FBLA's Outstanding Chapter of Year

ODESSA – The local chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America was named the Outstanding Chapter of the Year for Washington at the state FBLA leadership conference held in Spokane last week. Area schools that also attended were Harrington, Davenport and Reardan. This was the first live state business leadership conference in two years, since the Covid pandemic forced schools to attend virtual conferences online.

Today's seniors were freshmen at the last live conference in 2019, but lack of experience did not seem to be a problem, said Odessa High FBLA advisor Terri King, as her students came home with 13 competitive event awards that will send at least 27 students to the national conference to be held in Chicago this summer. The Odessa chapter also received the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit for participating in state and national activities and earned the Market Share award for having 61 percent of its high school population participating in FBLA.

Receiving the most prestigious individual award, the Who's Who in FBLA award, was Odessa's chapter president Emily Scrupps. She was recognized for her role as a leader, as well as her academic standing and her many accomplishments in FBLA over the past four years. She also received a $1,000 FBLA Professional Division scholarship.

First-place awards went to:

The American Enterprise Project team of Yvette Davey, Kaytlyn Shafer, Holden Iverson, Hayden Schuh and Levi Hardung for a project focused on home-based businesses and their contributions to the American economy. They completed a home-based business project with Odessa fifth- and eighth-graders, submitted a 15-page report and, according to King, "gave a stellar presentation."

The Business Plan team of Collin Martin, Zach Claassen and Gage Starkel for their 15-page business plan and presentation for Raving Waters, a pontoon-boat rental business on Lake Roosevelt.

the Community Service Project team of Ashlyn Neilsen, Viet Tran, Chloe Winkler, Reegan Carstensen, Corbyn, Neilsen and Casen Watson. They worked with the entire chapter to complete nine operations bringing kindness and joy to the community of Odessa during December.

The Partnership with Business Project team of Emily Scrupps, Jacob Scrupps, Nathan Carstensen, Bo Walter, Lily Starkel and Zane Hamper-Rosman. The team's project, presentation and report highlighted the partnership with Lowe's Corporation's 100 Hometowns Project to further restoration work on the Old Town Hall in Odessa.

The Local Chapter Annual Business Report produced by the team of Melloney Deife, Daeton Deife, Grace Nelson and Landen Brooks summarized an entire year's worth of activities in a 15-page written report and seven-minute presentation to the judges.

Other awards received by the chapter were third place in Digital Video Production for the team of Bo Walter, Casen Watson and Lily Starkel; third place in Graphic Design for the team of Kathryn Burnette, Reegan Carstensen and Zane Hamper-Rosman; third place in Introduction to Business Presentation for the team of Hayden Schuh, Chad Strebeck and Jared Valverde; fourth place in Broadcast Journalism for Mackenzie Lutz, Sean Widger and Dakota Steward, fourth place in Computer Applications for Viet Tran; sixth place in Job Interview for Emily Scrupps; sixth place in Introduction to Social Media Strategies for Jacob Scrupps, Jared Valverde and Corbyn Neilsen; seventh place in Data Analysis for Viet Tran, Chloe Winkler and Zach Claassen and tenth place in Organizational Leadership for Emily Scrupps.

King said chapter members now begin preparing for the National Leadership Conference in Chicago in June. All reports, presentations and projects will be revised using the expertise of a team of local FBLA alumni.