FUNDAMENTALS OF FBLA

Our school’s FBLA team is preparing for the upcoming Iowa FBLA State Leadership Conference. This is where members from all around the state will gather to compete and showcase their business skills. The competition will take place on March 29 in Cedar Rapids. 

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is the largest career and technical student organization in the world, and Iowa’s state competition brings together some of the most dedicated and driven high school students in business-related fields. This year, CCAHS is proud to send a strong group of qualifiers who advanced through district competition and earned the opportunity to compete at the state level.

Future Business Leaders of America helps students develop leadership abilities, strengthen business knowledge, and prepare for careers in fields such as finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, and technology. At the state competition, members participate in a variety of events ranging from objective tests and case studies to presentations and role-plays. Students are judged based on their understanding of business concepts, their professionalism, communication skills, and critical thinking under pressure.

Additionally, the state competition will be a great opportunity for students to network and/or work on networking abilities. For many students, it is their first experience in a large-scale professional conference setting, which gives a glimpse into what future academic and career conferences may look like. 

One type of event that members will be competing in that’s especially interesting is “prejudged events”. As a member of FBLA, I’ll be competing in an event titled Future Business Educator. In my event I have to write up an almost “mock-lesson-plan”, as if I’m actually teaching a class. I have to pick a topic involved in business concepts (for me, marketing and sales) and formulate an essential question, an enrichment portion of the lesson, and an assessment at the end. This plan is then sent in to judges, who will look over it for when the competition takes place. Then, I will present the plan to them and teach the mini–lesson, after which the final score will be given. 

This format is loosely how all prejudged events will work. We have a handful of members working on prejudged projects, which includes: Ali Seidl, Lily, and Nola doing a Business Plan, Kobe Dobesh doing a Community Service Report, Bo, Riley, and Colter in Digital Animation and Scarlett doing a Local Chapter Business. These events all need to be turned into judges by the 9th of March, so we’re all working hard at the moment!

Students who place at the Iowa State Leadership Conference may qualify to advance to the National Leadership Conference later this year, where they would compete against top students from across the country. While the competition can get somewhat rigorous, CCAHS FBLA members are motivated and prepared to give their best effort. 

The CCAHS administration and student body will express their support for the team as we head to state competition. As the Iowa FBLA State Leadership Conference approaches, my excitement continues to build. For the members of the CCAHS FBLA team, this competition comes from months of preparation, countless hours of studying, and a shared commitment to the team. No matter the outcome, our participation at the state level is already an accomplishment worth celebrating. 

I think our whole community at CCA can wish the FBLA team the best of luck as they compete, learn, and represent our school with business skills they learn!