Business students head to Evangel March 4–6

FBLA is a national organization aimed at helping high-school students prepare for careers in business. According to a news release, FBLA membership is at an all-time high in Missouri, with 14,447 student members in the state. The Missouri chapter comprises 393 local chapters and has received an award for being the largest state chapter in the nation.

Elizabeth Fletcher, Evangel’s Sam Walton Fellow, is coordinating and co-hosting the event, along with Phi Beta Lambda – the university division of FBLA – and Students In Free Enterprise. FBLA members and advisers from Willard, Nixa and Exeter high schools also are serving as hosts.

Students from District 13 schools, including Bolivar, Fair Grove, Marshfield, Republic, Seymour and Willard, will compete on March 4. Students from District 18 schools, including Branson, Nixa, Ozark and Springfield will compete on March 5, and students from District 5 schools, including Billings, Clever, Cassville and Monett, will compete on March 6.

Students will participate in written and oral competitions in 30 test categories related to the professional business world, the release said. The district competitions are the culmination of tests in late February at each school’s home site.

First- and second-place winners in the written test categories, and first-place winners in events including speeches or interviews, will qualify for the 2008 State FBLA Competition, scheduled for April 20–22 in Columbia. At the state event, more than 2,500 high school students and teachers will participate in the 48th annual FBLA state leadership conference, themed “Leadership in Action.” The state conference features workshops on leadership, careers in business and more than 40 competitive events, including job interviews and public speaking.

Winners of the state competition will advance to the FBLA’s national championship June 26–29 in Atlanta. [[In-content Ad]]