public relations in college.”
The 2018 FBLA National Leadership Conference will be held in Baltimore, Md. June 27-July 2.
Lloyd says her team plans to prepare by fine tuning its presentation to make sure the best parts are showcased. The team will also practice by presenting its plan to members of the school board, Sanders adds.
TCCHS FBLA STATE PLACERS & NATIONAL QUALIFIERS
*3rd Place ~ Social Media Campaign ~ Drew Lloyd, Haley Newman, Sydney Sanders
3rd Place ~ Entrepreneurship ~ Brody Smith
*5th Place ~ Accounting II ~ Huntley Rodgers
5th Place ~ Electronic Career Portfolio ~ Hayley Hoffs
5th Place ~ Social Media Campaign ~ Faythe Choate & Brooklyn Reese
6th Place ~ Social Media Campaign ~ Shivani Patel, Bryce Barwick, Kamryn Corbin
7th Place ~ Publication Design ~ Savannah Barrett & Drew Lloyd
8th Place ~ Business Communication ~ Riley Jones
11th Place ~ Intro to Business Presentation ~ Gabby Hoffs
11th Place ~ Public Service Announcement ~ Jennifer Wilson, Alysa Yates, Brooklyn Reese
*denotes a national qualifier