FBLA’s the Talk of the Town

By Jillian Daley

Several North Marion students placed within the top four and earned placement in nationals during the annual Oregon FBLA State Business Leadership Conference from April 7 to 9 in Portland. 

“It’s a big deal to go to conferences again and let the kids shine,” North Marion FBLA Chapter Advisor Kelly Ioane said. “We did state virtually last year and in 2020, and did regionals virtually this year, but it’s not the same.”

At a Feb. 4 School Board meeting, Student Representative Yadira Romero, also an FBLA member, and Director Bill Graupp both shared the results of the conference and discussed the experience. Other School Board members and the Superintendent all lauded the students. It was one of the high points of the evening, with local leaders glowing with pride over students’ achievements with the support of caring adults.

“I just want to thank Kelly Ioane for the consistent success of the FBLA and to express my appreciation for her support of the students,” Superintendent Ginger Redlinger said. “These kids achieve as a result of that support.”

Redlinger also thanked the many other adults who have helped the FBLA thrive, including those who serve on the School Board. Graupp stated the day after the meeting that he believes in FBLA and is glad to give his support because it helps students.

“We are all about giving kids a safe space to learn leadership and business acumen and financial literacy,” Graupp said.

He explained that career and technical events like this one are valuable, and they’re also competitive. For FBLA, the state is divided into five regions. Each chapter competes in their region to qualify for state. For all events, placing anywhere from first to fourth makes a student or team eligible for the National Leadership Conference in Chicago. Clearly, many local students placed well or performed admirably in their competition category:

• Word Processing: First Place, Anna Fuentes
• Digital Video Production: First Place, Jack Kiesel
• Business Management: Second Place, Grace Davenport
• Computer Problem Solving: Second Place: Jack Kiesel
• Future Business Leader: Second Place, Norma Lopez Paz
• Marketing: Third Place, Grace Davenport
• Accounting II:  Fourth Place, Kierra Smith
• Community Service Project: Fourth Place, North Marion Chapter
• Supply Chain Management: Fifth Place, Dominique Huapeo
• Accounting I: Eighth Place, Anna Fuentes

Lopez Paz presented North Marion’s Community Service Project, the Big Brother Big Sister Program. 

“The program identifies and supports at-risk youths from second grade to fifth grade,” Lopez Paz explained. “Counselors and teachers pick which students would benefit from the program and we (High School FBLA members) work to build positive relationships with the school and other students as mentors.”

Lopez Paz said that she has absorbed the kind of lessons that last a lifetime through her participation in FBLA.

"As a first-generation Latina student, FBLA taught me I have just as much right to make a space in a largely white field," Lopez Paz said. "The business world has always been a suit-and-tie type environment, and as a young woman, I knew my best would have to be 10 times the effort put in by my peers. But I've put in the work, and it's shown to pay off. FBLA has taught me that everything is possible: You just have to make your own opportunities instead of waiting for them to present themselves."

Paz Lopez explained that The Future Business Leader award that she received has three parts: submitting a cover letter and resume, taking a timed exam of 100 questions that are related to business or the FBLA handbook, and demonstrating involvement and impact within the organization.

"It all sounds simple enough, but this event is truly the combination of all events offered by FBLA, and so there is a lot to account for," she said.

Many of the tests and projects sound daunting.

For example, at the state conference, Davenport chose to compete in Business Management and Marketing, which both required taking a test prior to the conference and are among the most competitive events. Test scores are used in case of a tie. Both of her events were scenario events for which she was given a prompt and twenty minutes to prepare.

“After the twenty minutes were up, I had to present to a group of judges the problem I was given and my solution to fix it,” Davenport said. 

Tough as it may have been, the challenge has given her strength.

“FBLA has given me the opportunity to experiment with the business world, something I wish I would have explored sooner as it has shown me future career pathways I've never even thought of before,” said Davenport, a junior.

In fact, the experience taught her an important lesson.

“Confidence is the key to every business door,” Davenport said. “You can't get anywhere without using confidence to get there.”

Davenport, Lopez Paz, and all of the other members of FBLA are certainly inspiring confidence in those around them, thrilling the adults in their lives with all that they can do and all of the possibilities that await!

To share a story on North Marion, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us