Odessa FBLA shines at State

SPOKANE - Odessa FBLA attended the State Business Leadership Conference Spokane from April 24-27. After many long nights and weekends of preparation, 32 students competed in 21 events and made it on stage by placing in the top ten for 13 competitions.

Orlando will be the destination for 27 students as they move on to compete in the national FBLA conference from June 27 to July 3 this summer. The chapter received the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit for participating in state and national activities and earned the Market Share award for having 49% of the high school in FBLA.

Receiving the most prestigious award in FBLA, Who's Who in FBLA, was chapter president Melloney Deife. This award is given to the top 1% of FBLA members who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, academic standing and accomplishments in FBLA over the past four years.

The American Enterprise Project team of Leah Beth Claassen, Hadyn Reynolds, Leah Iverson and Aiden and Izaak Schmierer, focused on the contribution of agriculture to the American economy, particularly the potato industry. They worked with seventh graders who successfully ran a baked potato business, toured Simplot's processing facility in Othello, toured the Stahlville Hutterite Colony's potato sheds and hosted a "Potato Fair" for the entire school.

Their 15-page report and stellar presentation earned them the top spot. Viet Tran took first place in Computer Applications and Jacob Scrupps won first place Electronic Career Portfolio on a career in Agronomy.

The Financial Statement Analysis team of Sean DeVore, Dakota Steward and Hudson Watson placed second with their analysis of Intel's financial statements from 2022, where Intel's sales decreased by 30%.

"Restoration Completion: Replace, Refresh, and Restore," Odessa's Community Service Project also placed second for the chapter's work at the Old Town Hall. Team members Zach Claassen, Scrupps, Casen Watson, Troy Hardung, Levi Hardung, and Bo Walter wrote a 15-page report, then gave a 7-minute presentation about the chapter's involvement in the demo, cleanup, grant writing,and hosting of the grand opening for their project.

The opportunity to partner with Odessa Drug provided an amazing opportunity for all FBLA members. By working together with the team at Odessa Drug Store, members learned about retail merchandising while assisting with a social media campaign, inventory organization, and merchandising. The team of Deife, Chad Strebeck, Hayden Schuh and Lexi Eden place dsecond for their project, presentation, and report.

Summarizing an entire year of FBLA activities in a 15-page report and sharing those activities with judges in a 7-minute presentation is a challenge, but this year's Local Chapter Annual Business Report team accomplished both. Winning sixth place was the team of Reegan Carstensen, Corbyn Neilsen, Steward and Lily Starkel.

Also placing sixth and making their first appearance at a state competition was the introduction to the Business Presentation team of Aiden Schmierer, Sawyer Walter, and Jordyn Lewis. They wowed the judges with their space-themed presentation of why businesses fail and how failure can be avoided.

Other awards received by the chapter included fourth place in Word processing Viet Tran, seventh place in Social Media Strategies with the team of Mackenzie Lutz, Holden Iverson, and Jared Valverde, eighth place Job Interview with Mackenzie Lutz, and winning 10th place for Graphic Design was the team of Devin Nelson, Aiden Schmierer, and Lexi Eden. Making finals but not placing in the top 10 were the Business Plan team of Viet Tran, Devin Nelson and Kieu Tran, the Data Analysis team of Bo Walter, Sean DeVore and Levi Hardung and the Intro to Event Planning competition for Micah Powers.

FBLA members are now preparing for the National Leadership Conference in Orlando in June. All reports, presentations, and projects will be revised using the expertise of FBLA alumni, who are now authorities in their field and are providing valuable guidance and support to the current members.