Seven Tyrone FBLA Members Advance To States
Members of the Tyrone chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competed in the Region 14 FBLA Conference at Mount Union High School on Monday, January 9. Seven of the ten members who competed qualified for States and two of the members who did not place will also attend the conference as members at large.
At the regional conference, Tyrone competed in competitive and performance events against students from Bald Eagle, Bellefonte, Elk County Catholic High School, Mifflin County, Mount Union, Spring Cove, State College, and Sugar Valley Rural Charter School.
The seven members who qualified for the state conference are seniors Hailey Vanish, Elizabeth Fryer, and Emma Reese, juniors Alyssa Wheland and Jacob Rice, sophomore Logan Harpster; and freshman Carlie Nowlin.
The Tyrone chapter’s members at large will be junior Bryanna Britten and freshman Paige Carper.
“I am extremely proud of all of our members this year. This is the largest group of students we are taking to the State Leadership Conference in Hershey,” said FBLA advisor and Tyrone high school business teacher, Amanda Burega.
I am extremely proud of all of our members this year. This is the largest group of students we are taking to the State Leadership Conference in Hershey
— Advisor Amanda Burega
The top three students in the competitive events qualified for states and the top two students in the performance events qualified.
Senior Hailey Vanish competed in business communication and placed first. The objective test focused on nonverbal and verbal communication concepts that go into managing businesses in today’s society.
Senior Lizzy Fryer took second place in journalism. The journalism competitive event focuses on the economics, business, and history of journalism while also teaching laws and ethics of reporting.
Senior Emma Reese took first place in UX Design. The event focuses on effective design principles, ease of navigation and readability, mobile and desktop responsive web design, copyright, creative commons and fair use, the role and process of UX design, and careers in UX design.
Junior Alysa Wheland placed second in public speaking. The topic of Wheland’s speech was how higher education can transform to better serve the needs of the students and the workforce. Wheland grabbed her audience with her introduction which incorporated humor and used personal anecdotes to create a connection to the topic which brought her speech to life.
Junior Jacob Rice and sophomore Logan Harpster worked together in sports and entertainment management and took home second place. In their event, they were tested on the business of sports and entertainment, including career opportunities in the field.
Senior Kenneth Sorokie competed in website design. Sorokie created a website for I-99 Antiques in Tyrone. The rankings for the website design competition will be released at the end of January with the top 15 scoring entries being invited to participate in an oral presentation of the project at the state conference. Regardless of what he scores, Sorokie will travel to Hershey with the rest of the FBLA members as either a competitor or another member at large.
The two members who competed in the regional conference but did not place for states were junior Bryanna Britten and freshman Paige Carper. Britten competed in the job interview performance event and placed fourth. Carper competed in event planning and placed fourth.
The seven members will travel to Hershey from April 16th to 19th to compete in the state competition.
The top three placements in each of the competitive and performance categories will then advance to the national competition held in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to the Pennsylvania FBLA website, “FBLA inspires and prepares students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences.”
Students interested in joining FBLA in the upcoming years should contact Ms. Burega in room 102. Students do not have to be planning on pursuing a career in business to join. There are several topics that FBLA focuses on such as its performance events, and different competitive events that focus on Agriculture and Health.
“We are always looking for more members to join our club and learn about FBLA and what it can do for your future,” said Burega.
Hailey Vanish is in her fourth and final year as a member of Tyrone Eagle Eye Newspaper. As she enters her senior year, she hopes to write more stories...
