Letter to the Editor; FBLA career fair to be used as model for future events

To the Editor,

Last week I had the pleasure of participating in an event that included 300 high school students from seven area schools. The event was a “Local Career” Fair, hosted by the Odessa High School Future Business Leaders of America, that introduced students to the numerous career opportunities available in rural counties. I was one of 31 presenters who talked about our careers in agriculture, business, construction, counseling, education, engineering, environment and conservation, finance, government, healthcare, public safety, social services, and technology.

Terri King, Odessa’s FBLA instructor, and the Odessa FBLA students did everything from determining the careers to feature and lining up presenters to setting up the school for the event and feeding everyone lunch before they left. Lincoln County native Dr. Elizabeth Stuhlmiller joined us in Odessa to give the keynote presentation. Her youth and her rural roots made for an engaging viewpoint that the students could relate to as she spoke about her own personal choice to work in a rural community and why they might want to consider it as well.

The EDC knows that our youth often think they must move away to get a job, yet we have jobs here that we struggle to fill. Mrs. King and the students of the Odessa FBLA put on an outstanding event, and provided us with a model that can be duplicated for hundreds of students in the future. I hope that as a regional community, we will make that happen!