Brenda Lutz received an award for her second place finish at the PBL National Leadership Conference in June.

Brenda Lutz of Rock Port brought home two top 15 finishes from the national competition at the Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference in San Antonio. She joined her teammates in bringing home 15 national awards including 13 top ten trophies.

More than 1,300 of America’s best and brightest college students traveled to Texas to “Create. Lead. Inspire” as they competed for the opportunity to win more than $110,000 in cash awards. This year’s National Leadership Conference took place in San Antonio from June 24-27.

These highly competitive students from all over the United States took part in 60 different business and business-related events. In order to make it to the national conference, participants must first receive a first, second, or third in their event at the state level.

Brenda took second place in the Future Business Educator competition. To attend the national conference, she had placed first in the competition at the state competition held in Kearney, Nebraska.

The Future Business Educator competition required material submission at the conference, a preliminary interview, and a final interview. This year’s participants created a unit plan for a high school economics course. The plan included a pre-assessment, assessments, activities, and other ancillary materials as needed. The assessments were original in nature and not copied from published textbook materials.

Brenda also placed in the top 15 nationally in the competition for Global Analysis and Decision Making. She competed individually at the national competition, but was part of a team that won second at the state competition.

The Global Analysis and Decision Making event recognizes PBL members who develop competency and demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of management, marketing, and economics of global business. The competition included a collaborative, objective test and a presentation. Tested competencies included Communication (including culture and language); Currency Exchange; Global Business Environment; Finance; Human Resource Management; Legal Issues; Marketing; Ownership and Management; Taxes and Government Regulations; and Treaties and Trade Agreements.

Lutz completed her Master of Science in Organizational Management at Peru State College in May.