Back-to-Back: Waukon High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Chapter repeats State Championship Chapter of the Year honors at State Leadership Conference

For the second consecutive year, the Waukon High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter reigned supreme over the annual State Leadership Conference (SLC) held March 31-April 2 in Coralville, defending its state of Iowa championship won at last year’s SLC in record-setting fashion to repeat as the Lloyd V. Douglas Chapter of the Year. Being the first chapter ever to eclipse the 300-point mark in the history of the State Leadership Conference while winning last year’s title, the Waukon chapter recorded 16 first-place event finishes in its total of 92 placewinnings enroute to scoring 331 points this year, nearly 140 points more than this year’s second-place team.

"I am very proud to be associated with this group of high school students,” Waukon High School FBLA Advisor Joan Schwartz said. “Many of these students began working on their projects months ago and all their hard work and studying paid off.”

The annual State Leadership Conference is an opportunity for students to compete against other students from around the state of Iowa in various business-related tests, presentations and speeches. Many projects were done throughout the past couple of months and then presented to judges at the Conference. Events also included case studies and written tests. The event is scored much like a track meet, with first-place finishers scoring the most points, and so on.

In addition to the SLC competition, chapter members were also able to tour the KCRG television station, as well as Informatics and Geonetrics business locations in Cedar Rapids as part of the weekend trip. Also taking place during the Conference is the election of State FBLA Officers, with Waukon High School sophomore Laurel Keenan being elected as State Secretary for the 2016-17 school year.

“I’m not only proud of the way the students compete, but also their behavior,” Schwartz further shared. “They are excellent representatives of Allamakee Community Schools. I have to thank the officer team and the senior leaders who have set the bar high for all the underclassmen. It is their four years of work and dedication that has made this FBLA program what it is today.”

The top-end event finishers from the State Leadership Conference now have the option of advancing to the National Leadership Conference slated for June 29-July 2 in Atlanta, GA. Event placewinnings earned by the Waukon High School FBLA chapter members at this year’s State Leadership Conference include the following:

FIRST-PLACE FINISHES (16)
Claire Beyer - Accounting II
Lauren Elliott, Payton Rissman, Aubree Cota - Battle of the Chapters Advanced
Max Swartz - Business Law
Katelyn Leiran - Client Service
Leah Riese - Creed Oration
Jacob Hosch - Cyber Security
Lauren Elliott, Kylee Hager, Payton Rissman - Digital Video Production
Max Swartz, Lanci Bulman, Caitlin Shelton - Emerging Business Issues
Chris Miller - Filing
Adam Hansen - Help Desk
Katelynn Griffith - Interviewing and Etiquette
Laurel Keenan, Caryssa Hermanson - NLC Pin Design and Promotion
Mason Hermeier, Claire Beyer, Regan Wasson - Publication Design
Leslie Sivesind, Logan Sullivan - Random Acts of Kindness
Mitchell Snitker, Carver Conway, Katelyn Leiran - Vocabulary Relay
Kaley Benzing - Word Processing

SECOND-PLACE FINISHES (15)
Abe Schwartz - Accounting
Lanci Bulman - Accounting II
Haden Hammel - Business Knowledge and Current Events
Connor Hanson, Brock Berns - E-Business
Lauren Elliott - FBLA Principles and Procedures
Jessica Sholes - Filing
Gus Pladsen, Isaac Fink - Graphic Design
Kaia Johanningmeier, Morgan Van Ruler, Bailey Mathis - Introduction to Business Presentation
Zoe Roberts - Job Interview
Will Keenan, Noah Liddiard - Mobile Application Development
Bethany Stock, Zoe Roberts - NLC Pin Design and Promotion
Isaac Fink, Madison Snitker, Haden Hammel - Public Service Announcement
Carson Schwartzhoff - Sales
Logan Sullivan - Securities and Investments
Jacob Hosch - Technology Practical Applications

THIRD-PLACE FINISHES (13)
Carley Sweeney, Rylee Einck - Banking and Financial Systems
Emma Hatlan, Deanna Schlitter, Austyn Ede - Battle of the Chapters Advanced
Gus Pladsen, Nick Johnson - Business Plan
Morgan Van Ruler - Creed Oration
Alex Marti - Economics
Sydney Ross - Introduction to Business Procedures
Robby Drew - Introduction to Information Technology
Peyton Bieber - Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
Kate-Leigh Wilson, Alyvia Jones, Nicole Behrend - Public Service Announcement
Laurel Keenan - Public Speaking I
Zoe Roberts, Emma Hatlan - Publication Design
Sydney Ross - Sales
Austyn Ede, Jacob Hosch, Mason Hermeier - Website Design

FOURTH-PLACE FINISHES (17)
Sydney Herman - Accounting II
Nicole Behrend - Business Calculations
Caryssa Hermanson - Business Communications
Katelyn Leiran, Autumn Johnson - Business Ethics
Jessica Sholes - Computer Problem Solving
Megan O’Neill, Michaela Dehli - E-Business
Regan Wasson - Electronic Career Portfolio
Maranda Elliott - Filing
Madison Snitker, Kaley Benzing, Alex Marti - Global Business
Audry Fahey - Healthcare Administration
Chris Miller - Insurance and Risk Management
Hannah Hennessy - Interviewing and Etiquette
Gabby Ewing - Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
Nick Johnson, Gus Pladsen - Local Chapter Annual Business Report
Bailey Jones, Rachel Kucera - Mobile Application Development
Kaley Benzing, Alex Marti, Madison Snitker - Vocabulary Relay Advanced
Bethany Stock - Word Processing

FIFTH-PLACE FINISHES (18)
Kaylonna McKee, Kasinda McKee - American Enterprise Project
Bailey Jones, Kaylonna McKee, Kasinda McKee - Battle of the Chapters Advanced
Maddie Ahlstrom, Leslie Halverson - Business Ethics
Autumn Johnson - Business Terminology
Laurel Keenan, Emily Kolsrud - Community Service
Kasinda McKee - Cyber Security
Michaela Dehli, Mary VanderVelden, Megan O’Neill - Digital Video Production
Michael Headington, Robby Drew, Mary VanderVelden - Entrepreneurship
Kjersten Colsch - Healthcare Administration
Isaiah Welch - Introduction to Business Procedures
Mitchell Snitker - Introduction to Financial Math
Adam Hansen - Leadership
Nicole Behrend, Kate-Leigh Wilson, Alyvia Jones - Local Chapter Exhibit
Kaylonna McKee, Bailey Jones, Jessica Sholes - Marketing
Leah Riese - Public Speaking II
Carver Conway - Sales Presentation
Carson Schwartzhoff - Securities and Investments
Leslie Halverson, Michaela Dehli, Megan O’Neill - Spelling Relay

SIXTH-PLACE FINISHES (13)
Morgan Van Ruler - Accounting
Maranda Elliott - Accounting II
Mason McMillan, Hannah Hennessy, Annika Anderson - Banking and Financial Systems
Emily Kolsrud - Business Knowledge and Current Events
Colin Waters - Business Terminology
Grace Blocker, Maiko Kapodze, Katelynn Griffith - Global Business
Peyton Hesse - Healthcare Administration
Noah Liddiard - HTML/CSS
Kjersten Colsch - Interviewing and Etiquette
Thomas Byrnes - Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
Kyle Jones - Networking Concepts
Kyle Jones - Securities and Investments
Kaia Johanningmeier, Bailey Mathis, Carley Sweeney - Social Media Campaign Project.