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14 WHS students attend 2014 FBLA State Leadership Conference

Vrana/Scheef/States/Urban bring home competition honors; Vrana & Urban advance to summer Nationals in Nashville

by Kaylynn Knuth on April 09, 2014

What do you get when you cross the drifter, an elevator, and the back access? A great weekend at the 2014 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference!

After a stressful first day of getting there, settling in, and a countless number of trips from the driver’s seat to the "back access," things finally calmed down. The weekend was full of many memories made, one of which was the scary elevator experience.

Several students, including one of our members, were stuck on the elevator between floors 1 and 2 for 10 minutes until maintenance came to help them. A single member of our chapter gained the name "The Drifter" as he drifted between elevators and floors in between tests. A couple other students stayed ”icy” as they chilled in their room after breezing through several tests.

This year’s State Leadership Conference, held April 3-5 in Omaha, was a first for a few of our chapter members.

"This was my first year in FBLA and it was a really good experience for me!" stated WHS senior Jessica Krecklow.

WHS sophomore Alexis Vrana was also a first timer to the conference, and commented: "I had a lot of fun and met a lot of people. I learned a lot!"

The weekend was full of many more experiences made as well.

The keynote speaker this year, Layman Hicks (one of the nation’s top youth motivational speakers from Florida), encouraged students to “Get Up, Get Out, and Go Get” what they wanted in life, all while showing students how to bust a move here and there.

Hicks shared his experiences and setbacks in life and how he learned to overcome them. He told students to live their own lives and forget what other people say about them. He also reminded students that they have to work hard in life to get the most out of what they want when chasing their dreams.

This year 14 WHS FBLA members attended SLC and put their “Excellence in Action”: Mallory Lindstrom, Alexis Libal, Alexis Vrana, Evann Vrana, Ronnie Brust, Janae Urban, Tymber States, Jessica Krecklow, Kaylynn Knuth, Katie Harrell, Ben Scheef, Brent Tenopir, Josh Greenwalt, and Zach Luben.

Competition awards were earned by Evann Vrana, Janae Urban, Tymber States, and Ben Scheef.

Evann Vrana - Business Law (3^rd place), Who’s Who in Nebraska FBLA, Insurance and Risk Management (3^rd place), Electronic Career Portfolio (8^th place), Entrepreneurship (8^th place - team event)

Ben Scheef - Insurance and Risk Management (6^th place)

Tymber States – Marketing (Honorable Mention – team event), Public Speaking II (Semi-Finalist), Entrepreneurship (8^th place - team event)

Janae Urban – Future Business Leader (2^nd place), Job Interview (Honorable Mention), Marketing (Honorable Mention – team event), Entrepreneurship (8^th place - team event)

Those students who placed 3rd or better will advance to the National FBLA Convention, scheduled for June 28 through July 3 in Nashville, TN. Vrana and Urban earned this honor, and now prepare for Nationals. They will be accompanied by WHS FBLA Adviser Barb Shanahan.

Congratulations!