NBC FBLA Returns With Two National Championships

At the end of June, Northern Bedford FBLA members headed down to Orlando to compete in the National FBLA Leadership Conference (NLC).

These members qualified for the national competition after the Pennsylvania State Leadership Conference where they exhibited their fulfillment of great progress in leadership, professionalism, and service.

25 members qualified for the NLC, which took place from June 29 to July 2 at the Orange County Convention Center. Over 13,000 students attended the conference, including more than 800 from Pa.

Advisor Garry Black said, "The national leadership conference is always incredibly well done. The organization (FBLA) does a great job putting it all together."

Prior to the conference, each member of the chapter worked very hard to practice and improve their projects.

"They all came in at 7 o'clock in the mornings before school to practice their presentations and they put in a lot of work between research and putting together their speech and their presentation with it," said advisor Hannah Hutzell. "So to see all their hard work pay off has been super rewarding."

To begin the conference, an opening session occurred on July 29, which welcomed students from all over the country and included a time for them to socialize with each other and network.

Competition Day began on the 30th, with all participants having their preliminary performances, aiming to make the top 15.

Following that, the conference's Awards of Excellence program took place on July 2nd, which recognized Northern Bedford students as champions and finalists.

National champions include Avery Aungst, Jaylyn Resh, Aleah Loose, Aiden Wadel, and Myah Douglas.

One of the categories was Business Ethics. The project of Aungst, Resh, and Loose centered around the ethical issues of using AI for customer service. The project included taking a 50 question exam, writing a one page case study, and giving a seven minute presentation on their research.

The team's diligence and knowledge of their topic won them first place for Business Ethics out of 99 teams. Additionally, the three won with their Introduction to Business Presentation in 2022, making 2024 their second year winning a career national championship.

"I'm still in shock. I was honestly not expecting that at all. To win at nationals is extremely difficult and I knew that going into this conference," Aungst said. "We got on the stage and my teammates and I just started crying because it really is like the peak of your year when you're able to do something like that, and really just overwhelming joy is the only emotion that I can really use to describe it."

Another category was the American Enterprise Project. Aungst, Wadel, and Douglas' project called "Encouraging Entrepreneurship" was meant to promote entrepreneurship in Bedford County.

The members hosted a number of activities for the community throughout the year, including leading a series of entrepreneurship lessons to the district students, recording radio ads to promote "Small Business Saturday," and creating "Small Business Spotlight," their own social media campaign.

The three of them submitted a 15 page report and delivered a seven minute presentation at the conference to the national judges.

Because of their hard work and commitment to the community, the group was able to place first out of 76 other teams.

"Other than winning, getting to see two of my teammates, who have never placed before at nationals, win a championship was really emotional for me," said Aungst. "Especially as someone who serves in multiple leadership positions in FBLA, being able to see other members come to new heights is such an amazing feeling, knowing I was part of their journey."

The Northern Bedford FBLA also has three national placewinners.

Members Aleah Loose, Jaylyn Resh, and Lydia Koontz competed in the Local Chapter Annual Business Report category, which required them to write a 15 page report about the Northern Bedford FBLA's activities and achievements and present for seven minutes about their topic to the judges.

Out of the 107 teams competing, this group took seventh place.

Along with the national champions, the FBLA chapter also has a number of national finalists as well.

Emalee Bowser, Olivia Helsel, and Shelby Dively were top 16 out of 124 teams for their Introduction to Business Presentation, which involved them presenting for seven minutes on business failures and preventions for those failures.

With SHINE as their focus, they explained measures businesses should take: S as in "Secure a Business Plan," H as in "Hire a Management Team," I as in "Ignite Innovation," N as in "Navigate Finances," and E as in "Emphasize Marketing."

Aiden Wadel, Lydia Koontz, and Chase Imes, in the category of Business Ethics, placed 14th out of 99 teams.

Additionally, Northern Bedford has many other students who competed at nationals as well.

Members' Ebbie Berry, Mariah Hall, and Leah Swanseen created a website design for the non-profit event, Heather's Kup–a fundraiser held in memory of Hutzell's sister, Heather Miller.

Ava Whisker, Jackie Clevenger, and Adam Berry were the Visual Design Team, and they created a Christmas themed display for Hebrews Coffee Company to promote gingerbread lattes.

Rece Dibert, Aaron Bowers, and Kaden Norwood were the Digital Animation team, and this trio created a two-minute animation to educate FBLA freshmen on Introduction to Social Media Strategies with SEIZE: S for "Suggest an Aim," E for "Ensure a Strategy," I for "Influential Content," Z for "Zone in on a Schedule," and E for "Execute a Promotional Plan."

Addison Love, Amberly Detterline, and Addison Reasy were the Broadcast Journalism team. This group created and performed a school news broadcast, focusing on topics such as community service projects, weather updates, and local inspirational individuals.

Savanna Hershberger, Nolin Snider, and Wesley Horsh did a Partnership with Business Project, collaborating with Coffee Coop. The group gave a seven minute presentation and 15 page report describing their partnership with the small business. Coffee Coop was promoted in Bedford County and the FBLA members learned about entrepreneurship from the owner.

The advisors are proud of all their students, and Hutzell is proud that they keep raising up new leaders to help guide the younger ones.

Black said, "They've worked really hard to get where they are." They are also all thankful for the community's support, the school's support, and the business sponsors for making it possible for the students to go.

Being able to compete at nationals and win there as well, the value of their experience is immeasurable.

Aungst said that she is proud of her teams and being able to see how far they have come. She said, "Being able to be a part of their success and be part of their story was amazing."