FBLA is starting up again this year! The officers were elected last year to help out our two advisers, Mr. and Mrs. Meeds. There is an entry fee which is $50, but if you can’t pay it all as we have a way to make it work. The officers are Dominick Jackobson (President), Maddie Nelson (Vice-President), Rayan Hummel (Secretary), and Jaydon Montes(Treasurer). I talked to each of them individually and they all seemed to be happy about being FBLA officers this year.
First, we have this year's president Dominik Jacobsen. He is an 8th grader this year and was in FBLA during his 7th grade year. This is his first year as president, and so far he's doing well. He expects it to be hard because “it’s mainly the fundraisers” since he is going to have to help run them. Last year they did multiple fundraisers, their most successful being a fundraiser at Old Soul. Moving on, I asked about competition. Dominick was one of the few that had the chance to go to Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia. He says that, “I am looking forward to being able to go to competitions and that I get to lead the team at the competitions”. He is hoping to be able to get a chance to go to state and nationals again. He is quite excited about being the president this year since, “I care about FBLA and this will help with my leadership skills”.
Talking about nationals, how about I inform you about all the different places FBLA goes for their competitions. For regionals they will be going to Grants Pass. If you get in the top 10 at regionals, you get to go to state in Portland, Oregon for 3 days. If you get in the top 2 at state, you get to go to nationals. Nationals will be in Orlando, Florida this year. Last year, nationals was located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Now, let's take a look at the next officer. This year is Maddie’s first year being FBLA’s vice president. Maddie is in 7th grade, and she was in FBLA when she was in 6th as well. She expects it to be in the middle between hard and easy. Maddie says it’s because, “Last year’s vice president said she didn’t do much, but I'm hoping that Mr. Meeds will make me do more than last year's vice president did”. She would rather have it be hard than both medium and easy, since it would keep her more entertained. Maddie was in FBLA last year, along with all of the other officers. She gets along well with those around her and is excited to work with the newcomers. She says she is excited about being able to help the president this year and being somewhat in charge of others.
Moving forward, let's look at this year's secretary, Ryann Hummell. Ryann is an 8th grader and was last year's President during her 7th grade year. Being that she was President last year, I asked how it felt to be secretary this year. She replied, “no, I’m just glad I have a job since it’s fun”. Ryann is very upbeat and cares a lot about FBLA. She expects her new job as secretary to be easy since, “all I basically did at our last meeting was easy”. She is looking forward to going back to state this year because, “It was so fun. Also we don’t talk about the elevator incident”. Maddie and the rest of the group of girls Ryann was with know what she is talking about.
Next, we have this year's treasurer, Jayden Montes. He was also in FBLA last year during his 7th grade year. This is his 8th grade year and is taking on the role as treasurer. He was not one of the officers last year, so I asked what he thought the difficulty would be with this new job. He replied, “I expect it to be hard because you have to manage the money and work with it”. Money is a difficult and complicated system and it would make sense why this would be hard. Jayden mentioned during his audition for the role that he enjoys working with money and has family members that work with it. He also mentioned that he has experience working with money himself. Since this is his second year, I thought to ask what he felt most excited about. He stated that he is excited for, “being able to work with money and help FBLA by sorting it out”. How much money we have raised or have currently is a costly thing to know, so it is very important he does this right.
Finally we have the two advisors running it all, Mr. and Mrs. Meeds. Mrs. Meeds was unavailable at the time so I will not be able to get her perspective of FBLA. Last year was both Mr. and Mrs. Meeds’ first year being advisors for FBLA. I asked Mr. Meeds why he wanted to be an advisor for FBLA in the first place. He stated, “I have a passion for everything related to business and wanted to pass that down to our students''. Sometimes running something as busy as FBLA can be stressful. It helps to have the officers to help out, and having more than one advisor. Mr. Meeds says Fbla is stressful but, “it’s worth it to be able to do the super funny event we do every year.” Dominick, being the president, most likely helps take some of the stress off Mr. Meeds since he can help organize things.
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