After months of hard work and dedication, the LM Future Business Leaders of America members headed to Hershey to compete at the State Conference in early April! The Club allows students interested in the business field to gain a deeper understanding of the American business enterprise. Leadership and confidence are built through the competitive structure of the nation wide organization.
This year, the Lower Moreland chapter of FBLA was advised by Mr. Blair and Mr. Miller. The officers were President Mitch Genkin, Vice President Ayden Kerrigan, Treasurer Tammy Liu, and Secretary Brinda Dass. During the course of the year, the leaders organize the club meetings, help their fellow members with their projects, and explain necessary information for the competitions.
When I talked to Brinda Dass about the makeup and recent achievements of the club, she explained the structure of FBLA to me. Members first compete at the regional level before trying to qualify for States in their respective divisions, and some even make it to nationals. There are two different categories of competition in FBLA: test and presentation. In the test category, students prepare to take an objective exam to determine their knowledge of the business field. However, a large majority of students at LM choose the second option and create presentations that touch on topics such as including business plans, sales, social media strategies, community service, and more. Members are able to work in teams for many of the presentations. Brinda worked with Lindsay McShane and Tamara Kohmann to develop a business plan. The three created a mock business for manufacturing orthodontic products. They included financial management, expansion, and future plans for their organization in their proposal, which placed 10th at the competition.
Although the club requires lots of hard work and dedication, it is extremely rewarding. LM students are able to collaborate and network with other students and professionals at the competitions throughout the year. The club provides the resources for members to work on skills, such as communication and problem solving, that they can use beyond high school in their future careers. In addition, experiences such as States are extremely rewarding and fun, according to Brinda. One of her favorite parts of the club is getting to experience States at Hershey with other members, as students spend time bonding with each other and enjoy presenting their hard work.
