Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Left to right, back row: FBLA advisor Terri King, Andy Schafer, Christina Johnson, Amanda Hardt, Jared King, Zach Schall, Cade Weber, Nick Tebow, Markus Smith. Front row: Mariah Davison, Kendall Todd, Charli Moffet, Kira Powell, Hailey Williams, Shelby Smith, Carley Williams, Kolby Crossley enjoying the sun and surf at Daytona Beach in Florida.
Hailey Williams, daughter of Dan and Patty Williams of Odessa, was third in the nation with her electronic career portfolio.
The team of Christina Johnson, left, and Kendall Todd, right, placed in the top 15 for their Business Presentation on social media.
Left to right: Cade Weber, Jared King, Markus Smith and Justin Hunt took fifth place as a team for their Partnership with Business Project involving Spokane and Odessa food banks.
Left to right: Mariah Davison, Andrew Schafer, Shelby Smith and Hailey Williams came in at the ninth spot with their Community Service project involving portable defibrillators.
Orlando, Florida was the destination for 17 students from Odessa High School who competed in the 2011 National Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Conference. The support of the community and the school made it the trip of a lifetime and an experience they will not soon forget!
With over 8,000 students from around the nation in attendance, competition was tough, but our little high school was one of the most successful. Odessa students competed in six different events, with most events having 50-75 competitors. After months of work and preparation, we were so proud when four of our six teams made it to finals, and three teams received awards!
Hailey Williams gets third
Receiving third place, Odessa’s highest finish ever, Hailey Williams took home the prize for her Electronic Career Portfolio. After two years of hard work and a few disappointing setbacks, Hailey persevered to create an amazing website that was truly deserving of this award.
Partnership w/business fifth
Receiving fifth place was the Partnership with Business team of Cade Weber, Markus Smith, Justin Hunt and Jared King. The committee worked to form a three-way partnership between the 2nd Harvest Food Bank of Spokane, the Odessa Food Bank and the Odessa High FBLA chapter. With the help of Odessa Food Bank director, Julie Jantz, many great improvements have resulted from this partnership.
Community service ninth
Mariah Davison, Shelby Smith, Hailey Williams and Andrew Schafer delivered a flawless presentation to place ninth with their Community Service Project. The project focused on training people in how to use an automated electronic defibrillator (AED) and to give cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The committee worked with former Odessa resident Steve Jantz and current resident Kim King to create a video and provide training to over 100 people. (Jantz was successfully revived after suffering a heart attack right before a volleyball game was to take place in Wilbur between the Wildcats and the Odessa-Harrington team.)
Kendall Todd and Christina Johnson placed in the top 15 with their Business Presentation on strategies businesses could use to implement social media. These two young women are amazing presenters, and we were thrilled when they made it to finals.
Also competing were Kira Powell, Charli Moffet, Kolby Crossley and Carley Williams in the American Enterprise Project. The committee worked with local innovators to educate students about the Free Enterprise System. And finally, Amanda Hardt, Nick Tebow and Zack Schall competed in the Local Chapter Annual Business Report competition. They wrote a 30-page report reflecting the activities of the Odessa chapter for the past year.
Orlando was a new adventure for most everyone. Busch Gardens, Disney World, Epcot and Universal Studios were favorite activities. Interestingly, the highlight for many was a trip north to Daytona Beach. On the eve of NASCAR’s Coca Zero 400 at Daytona Speedway, students were able to take pictures of the track and the trailers used by the racers. While they couldn’t watch, you could hear the roar of the time trials.
Florida also provided the hunters in the group the opportunity to chase armadillos and turkeys through the hotel parking lot on many occasions, which was quite entertaining!
Traveling to Orlando and competing in a national conference is a unique experience that very few students ever get. While the FBLA chapter has worked hard, we realize that it would never happen without the support of the school, the parents and most importantly, the community. We appreciate the endless hours parents spend cooking, cleaning, and working to help raise the money needed for the trip. Then there was the generosity of the local businesses that kindly hired students to work or simply donated money for the cause, and the community members who supported the taco feed, the car wash and the Fourth of July fireworks sale. The school staff also helped us out, especially our ASB bookkeeper, Chris Luiten. Our school administrators, Ken Schutz and Suellen White, provided endless support. The entire community of Odessa helped the FBLA achieve success!
Terri King is the business teacher and advisor to the Odessa High School FBLA chapter.
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