FFHS DECA Competes at Regional Conference
By Jordan Hennessy, First Flight High School Correspondent –
First Flight High School DECA members attended the regional Marketing Competitive Events Conference. Front row, left to right, Jordan Hennessy, Robbie Palmer, Wesley Rawles, Katherine Ross, Anna Leigh Vincent, Kayla Jarvis, Mabel Soe, Megan Parker, Shannon Parker, Katie Whitehead and Mary Jo Smith, DECA adviser and marketing teacher. Second row, left to right, Skylar Nelson, Daniel Hardy, Cameron McManus, Austin Banks, Tyler Tonnessen and Kate Taliaferro. Third row, left to right, Richard Sessoms, Kevin Micallef, Tommy Swankie, Ryan Jones, Jarrett Davis and Denis Mullen. (Courtesy photo)
First Flight High School DECA members traveled to Greenville, N.C. on Dec. 13, to participate in the regional Marketing Competitive Events Conference.
Members who went to the conference participated in both written and role play events. Business volunteers serve as judges for the various events. Bob
Berback, a retired IBM executive; and Jo Whitehead, owner of Awful Arthur’s Oyster Bar, traveled with the group to assist as judges. Berback has also served as a judge, bus driver and chaperone for the state competition.
The first event is a comprehensive exam; students take this exam at school prior to the competition. With a one-hour time limit, students must answer a 100-question multiple choice exam about marketing. The exam score and the score from the second event, the roleplay, are averaged. Those who reach an average score of 70 percent or above achieve the title of proficiency.
Proficiency award winners were freshmen Skylar Nelson; sophomores Daniel Hardy, Cameron McManus, Austin Banks and Shannon Parker; juniors Katie Whitehead, Richard Sessoms and Tyler Tonnessen; and seniors Kayla Jarvis, Megan Parker, Wesley Rawles, Katherine Ross, Mabel Soe, Dennis Mullen, Kevin Micallef, Jarrett Davis, Jordan Hennessy and Kate Taliaferro.
Top scorers in each event and for the comprehensive exam received medals.
Students who won the award for the comprehensive exam were Soe, Ross, Rawles, Tonnessen and Parker.
The role play takes place at the competition. Students are presented with a marketing problem. They then have 10 minutes to prepare a plan which addresses the problem and about 10 minutes to explain their plans to the judge.
Students who won an award for their role play event performance, were Ross, Hennessy, Rawles, Tonnessen, Parker and Davis.
Six finalists are chosen for the series awards. The total composite score of the exam and the performance event affect this decision.
District winners are then chosen from the six finalists. They have the highest composite scores from the exam and the role play. They were Ross and Rawles as a team (1st place for Sports and Entertainment Marketing), Soe (3rd place for Individual Sports and Entertainment Marketing), Tonnessen (1st place for Principles of Marketing), Parker (2nd place for Apparel & Accessories ), Whitehead (3rd place for Apparel & Accessories) and Jarvis (2nd place for Quick Serve Restaurant Management).
Mary Jo Smith, DECA adviser and marketing teacher, indicated the opportunity the students have been given will be invaluable outside the classroom. “(I recognize) how fortunate we are that our students are afforded this opportunity to be exposed to such real world business situations,” Smith said. “They are able to apply the essential standards, problem-solving and workplace skills that are learned in the classroom through these authentic simulations.”
DECA members are currently planning to attend the state convention, which takes place in Greensboro, N.C. in March.
