February 26, 2008
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications, 417-865-2815, Ext. 7292
Springfield, Mo. — Evangel University will host more than 1,000 business students from 51 area high schools next week. The students will be competing in three Future Business Leaders of America district competitions: District 13 on Tuesday, March 4; District 18 on Wednesday, March 5; and District 5 on Thursday, March 6.
Registration and competitions will be held in Zimmerman Hall (AB-I), and the general sessions and awards ceremonies will be held in Crusader Dining Hall.
The first general sessions will begin at 9:15 a.m., and competitions continue until noon. The second general sessions begin at 12:45 and will include the election of district officers and an awards ceremony.
The written and oral competitions – in 30 test categories related to the professional business world – are a culmination of tests that began last week at each school’s home site.
First and second place winners in the written test categories, as well as first place winners in events that include speeches or interviews, will qualify for the 2008 State FBLA Competition April 20-22 in Columbia, Mo.
Winners of the State Competition will compete for the National Championship June 26-29 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Evangel’s Sam Walton Fellow Elizabeth Fletcher and the Phi Beta Lambda (university division of FBLA) and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) teams are coordinating and co-hosting the events.
FBLA members and advisers from Willard, Nixa and Exeter High Schools will also serve as hosts.
FBLA District 13 schools include Appleton City, Ash Grove, Bolivar, Buffalo, Fair Grove, Fair Play, Halfway, Hermitage, Humansville, Lakeland, Marshfield, Morrisville’s Marion C. Early, Niangua, Osceola, Pleasant Hope, Republic, Seymour, Skyline, Strafford, Weaubleau, Wheatland and Willard.
District 18 schools include Bradleyville, Branson, Forsyth, Logan-Rogersville, Nixa, Ozark, Reeds Spring, Sparta, Spokane, and Springfield schools Central, Glendale, Hillcrest, Kickapoo and Parkview.
District 5 schools include Aurora, Billings, Cassville, Clever, Crane, Exeter, Galena, Hurley, Marionville, Monett, Pierce City, Purdy, Southwest, Verona and Wheaton.
At the 2008 Missouri FBLA Competition, more than 2,500 high school students and teachers will assemble for the 48th Annual Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference, themed “Leadership in Action.”
The state conference features workshops on leadership and careers in business and more than 40 competitive events such as job interview, Web site development, international business, entrepreneurship, parliamentary procedure, public and impromptu speaking, economics, accounting, business communications, and computer applications.
FBLA is a national organization for high school students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. FBLA membership in Missouri is at an all-time high with 14,447 student members. The Missouri chapter, with 393 local chapters, received an award for being the second largest state chapter in the nation. Business teachers and advisory councils guide the local chapters.
For additional information, contact Elizabeth Fletcher (417) 865-2815 ext. 8112 or home (417) 833-9486.