September 15, 2019
PA FBLA Members and Advisers
My name is Max Ferguson and I am your 2019-2020 PA FBLA State President. I am extremely excited for you all to see the first Penn Pal edition of the year! Your newly elected State Officer Team and I have been brainstorming, working, and preparing over the spring and summer for the upcoming year, and we cannot wait to share everything we’ve worked on with you!
I know there has been a lot happening already around the state for Pennsylvania FBLA. In this edition of the Penn Pal, you will be able to see show-casings of some of the great things chapters and members of PA FBLA have already accomplished for the 2019-2020 year. I hope these accomplishments and events inspire many of you to get working and start off your year strong!
Additionally, the State Officer team has written various articles highlighting Pennsylvania and National FBLA programs, as well as giving tips and tricks for starting off your FBLA year. Please make sure to take a look at these articles and share them with members in your chapters, as getting an early start on these programs is a great way to boost your chapter’s success. You will also find an NLC overview within the Penn Pal, which highlights the amazing conference our members had in San Antonio this summer. Share this to inspire your members and get them excited to compete!
In this addition of the Penn Pal you can also find information about the American Heart Association, the 2019-2020 State Project which the State Officer Team selected in May. The State Project slogan is “With Our Hearts As One, The Beat Goes On!” Together, we have an opportunity to make a profound impact on people all over Pennsylvania who are affected by heart disease, by volunteering and donating towards our statewide fundraising goal of $67,000. I know that our state can band together and achieve this amazing goal!
I hope you all enjoy this edition of the Penn Pal! Your State Reporter Maxwell Schwabe has worked hard putting this issue together, and there is a lot of very helpful and important information in it, so please share with your chapter’s members! I hope to see many of you at our State Leadership Workshop at Kalahari from November 3-4 and our State Leadership Conference at Hershey Lodge from April 6-8. If you have any questions or want to know more about the State Officer Team’s plans of work, the upcoming conferences, or anything PA FBLA related, please visit our newly launched website www.pafbla.org, or contact a State Officer or executive committee member.
Sincerely,
Max Ferguson
2019-2020 PA FBLA State President
Business Achievement Awards
by: Ezra Tetreault, PA FBLA FIrst Vice President
The Business Achievement Awards…BAA for short, are an excellent way to gain recognition and get heavily involved in your FBLA career. By participating, students have the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills, expand their business knowledge, and contribute to their local communities. The BAAs consist of four levels: Future, Business, Leader, and America. Each level builds off of the previous and gets increasingly more challenging as you go. The BAA foundation covers the core concepts of Service, Education, and Progress. At each level of the BAAs, members complete activities dealing with these core values.
So, how do you get started? To begin, go to the FBLA National website at www.fbla-pbl.org. Under the Divisions tab find FBLA, and click on Programs. There you will find the link to the Business Achievement Award Homepage. New this year, members are free to complete the BAA activities on their own at their own discretion. It is important that you keep track of all documents and work you do throughout because you will eventually compile it all together. Once you have completed all necessary activities for each level, the next step is to upload your work to Tallo. Tallo is a great resource that FBLA utilizes to keep track of your BAA activities. In addition, potential colleges and future employers may have the ability to view your work. This brings you some additional recognition, in addition to the lapel pin you receive at the conclusion of each level. Once your activities are uploaded to Tallo, your advisor must review and confirm that you have completed the necessary requirements. They will then complete the submission form and send to FBLA National.
I believe the Business Achievement Awards are a fantastic way to get out there and showcase your talents in professionalism and FBLA. These activities will truly prepare you for life after high school. The BAAs are an amazing way to Make Bruce Proud, and I encourage each of you to push yourself and complete as many levels as possible. Keep in mind that for many PA FBLA scholarships and programs, the Future and Business Levels are sometimes required.
Best of Luck PA FBLA!
REcognition PRograms
By: Michael Baker, PA FBLA Secretary
If you are looking for recognition on the state or national level or accolades to add to a resume, college application, or scholarship application; FBLA and PA FBLA offer many different ways to receive recognition and accolades, and below we will highlight some of these ways.
COMPETITIVE EVENTS
FBLA offers over 70 competitive testing and performance events. You have the opportunity to create projects, presentations, speeches, and reports to present at each level of competition. The levels of competition are as follows: Regional Leadership Conference (RLC), State Leadership Conference (SLC), and National Leadership Conference (NLC). Pennsylvania FBLA also offers a competition at our State Leadership Workshop where you compete against other PA schools in a FBLA knowledge competition called “Battle of the Chapters”. In addition there are two state wide video competitions to compete in for Pennsylvania that could earn you a chance to attend the SLC where you will be recognized for your achievement.
WILLIAM SELDEN OUTSTANDING CHAPTER CRITERIA & WHO'S WHO
Each chapter can submit the Outstanding Chapter Criteria (OCC), which is a competition to be the Best of the Best chapter in PA. The top chapters are recognized at the . This is a great way to earn recognition for your school and community. There is also a competition for the Best of the Best in senior members through the William Selden Who's Who in PA FBLA Scholarship, which is also awarded at the SLC.
BIG 33 COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT & KEYSTONE LEADERSHIP AWARD
Two PA FBLA specific recognition programs are the Big 33 Community Service Project and the Keystone Leadership Award. To log your community service hours for Big 33, go to the PA FBLA website at www.pafbla.org, click on the Programs menu and click on Big 33 Community Service. Click the Guidelines/Forms link for more information. To participate in the Keystone Leadership Award, click on the Programs menu and click on the link for Keystone Leadership Award. Both of these programs require you to complete and submit an online form.
PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL BUSINESS HONOR SOCIETY
The National Business Honor Society–Pennsylvania FBLA Chapter is designed to recognize those members of FBLA who truly excel in academic preparation and an eventual career in the business world. Pennsylvania FBLA recognizes that in order to succeed as a true business leader, our members need to be well prepared in terms of their academics, career skills, and leadership development.
FBLA chapters in Pennsylvania are encouraged to nominate members to be recognized in the National Business Honor Society who meet the following criteria:
- High School: Overall cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
- Overall cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 of a 4.0 scale in business, computer, and information technology courses with a minimum of two completed courses.
- Demonstrated leadership potential through service as a chapter officer, committee leader, or other participation in chapter activities.
- Clearly defined career objectives.
If you are a qualifying junior or senior you can apply to the Pennsylvania National Business Honor Society. Applications may be submitted at any time during the year; however, the final deadline for applications will be March 2, 2020. National Business Honor Society members will receive a certificate, ribbon, pin and even honor chords that they can wear at their high school graduation.
ADDITIONAL RECOGNITION PROGRAMS
In addition to the ones already stated, there are many other recognition programs available through the national office. They are as follows:
- Business Achievement Awards (BAAs): There are four levels of FBLA related tasks that get more complex as you progress through each level. The four levels are: Future, Business, Leader, and America. As you complete each level you will receive a pin and recognition at the state and/or national conference.
- Community Service Awards (CSAs): There are three levels of community service achievements that you can reach by performing, documenting and uploading your community service hours to the national CSA hour form. The three levels of CSAs are: Community, Service, and Achievement.
- Membership Madness: Recruit five new FBLA members.
- Membership Mania: Recruit 10 new FBLA members.
- National Outstanding Chapter: Similar to the William Selden Outstanding Chapter award. Earn national recognition for your school and community.
- Chapter Challenge: The Chapter Challenge is comprised of three BAA-like task lists that are completed throughout the year. There are three aspects of the Chapter Challenge: Super Sweeps, Non-Stop November, and Action Awareness.
- FBLA National Distinguished Business Leader Scholarship: Qualifying seniors can apply for the FBLA-PBL National Distinguished Business Leader Scholarship. The five winners will earn themselves $500 on entrance into college and $500 once they join PBL.
Other state and/or national programs can be viewed on the Pennsylvania FBLA (pafbla.org) or FBLA-PBL National website (fbla-pbl.org) under the “programs” link.
American Heart Association
BY: Kimberly SPeece, PA FBLA Treasurer
Pennsylvania FBLA is proud to announce the American Heart Association as our 2019-2020 State Project.
According to the American Heart Association, the average human heart beat is 67 beats per minute. Based on this information and past years fundraising, your state officers decided that a fundraising goal of $67,000 is something that PA FBLA can achieve.
Our slogan for the year is "With Our Hearts As One, The Beat Goes On."
The American Heart Association is devoted to being a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. The association was founded nearly 100 years ago by six cardiologists who believed that scientific research could lead to better prevention and treatment of heart disease. It has grown into the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. It teams with millions of volunteers across the country to fund more than $4.1 billion in innovative research, more than any U.S. nonprofit organization, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases.
We encourage you to challenge your own members by setting a fundraising goal for your chapter. Chapters can attend and volunteer at Heart Walks, hold a Jump Rope for Heart, or create your own ways to raise money. More ideas can be found on heart.org or on pafbla.org. Send all donations to the state office at PO Box 5085, Jersey Shore, PA 17740. Checks should be made payable to PA FBLA with American Heart Association noted on the memo line.
National leadership Conference Overview
By: Vincent Caminneci, PA FBLA VP at Large #1
On June 27th, hundreds of members and advisers from regions across Pennsylvania flew to San Antonio, Texas for the 2019 FBLA National Leadership Conference. While there, PA FBLA was treated to a joyous experience staying at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio hotel and visiting surrounding landmarks, food places, and other points of interests. Members of the PA delegation started their time in Texas by checking into rooms and attending the PA meeting.
At this meeting, we surprised our Executive Director, Bruce Boncal, with orange shirts that had the hashtag #MakeBruceProud on the back. The 2019-2020 State Officer team that was elected at the SLC in April was also introduced, and three and four-time national competitors were celebrated.
The next day, members wore their green PA FBLA polos on a barge tour of the San Antonio River Walk, canals and heart locks. We also square-danced and viewed a live rodeo at the Don Strange Ranch, among other activities.
The next day, the convention officially began. At the Opening Session, Pennsylvania’s own Easton Area High School (Region 28) and Jersey Shore Area High School (Region 7) received monetary awards for their participation in the Lead4Change Challenge. Easton Area High School was also recognized for receiving a grant from the March of Dimes.
The following evening was the Eastern Region Meeting, where PA FBLA President Max Ferguson spoke about the previous year’s numbers for our state chapter. PA FBLA Vice President at Large #3, Drew Lojewski of Dallas High School (Region 16), made a campaign speech and answered members’ questions in order to garner votes for National Eastern Region Vice President. Before the regional meeting and the day after, PA national qualifiers competed.
After competitions were over and the campaign booths were closed, PA FBLA had an exciting dance party at the Buckhorn Saloon. In fact, the energy produced from the consistent dancing and bouncing of our membership caused the ceiling of the room below to crack. PA members even got Executive Director Mr. Bruce Boncal out on the dance floor to do the YMCA!
On the final day of the conference, July 2, NLC voting delegates cast their votes for their preferred candidate in the morning. In the evening, the Awards of Excellence Ceremony occurred. During the ceremony, 81 Pennsylvanian individuals or teams received awards for placing in the national top 10 for their competitions
Drew Lojewski was also elected Eastern Region Vice President by a solid margin for the 2019-2020 membership year. PA FBLA congratulates all competitors and Drew for their hard work over the long preparation period beforehand.
The conference was officially closed at the end of the ceremony. Excluding the NLC dance party held directly after the adjournment, the only thing for members all across the state and nation to do was to pack up. Some went to sleep, others did not. But everyone returned home with new lessons, new friends, new experiences, and the new feeling that we made Bruce proud!
Community Service
By Breanna King, PA FBLA VP at Large #2
“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good” – Aristotle
Community service is one of the most inspiring and important parts of FBLA. Without it, we would not be able to give back to our community and contribute to the world around us. FBLA’s goal of encouraging members in the development of individual projects that contribute to the improvement of home, business, and community is one of the most pivotal parts of being an FBLA member. Most members that are in FBLA know what community service is, but not everyone has ideas as to what activities they can do. Luckily, here are some suggestions.
Every year, my school hosts and participates in an annual canned food drive. We collect items that people had donated from our school district, we box them up and send them to a local food bank.
As a chapter, choose a community service activity that everyone can participate in. For example, if you had allotted a day during the summer to help teachers get their classrooms in order, make sure there are enough shifts for a majority of your members to participate. Your chapter can also create activities such as raking leaves in your local town, collecting coats and mittens for children in need during the winter months, and volunteering at the concession stands during Friday night football games.
To get members attention, create sign up sheets and publicizing all of the community service activities on social media makes it easier for members to sign up and be aware of what is going on. You could also create flyers and pamphlets explaining the activities that you do in depth for your members.
Once members have completed their service hours, submit them online using the following steps:
- Go to www.pafbla.org
- Under Programs, click on Big 33 Community Service
- Click on Big 33 Guidelines/Forms. This will provide you with guidelines as well as a link to the Wufoo form to use to submit the hours that you had completed that month.
- It is very important that you submit all of your hours ten days before the close of the current month. For example, if you had completed all of your hours for September, the submission date would be October 10th.
Hopefully this article will be helpful in starting a community service activity with your chapter. Best of luck, and remember a “world of opportunity” is out there for you to give back!
2019-2020 special Video Projects
By Drew Lojewski, PA FBLA VP at Large #3
Digital video has become a very effective way of conveying new ideas and capturing attention of potential customers. Chapters are now permitted to submit videos for this year’s PA FBLA special video production contests. This contest has been created to encourage members to develop a promotional and/or recruitment video for Pennsylvania FBLA.
Any Pennsylvania FBLA member or a team up to three Pennsylvania FBLA members from any active local chapter may participate in this event. Participating in this event DOES NOT prevent a member from competing in the regional, state, or national competitive events program.
There are two special video project topics for the 2019-2020 school year:
Video Topic #1
Members or students will create no more than a three-minute promotional video to promote the 2019-20 PA FBLA State Project: The American Heart Association. The video should include information about the organization, its mission and goals, relation to FBLA’s goals, fundraising and community service opportunities through this organization, and relation to state officers’ plans of work in relation to the current state project selection. For more information about this year’s state project, go to: www.heart.org
Video Topic #2
Members or students will create no more than a three-minute educational video to promote appropriate conference attendee (especially students) dress code at the 2020 State Leadership Conference in Hershey, April 6-8. The video may take a serious and/or humorous look at appropriate vs. inappropriate attire at the conference, but the ultimate goal is to educate conference attendees about appropriate business attire and dress code. The official Pennsylvania dress code is included in the full set of guidelines.
Submission deadlines, rules, and guidelines are available at https://www.pafbla.org/programs/special-video-projects/ .
If you have any questions, email Drew Lojewski, Vice President at Large #3, at vpatlarge3@pafbla.net.
PA FBLA Officer Elected to National Officer Team
At the 2019 FBLA NLC in San Antonio, Drew Lojewski, a current PA FBLA State Officer, ran for the position of National Eastern Region Vice President. He won his position, and now serves on the FBLA National Officer team.
In early August, Drew attended National Officer Training at the FBLA National Headquarters in Reston, Virginia. He got to meet and speak with local politicians’ staff about FBLA, meet the new FBLA CEO, Mr. Alexander Graham, and work with the new national officers to create the National Program of Work for this year.
Below is a welcome video the National Officers helped create to welcome FBLA members to the new membership year. Check it out!
Membership Recruitment
By Sanjana Shanbhag, PA FBLA Parliamentarian
Factors largely contributing to FBLA’s success are the creative initiatives used to recruit thousands of new members every year. Two programs that students can use to encourage new members to join include Membership Madness and Membership Mania. Both programs provide certificates of recognition along with recognition on the national website. Membership madness specifically is aimed toward students who recruit at least five new members, while membership mania is for students who recruit at least ten new members.
Completing each program also corresponds with a specific task on the Leader and America levels of the Business Achievement Awards. Through these national programs, students can find ways to grow their own local chapter while also receiving recognition for their actions. These programs can be easily integrated into any chapter and can also count toward points for Outstanding Chapter designation. These national chapter programs overall enhance the FBLA member’s experience by helping them move closer to their goal of achieving the BAA’s while also encouraging their peers to be a part of the FBLA experience.
Our Experience at 2019 FBLA-PBL National Leadership Conference
by Emma Barrett and Jordan McGrath
Nationals, as always, was a life changing experience. For me, being able to attend the 2019 FBLA-PBL NLC, for the third time, in San Antonio, Texas, this past June was such a blessing. Having the ability to spend time with like-minded individuals, entertain yourself with foreign sights and locations, and compete against top level peers from around the globe is almost too much to experience in a week. Unlike previous years I’ve attended the NLC, this year I was able to bring along two members of my competitive event team (Network Design) with me. Seeing as we were all close friends I was able to have company everywhere I went, we spent days socializing with other states and countries, studying for our event, networking with business leaders, and of course exploring around the beautiful city of San Antonio via electric scooters together. In the end, as a team, we ended up taking 9th in Network Design, experiencing a new way of life, and growing ourselves past we knew was possible.
My first year of FBLA was spectacular and the National Leadership Conference was nothing short of it. I feel very fortunate and grateful for hosting such a singular, prolific event. From meeting some of my closest friends to experiencing the abundance of activities San Antonio had to offer, I felt as if I lived through a lifetime in six days. Networking was the highlight of it, as I met so many people from around the world that I would have never met otherwise. Furthermore, connecting with these people in professional and informal settings helped me develop relationships in business and personal spheres. NLC made me aware of the “World of Opportunity” that lies in front of me and although I may play a small role, I can be impactful on a much larger stage.
The NLC has always been the goal of almost every FBLA-PBL member. Studying seemingly unendingly to place as high as possible on your specific competitive event. The NLC is not promised to anybody, and will make you work to see it. However, anybody that has ever attended the NLC can vouch for us saying that it is well worth the grind. The memories will last a lifetime, friendships are to be made in every direction, and your journey through leadership, learning, and growing is placed directly in your hands.
Pleasant Valley Shares Thoughts on what FBLA Means to THem
By: Andreas Hoeverman
Founder of FBLA, Hamden L. Forkner, created the club to unify school business clubs across America. Since the birth of FBLA in 1940, the National Business Education Association foundation, has funded the Future Business Leaders of America, helping Forkner achieve his goal of business club unity.
FBLA prepares students for the gruelling efforts requisite to succeed in the world of business through various programs, tests, presentations, and interviews. The National Leadership and National Fall Leadership Conferences are an example of such programs; allowing students to approach business men and women for advice, and prepare them for their own business endeavors.
Members of FBLA are challenged to create an awe-inspiring presentation, or test with excellence; whether it be about robotics, public speaking, or any of the other sixty events that FBLA students are able to partake in. Each of these events are designed to "bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs" (Covington High FBLA). Students not only grow in leadership and academics, but through community service, awards, and recognition they are able to mature through trial, error, and experiences of empathy. Volunteering for the community allows students to form connections, as well as prepare for looking into solutions for the people they may work for in their future business career. Community service also humbles a person, opening their eyes to a plethora of various living situations.
"Not only does FBLA offer a fun and educational business club, it brings several groups of people together to accomplish recognition, all the while giving back to the community(s) around them. Teaching students to be humble, strong, and work hard; shoot for the moon, you may not make it, but you can still land among the stars” (Denise Hopely-Pleasant Valley FBLA Adviser).
Pleasant Valley's Performs Community Service
by Shylah Healy and Olivia Karas
Community service involvement is very important because it teaches everyone, of all ages, to give back to their community while learning valuable traits of compassion, understanding, and teamwork. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in”, if people do not give back to their community, they will not live in a good place. Our Pleasant Valley Future Business Leaders of America Chapter (FBLA) is always participating in different community service projects and giving back to their community with joy.
From stocking shelves or pushing carts to people’s cars at the West End Food Pantry, our community’s local food pantry, to volunteering at local nursing homes, or dedicating time towards coin drops, Pleasant Valley’s FBLA members do it with pride and compassion. One volunteer activity our FBLA is in charge of is our schools biannual American Red Cross Blood Drive. Members help register students, faculty and staff and care for patients after they have donated. Any type of community service, big or small, makes a huge difference.
Every little bit helps towards our goal. Volunteering acts as a type of fulfillment because it allows us to give back to our community. We are privileged to be part of something greater than ourselves.
Getting Ready for our FBLA School Year
By Stroudsburg FBLA
The Stroudsburg FBLA chapter is very excited for this upcoming school year after 14 members attended the National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, TX! To prepare for the year, our FBLA officers have been brainstorming different fundraising and community service ideas for our members. Some include selling chocolate bars at our Open House, selling Christmas wreaths, holiday candy sales, Dodgeball tournament and more. For community service, we will be volunteering at the American Heart Association Walk, ringing bells for the Salvation Army and assisting with local parades.
The officers visited our junior high school to promote FBLA to the freshman class and encourage them to attend our first meeting. That visit was a great success with a large turnout of Grades 9-12 students wishing to join FBLA! We had an ice cream social and discussed upcoming events for the school year. Our chapter is ecstatic to start the school year with FBLA activities!
Cedar Crest FBla Recruitment
Cedar Crest FBLA officers started their recruitment drive early this year by helping out with the school’s Freshmen Camp, a one-day orientation opportunity for rising freshmen. While wearing their club shirts, officers exposed approximately 250 potential members to the club and increased FBLA brand awareness. Through the simple acts of welcoming new students and guiding tours of the building, officers contributed to the improvement of our (school) community.
Our recruitment drive continues during September with the chapter hosting “Sundae Monday”, an after-school ice cream social open to the entire school. Finally, in late September the chapter will have a chance to interact with all freshmen and sophomores at the school’s annual Club Fair.
DV FBLA kicks off new school year with social gatherings
By: Michael Newton
The first week of September offered many ways for incoming freshmen to join Delaware Valley Future Business Leaders of America. With advisers and officers hard at work, the idea to increase membership presented itself as a fun, creative opportunity to help incoming freshmen understand and join FBLA.
DV FBLA President Ashlee Wilson and active member Thomas Florio volunteered at the annual Open House on Sept. 4. There, they were able to educate parents of all grades on the benefits of joining FBLA: learning crucial networking skills, building pertinent social and teamwork skills and immersing oneself into the ever-changing world of business. DV FBLA marks this event as a huge success due to the consistent interest of parents, as well as high praise from school administrators
On Sept. 6, DV FBLA featured an ice-cream social in the 9-10 cafeteria until 4:30. Co-adviser Maura Angle, DV FBLA Community Service Director Cyan Vazquez and Wilson orchestrated the event in hopes of increasing membership and awareness of FBLA. The event was exclusive to incoming freshmen that wanted to learn more about FBLA. The event consisted of fun icebreaker games; one game involved the attendees creating a business they would like to see in downtown Milford. From there, all the people in attendance were able to ask questions about FBLA while enjoying ice cream!
“I was very happy with how Open House and the ice cream social went. These events set us up for a great year,” said Wilson.
Overall, both events were deemed a success and helped move DV FBLA toward achieving a primary goal of increasing membership.
Claysburg-Kimmel FBLA NLC Highlights
In addition, the following eight members earned their way to the national stage:
- Emily Claar – Who’s Who in FBLA and the FBLA Distinguished Business Leader Scholarship
- Michael Baker – 2nd Place in Public Speaking
- Canaan Burket, Hayley Jenkins, and Ben Weiland – 3rd Place in Business Financial Plan
- Mackenzie Clemens, Kyle Glass, and Jocelyn Shultz – 9th Place in Broadcast Journalism
CK and Pennsylvania members spent the first day at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark. Members also explored the famous San Antonio Riverwalk, attended a rodeo at the Don Strange Ranch, and visited the Buckhorn Saloon and of course, the Alamo. The CK chapter had a great week in San Antonio making memories with all of the members from the great state of Pennsylvania! Let’s all work hard this year and continue to “Make Bruce Proud!”
Kicking Off The New School Year
By Jersey Shore FBLA
Jersey Shore FBLA is excited to start the new school year and has plenty of plans already in motion for all of the members, new and returning. To kick off the school year JS FBLA held a meeting open to the entire school for anyone who wanted to join the club this year. To aide with recruitment, the meeting included presentations from officers to the students about events that FBLA partakes in and what’s in store for this year’s projects. Previous qualifiers shared experiences from past Regional, State, and National conferences to show the new members what FBLA is all about. FBLA also brought cookies to the meeting for the students. The club has found that bringing food to the meetings for the members raises the levels of excitement that the students have about joining the club.
The Leadership Management class is working on bulletin boards to entice new recruits to join the club. The advisors’ room doors are decorated with a space theme to show that FBLA is Out of This World as well as other posters and decorations in the business wing. The class has heard from students that the posters make the club seem more fun and attractive to be in, therefore raising membership levels. The students pick catchy phrases that often poke fun at the advisors and bright colors to put up on the boards where students can see them right as they walk into the room and connect the exciting boards with the club being exciting to join.
The FBLA officer team is ready to start getting members involved in the projects they have been working on over the summer such as the Community Service Project, American Enterprise Project, and Partnership With Business project. JS FBLA is ready to kick off the 2019-2020 school year and get as many people as possible ready to learn about business, community service, and leadership.
Fleetwood Fbla SUperheroes for Autism COmmunity Service
On Saturday, July 6, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., members from the Fleetwood FBLA chapter volunteered at Eagle’s Peak Campground for an event sponsored by Superheroes for Autism.
Children from Berks County on the autism spectrum were invited to the event via a Facebook event posting. During the event, FBLA volunteers ran games at the pavilion area, handed out literature about autism, applied temporary tattoos, sold raffle tickets, and assisted at the waterpark as lifeguards.
Waynesboro Middle-Level Gets Their Year Started
Its that time of year again, for late-night football games and back to school. Most importantly the start of a new FBLA 2019-2020 school year. Friday, August 30th was our first general member's meeting. Students from all all grades came to see what we're about. This year we have many fun trips including the conference to Kalahari and many tours to see what our local businesses are up to.
Business attire and community service were some of the big factors we addressed during our first couple of meetings. Our group of returning members noticed that we had many new members and wanted to know why all of these students wanted to check us out. We interviewed 6th grader Maddie Ruefle and 8th grader Brooke Rowland to see what interested them in our organization. What we were most curious about was why they wanted to join. Surprisingly Ruefle and Rowland both responded that they both just want to experience a school club with new people that enjoy the same love of business they do.
Overall, this new year of FBLA is going to be even better than last year. Just wait to see some of the amazing things we are going to accomplish this year!
Northwestern FBLA Walks for Heart
Members of the Northwestern High School FBLA participated in the Erie Heart Walk to bring awareness and raise money for heart patients in the Erie area. The walk took place at Liberty Park on September 12th, 2019. The participants of the walk raised $108,099 in total. They chose to do either the 1 or 3 mile walk to show their awareness for the heart patients. The money will be used to help families who have heart issues and also the survivors just like a member of the Northwestern School District, Maxton Bucci. This walk brought the Northwestern FBLA chapter together with our community.
Central COlumbia FBLA Hosts Activity Fair
Central Columbia FBLA is very active in our schools and community. One of the first ways our chapter helps is by organizing events for the beginning of school. Our chapter hosts the Activity Fair which is usually held on the first Wednesday of the school year.
During the Activity Fair, all of our school’s clubs set up booths for freshmen and new students to walk around and talk to the officers or representatives of each club and learn more about what each does. Among our 18 clubs many of them participate in community service activities, actively trying to make our district and the lives of the people in it better.
The Activity Fair is the last segment of freshman orientation. Our chapter members also help people find their way around the school, have maps of the school printed for them, and also have members working in our school store during Freshman Orientation and the Community Open House.
All profits from the school store benefit our FBLA chapter while members learn skills such as accounting, customer service, and management. At Central we like to believe that every act of kindness and each effort makes a difference in our small town.
Recruitment Gobs!
By CHestnut Ridge FBLA
The Chestnut Ridge Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America continued its annual recruitment drive by awarding the first 50 FBLA members a voucher for a free gob. The first new or returning FBLA members who paid their dues were given a gob voucher for their choice of one of eight different flavors of gobs. Gobs can be picked up at the September gob delivery later in the month. Fifty gob vouchers were distributed within the first 15 days of school!
North Penn-Mansfield Hard at WOrk for another year
Over the summer the North Penn-Mansfield FBLA chapter has been hard at work the chapter officers are working hard to make this year one to remember. The chapter…
- Sent 6 members to Nationals
- Is planning to host The Harlem Wizards
- Is beginning the annual membership push
- Is making plans to attend the SLW
The chapter had the privilege of sending six members to nationals, which were held in beautiful San Antonio, TX. The trip was filled with new experiences, valuable workshops, new found friendships, and unforgettable memories. The chapter’s group competing in Emerging Business Issues placed tenth in the nation, which was a huge accomplishment that the chapter is proud of! Overall San Antonio was a gorgeous city and the chapter members in attendance were grateful for the opportunity to represent Pennsylvania FBLA at the national level.
On October 23, 2019 the chapter is planning to host the Harlem Wizards (a trick basketball team) to raise funds that will be contributed to the community service project. The officers and members are hard at work creating promotional pieces and preparing for the big game day!
All throughout the month of September the chapter officers are constructing a large membership push. Posters are being hung, school announcements are being made, and social media posts are being shared to promote the FBLA chapter, and all of the good opportunities the organization offers.
Members are already talking about attending the State Leadership Workshop this year! In the past several students have gone, and the event is always a blast! Students are excited to hear motivational keynote speakers, take advantage of networking opportunities, and attend worthwhile workshops.
Overall the chapter is preparing for another great year and the members are excited for what the future months have in store!
THe American heart Association Heart Walk
by Tyler Moore, Pleasant Valley High School
For Pennsylvania FBLA, service is one of the top priorities for its members each year. With this in mind, the PA FBLA state officers select one charitable organization each year to raise thousands of dollars for. The American Heart Association, the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, was selected in May of 2019 to be the 2019/2020 PA FBLA State Project.
Pleasant Valley High School, a fierce competitor in the realm of community service and fundraising, has recently taken initiative to help the American Heart Association raise money to fight heart disease. On September 15th, members of the Pleasant Valley chapter, as well as Stroudsburg and Easton, participated in the Lehigh Valley Heart Walk at Raub’s Farm & Corn Maze, a charity walk hosted by the American Heart Association.
The Heart Walk featured many different activities throughout the day, other than the actual walk itself. Participants could have fun dancing at Zumba, doing yoga, enjoying some Fall treats, taking photos, making Fall crafts, and taking in all that the farm had to offer. PA FBLA’s Vice President at Large #1 Vincent Caminecci also attended the walk. The walk itself began around noon, and took place inside the corn maze itself. Participants had to navigate through the stalks of corn to stamp their cards and eventually make it out of the maze. Overall, the day was a success in helping raise funds and awareness for the American Heart Association.
Pleasant Valley encourages everyone to take steps to help their community in various ways. Whether you complete hands on work or fundraise for an organization, there are plenty of ways to make an impact. As for the American Heart Association and Pennsylvania FBLA; With Our Hearts As One, The Beat Goes On.