Nebraska FBLA National Leadership Conference (NLC) awardees were recognized at the Commissioners Recognition For Student Excellence in Career Education held in the state capitol Rotunda on Monday, November, 25, 2013. Governor Dave Heineman and Dr. Scott Swisher, Deputy Commissioner of Education, presented Award of Excellence certificates to these outstanding students. Congratulations!

Nebraska FBLA “Ignited Innovation” at the National Fall Leadership Conference (NFLC)!  Nebraska FBLA traveled by bus, train and plane to Denver, Colorado, to attend the NFLC on November 9-10. The conference was held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown with over 300 Nebraska members and advisers in attendance.  While at the conference, members and advisers had the opportunity to explore Denver, listen to motivational speakers and attend workshops to enhance their leadership skills.

Members and advisers toured various places including Hammond Candy Factory and the Pepsi Center, home of the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche.

On Friday night, the conference kicked off with 2,300 attending the opening session. Ryan Moran, keynote speaker, inspired members to be positive and to follow their dreams. Three national officers from Nebraska led the general sessions:  Brent Comstock, FBLA Mountain Plains Vice President; Peter Raun, PBL Mountain Plains Vice President and Amber Kutnink, PBL Parliamentarian. Al Duncan was the keynote speaker at the closing session and encouraged members to be accountable for their own lives.

Nebraska was represented for many successes at the conference.  Jean Buckley, FBLA-PBL CEO/President, in her remarks at the opening session recognized Lincoln Public Schools FBLA chapters for their collaborative work collecting food for those in need.

Sally Moore from Fillmore Central High School, along with Cody McCain and Jared Knust from Tri County High School participated in the Battle of the States competition.  Each state in attendance was able to enter one team of three members.  Contestants were asked a series of FBLA questions and current events in a preliminary and final round. Nebraska and South Dakota made it to the final round and the Nebraska team won first place!

Nebraska FBLA received sixth place in the September Sweeps Competition. Bellevue West was recognized for bringing the largest chapter delegation to the conference with 65 members.

In addition to the general sessions, the conference offered members the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops. The Nebraska FBLA State Officer Team presented a workshop entitled “Etiquette for Success.”  At the workshop, attendees were informed on the proper way to dress, eat and act in a professional setting. Julie Jensen, chapter adviser from Aurora and a member of the FBLA National Awards Program Committee, presented two workshops on competitive events.

The National Fall Leadership Conference really showed how great Nebraska FBLA is.

Over the past few months, the Nebraska FBLA state officers helped organize the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC), a leadership development conference. The first conference was held in Kearney at the Ramada hotel on September 25, and the second conference was held in Omaha at the Ramada Plaza Hotel on September 26.

September 24 found the state officers traveling to Kearney to prepare for the FLC. The Kearney conference had 330 chapter officers, members, and advisers from 40 schools in attendance. The day started with the Opening General Session led by the state officer team. Keynote Speaker Patrick George from Alabama then spoke about following your dreams. Following the Opening General Session, each state officer presented a workshop about their office.

To end the day, a variety of workshops were provided. State officers split into teams of three to present workshops. President Sally Moore, Vice President Brent Comstock, and Treasurer Julie Slama presented a workshop entitled “Maximizing Membership Motivation,” and discussed ways to get members involved in their chapters.  Secretary Allyson Wilson, Reporter Jake Albracht, and Parliamentarian Trevor Sorensen presented a workshop entitled ”What’s Your Type” discussing personality types and the different types of leaders members will be. Following the Kearney conference, the state officers traveled to Omaha to repeat the conference for day two of the FLC. The Omaha conference had 700 chapter officers, members, and advisers representing 73 schools.

The experience the state officers gained at the conferences is something that they can utilize for the rest of their lives. The opportunity to put their hard work and leadership skills in action was a great experience.

Our own State Vice President Brent Comstock was featured in a Lincoln Journal-Star article published on 9/2/2012. It can be read here.

Nebraska Department of Education News Release: “NEBRASKA FBLA STUDENTS RECEIVE NATIONAL AWARDS“

The Nebraska FBLA State Officer Team attended the State Officer Leadership Academy (SOLA) at Doane College on May 29-June 1. While there, the officers connected as a team, as well as met the officers from four other Nebraska Career Student Organizations (CSOs).

At SOLA the state officers learned about their respective roles and also planned for the 2012-2013 year.  The team eagerly provides the new Nebraska logo for the year (linked to the website) and looks forward to unveiling the 2012-13 State Goals at the NLC!

The State Officer Team is excited for the next year representing Nebraska FBLA.

Thirty-two FBLA advisers joined in the party for the “Jazz It Up with FBLA” adviser workshop on Monday, June 4, led by the FBLA Board of Directors and other veteran advisers. Mardi Gras beads and tokens provided opportunities to win prizes throughout the day while advisers learned ways to develop a quality FBLA chapter.

 Our thanks to the following advisers for presenting:

• Pat Olson, Blair
• Dennis Krejci, Tri County
• Susan Wellman, Syracuse

 And our thanks to the following Board of Directors members for coordinating the workshop as well as presenting:

• Pat Hinkle, Bellevue West
• Jan Went, Columbus Lakeview
• Nick Jarzynka, Elkhorn
• Tennille Gifford, Kearney
• Susan Seeman, Stanton

Congratulations to Twin River FBLA for receiving a $500 March of Dimes mini-grant! The chapter was 1 of 20 chapters from across the nation who received the grant based on their applications to raise prematurity awareness in their communities.

For more information about completing activities for the March of Dimes, check out the following link: http://go.fbla.org/minigrants2011.

We applaud Twin River FBLA for their support of our national FBLA partner, the March of Dimes!

In addition to the 24 Top 10 awards received at the NLC, Nebraska competitors received $6,200 in cash awards! Below are the Nebraska recipients receiving cash awards at this year’s Awards of Excellence program.

FBLA Mountain Plains Region Vice President

Brent Comstock, Auburn

Future Business Leader

Fifth Place: Michael Liou, Lincoln East

Accounting II

First Place: Ashley Quiring, Heartland

Fifth Place: Cody Brown, Heartland

Banking & Financial Systems

First Place: Lincoln East – Myan Bhoopalam and Tianye Chen

Business Ethics

Fourth Place: Kearney High – Zach Biere, Steve Lesher, and Collin Sears

Business Plan

Seventh Place: Minden – Parker Ayres, Carson Blum, and Christain Schwenka

Business Procedures

Ninth Place: Mitch Misfeldt, Blair

Client Service

Third Place: Spencer Morris, Twin River

Community Service Project

First Place: Elmwood-Murdock – Cody Brown, Jordan Bowman, and Lauren Bowman

Computer Game & Simulation Programming

Seventh Place: Bill Spilker, Tri County

E-business

Second Place: Pleasanton – Colin Janitscheck and Adam Ripp

Tenth Place: Nicholas Behrends, Johnson-Brock

Electronic Career Portfolio

First Place: Lacey Uden, Adams Central

FBLA Principles and Procedures

Sixth Place: Cody McCain, Tri County

Global Business

Third Place: Lincoln East – Bridget Fleischer, Austin Koch, and Akshay Rajagopal

Health Care Administration

Sixth Place: Ryan Lunz, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge

Help Desk

Sixth Place: Ryan Kula, Gretna

Hospitality Management

Seventh Place: Sondra Buller, Heartland

Job Interview

Seventh Place: Kyra Valentine, Bellevue West

Marketing

Third Place: Platteview – Josh Jochim, Andy Nelson, and Nick Smith

Partnership with Business Project

Seventh Place: Arlington – Matt Jensen, Tabitha Urban, and Trevor Koger

Personal Finance

Second Place: Logan Meisinger, York Eighth Place: Amy Chin, Columbus Lakeview

Sports Management

Second Place: Dereck Olhin, Aurora

Web Site Design

Fifth Place: Brent Comstock, Auburn

Word Processing I

First Place: Kaitlyn Quiring, Heartland

Open Events

Agribusiness

First Place: Stephanie Teten, Johnson-Brock

Free Enterprise

First Place: Amy Chin, Columbus Lakeview

Congratulations to Diana Le, Lincoln East FBLA, for submitting the winning design in the FBLA 50^th Anniversary Logo competition.

The Business Achievement Awards (BAA) has four distinct award levels – Future, Business, Leader, and America.

For more information about the Business Acheivement Awards, click here.

Nebraska FBLA’s 2011-2012 BAA winners are listed below.

FUTURE

Arlington

• Erica Pierce
• Holly Krueger
• Kelli Albracht
• Matt Jensen
• Savannah Reed

Auburn

• Brent Comstock
• Drew Allgood

Aurora

• Allyson Wilson
• Ben Grossnicklaus

Blair

• Lauren Pfeil
• Madeline Blaha

Chase County

• Cassie Burpo
• Emily Owens

Columbus Lakeview

• Nick Harms

Conestoga

• Amber Burg

Dundy County Stratton

• Cade Duvel
• Cammi Merklin
• Marcus Fox
• Tate Jensen
• Tommy Waters

Elmwood-Murdock

• Tyler Jones

Fillmore Central

• Beth Koca
• Sally Moore

Litchfield

• Taylor Monks

Meridian

• Desiree Bartels

Minden

• Shyanne Thompson

Sandhills

• Cassidy Hafer
• Frankie Sierks
• Jacy Spencer
• Kaitlin Marten
• Megan McLean
• Shaina  Simonson

Silver Lake

• Kila Timm

Syracuse

• Ashleigh Teten
• Kendall Hallstrom
• Shelby Burr

Twin River

• Amber Preister
• Kaity Klein

BUSINESS

Arlington

• Jake Albracht
• Trevor Koger

Auburn

• Brent Comstock

Blair

• Amy Demers

Elmwood-Murdock

• Jordan Bowman

Litchfield

• Levi Mendyk

Minden

• Trevor Sorensen

Twin River

• Elizabeth Wilcox
• Kaity Klein

LEADER

Auburn

• Brent Comstock

Dundy County Stratton

• Morgan Jones

Johnson-Brock

• Kayla Alberts

Syracuse

• Kaitlyn Watermeier

AMERICA

Auburn

• Brent Comstock

Columbus Lakeview

• Amy Chin