Davenport FBLA team heads to state

DAVENPORT - Last week, 22 Davenport High School Future Business Leaders of America members traveled to Spokane to compete in the Washington FBLA State Business Leadership Conference. Members competed in a wide range of events, from Public Service Announcement to Business Plan.

Davenport FBLA's efforts did not go unnoticed, as 12 out of 22 members qualified for the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Atlanta June 25-July 1.

The chapter was awarded the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit (received every year since 1978).

Below are individual results of the 2023 State Business Leadership Conference.

The team of Zackary Bruce, Ally Slahtasky and Josie Wynecoop took second place in American Enterprise Project for the project titled "Tomorrow's Business Leaders" which qualified them for the National Leadership Conference.

The group taught Davenport Middle School's sixth-grade class about the basic principles of the American Enterprise System.

The team of Evan Gunning, Jesse Raugust and Jason Schillinger took second place in Public Service Announcement, while Emma Cormier and Samantha Odenrider took third place in the competition to advance both to the National Conference. These groups had to research, form an objective and create a 30-second video on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected teenagers.

Ryan Utley took third place in E-Business and qualified for the National Leadership Conference. Utley created a website that shows e-commerce through a business called "Hemlock Hotels."

Zackary Bruce took third place in Data Analysis and qualified for the National Leadership Conference. Bruce presented about sustainability of Widget Co and had to analyze if it was a wise business decision to continue business in various countries while considering factors that included GDP per country, poverty rate, human capital index and several others.

Bruce took fourth place in Sales Presentation which qualified him to compete at the National Leadership Conference. Zackary had to convince his judges to buy the product he was selling through live demonstration as well as statistics.

The team of Faith Bell, Rikkianna Chavelas and McCall Knopp took fourth place in Partnership with Business for the project titled "Gorillas Go Social," qualifying them to compete at the National Leadership Conference. This group partnered with Some Like it Hot! Espresso.

Individuals that competed and placed in testing events included:

Ally Slahtasky – seventh Place – Accounting II.

Teams that competed and placed in presentation events included:

Katelyn Bell, McCall Knopp and Astraya Sosa took 10th place in Business Plan.

Tessa Cormier, Grayson Danekas and Sawyer Raugust took 10th place in Local Chapter Annual Business Report.

Also competing at the conference were: Alexandra Cormier, who made it to finals in Publication Design, Jessey Holderby, who competed in Digital Video Production, Emma Cormier and Ally Slahtasky, who competed in Broadcast Journalism, Clare Lathrop, who competed in Introduction to Public Speaking and Chloe Hammond, Selah Hupp and Samantha Odenrider, who competed in Business Plan.