Heartland FBLA State Leadership Conference Highlights
Heartland FBLA students attended the Nebraska FBLA State Leadership Conference in Omaha on April 4-6. Heartland students earned 29 awards at this conference. The students attending the conference were: (Seniors) Ashley Bittinger, Jordan Bittinger, Mikaelyn Dick, Sara Brune, Janelle Huebert, Lincoln Ruybalid and Ashley Quiring (Juniors) Allison Braun, Bailey Carr, Aubrey DeBraal, Sidney Dick, Jonathan Larson and Morgan Michel (Sophomores) Rachelle Allen, Tyler Brown, Tierney Casper, Gina Grady, Cody Kroeker, Kaitlyn Quiring, Sheppard Ruybalid and Colton Siebert (Freshmen) Jason Burhoop, Camryn Dick, McKenna Friesen, Haley Huebert, Rebekah Larson, Bailey Monnier, Dillon Scheil, Eve Vanderneck and Owen Wurst. Also attending was adviser Kristy Most.
The keynote speaker of the Opening General Session was Gus Gustafson. His message was titled “Turning Setbacks into Comebacks.” His message to students was to face each challenge as it comes into your life and learn to deal positively with the challenges life throws at us! The Opening Session concluded with the campaign speeches of ten candidates running for six state officer positions.
The leadership conference was filled with competitive events ranging from Accounting I and Desktop Publishing to Introduction to Business and Word Processing, plus many more. The Second General Session was held Friday evening where Honorable Mention awards were announced recognizing those who placed in the top 4% of each event.
The Awards Program held on Saturday morning announced the top eight winners in each event and revealed who would represent Nebraska at the National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, this summer. Only the top two or three from each event earn the honor to compete on the national level, which is a great accomplishment. The installation of the 2013-14 State Officer Team was also conducted during this session.
Students earning awards were: Ashley Quiring - 1st Entrepreneurship, 1st Word Processing II, 2nd Economics, 3rd Business Procedures, 3rd Future Business Leader, 9th Job Interview, Who’s Who in Nebraska FBLA and All-State Quality Member Award; Mikaelyn Dick - 6th Word Processing II; Ashley Bittinger - 8th Desktop Publishing; Jordan Bittinger - 8th Desktop Publishing; Janelle Huebert - Honorable Mention Business Procedures; Allison Braun - 1st Entrepreneurship, 3rd Business Law and Honorable Mention Accounting I; Bailey Carr - 1st Entrepreneurship and Honorable Mention Business Calculations; Colton Siebert - 1st Accounting I, 1st Word Processing I, 3rd Introduction to Business, 8th Introduction to Technology Concepts and Honorable Mention Entrepreneurship; Gina Grady - 4th Spelling and Honorable Mention Introduction to Business; Cody Kroeker - Honorable Mention Entrepreneurship; Kaitlyn Quiring - Honorable Mention Word Processing II; Haley Huebert - 1st Keyboarding Knowledge, 2nd Introduction to Business and Honorable Mention Management Decision Making; Owen Wurst - 4th Introduction to Business and Honorable Mention Management Decision Making; Rebekah Larson - 2nd Word Processing I; Eve Vanderneck - 3rd Word Processing I; McKenna Friesen - 5th Word Processing I; Camryn Dick - Honorable Mention Management Decision Making.