Rock Port FBLA members attend State Leadership Conference

Payten Shrader, left, and Dylan Kemerling, right, attended the FBLA State Leadership Conference April 10-12, 2022, in Springfield, Missouri. Payten qualified for state in the Intro to FBLA event. Dylan Kemerling qualified in the Public Service Announcement event. Aubrey Watkins (not pictured) qualified in the Business Communication event. Dylan and Aubrey each placed ninth in their events.

THS students attend Missouri FBLA State Leadership Conference

The Tarkio High School FBLA Chapter earned Chapter of the Year for 2021-22 at the Missouri State FBLA Convention. Pictured are members, from left to right, Tommi Martin, Keena Merriweather, Claire Martin, Katie Hall, Sophia Martin, Jersi Poppa, Tessa Rolf, Alex Barnett, and Adviser Stephanie Parsons.

The Local Chapter Annual Business Report team of Sophia Martin, Katie Hall, and Tessa Rolf earned second place and qualified for the National Leadership Conference.

Missouri FBLA welcomed 4,000 registered attendees from 354 chapters to the largest State Leadership Conference in the nation April 10-12, 2022. For the first time in two years, members and advisers gathered in person to expand their leadership, compete in various events, and connect with members from across the state.  FBLA members competed in over 75 events ranging from Accounting and Agribusiness to Social Media Strategies and UX Design. The top 10 individuals/teams in each event were awarded medals onstage at JQH Arena.  The top four in the events took home trophies and will advance to the National Leadership Conference this summer in Chicago, Illinois.

The Tarkio chapter excelled at the State Leadership Conference by earning the Gold Level of Chapter of the Year and the Gold Seal of Merit along with multiple other awards. The chapter was represented by 12 members competing. Sophia Martin, Katie Hall, Tessa Rolf, Tommi Martin, Keena Merriweather, Jersi Poppa, Alex Barnett, and Claire Martin represented the chapter in person, while Aaron Schlueter, Bo Graves, Daniel Lesher, and Lizzie Schlueter competed remotely for the conference. The Local Chapter Annual Business Report team of Sophia Martin, Katie Hall, and Tessa Rolf earned second place and qualified for the National Leadership Conference.

Throughout their time at the conference, members engaged in specialized leadership aca-demies led by professional trainers in various topics such as mastering self-awareness, creating their elevator pitch for their career, learning how to lead high performing teams, strategizing time-management, and more. The Leadership Expo had nearly 20 exhibitors including universities and military partners for members to connect, leadership activities for members to engage, and tours of the College of Business at Missouri State University. Leaders enjoyed a movie night on Hammons Field where FBLA members had the stadium to themselves to celebrate their hard work over the years.