South Carolina FBLA State Officer Update

South Carolina FBLA State Officer Update January 2019 Edition

State President's Introduction INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. State President's Introduction

2. BAA Blast | Running for State Office 3. Chapter Visits | NFLC Highlights 4. Competitive Events| Leadership Development 5. Conference Day 6. Middle Level Information

Dear South Carolina FBLA Members and Advisers, Happy New Year! Your 2018-2019 State Officer Team has decided to publish a newsletter to inform you of what our state chapter has accomplished this year and allow you to learn more about the state officers. Additionally, this newsletter features pertinent information to help your chapter succeed, increase membership, and participate in programs during the year.

2018 was truly a successful year for South Carolina FBLA, and our state theme, “SC FBLA: A Foundation for Success” was incorporated throughout the year as members achieved success. Our state produced several winners at last year’s National Leadership Conference and one Middle Level chapter was recognized on stage at the National Fall Leadership Conference!

As it is now January 2019, FBLA Conference Season has begun! District Leadership Conferences will occur within the next weeks, and the highly-beloved State Leadership Conference will quickly follow. Now is the time to think about running to serve as a State Officer and prepare for your competitive events.

Another key aspect of FBLA that is not highly publicized is the Business Achievement Awards program, also known as the BAAs. The BAA Program allows members to develop FBLA and leadership skills. To promote completion of BAA levels, we are creating a new initiative called “BAA BLAST!” More details on this initiative will be provided below.

Overall, we hope that this newsletter will allow your chapter to grow and participate in the different aspects of FBLA this year!

Sincerely, Travis Johnson South Carolina FBLA State President

SC FBLA State Officer Update

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BAA Blast!

Running for State Office

By: Travis Johnson

By: Travis Johnson

The Business Achievement Awards, commonly referred to as BAAs, involve four levels that allow members to strengthen their leadership characteristics and learn more about businesses. The levels are: Future, Business, Leader, and America. The BAAs focus on three concepts: service, education, and progress. To complete a Business Achievement Award level, your adviser logs onto the FBLA national website, register you to complete the program, and then you will be given a list of activities to participate in. For example, one activity may ask you to create a poster promoting FBLA. You would take a picture of this and upload it to the website.

Each BAA level has different activities.

Have you ever considered running for FBLA elected office? Now is the time to begin preparing for your campaign! Running for state office requires a lot of dedication but it is highly rewarding. First, you need to ask yourself why. Why would you like to serve in an elected office? Perhaps it’s because you saw a desire to help improve your state chapter, or maybe it’s because you have several ideas you’d like to see implemented. This is the most important phase in the process. With a clear understanding of why you want to run, you’ll have a clear outline of your vision, narrative, and ultimately, your platform. Once you’ve answered “Why?” it’s now officially time to complete an application to run for state office.

BAAs is a premier FBLA program and truly allows students to grow their leadership abilities while learning more about FBLA. It is encouraged that all members complete at least the "Future" level of the BAAs. This year, we are excited to launch a new program called "BAA Blast!" The BAA Blast program is designed to increase awareness and participation in the Business Achievement Awards program. To participate in the BAA Blast program, your chapter must have at least 5 more BAA participants from the previous year. For example, if 6 members in your chapter participated in BAAs last year, your chapter must have 11 members complete a BAA level this year to receive the BAA Blast award. Chapters who participate in the BAA Blast will receive a certificate and the chapter's name will be displayed at the State Leadership Conference! Don't miss out on this terrific opportunity to participate in the BAAs and get recognition at State!

The State Officer application will be posted on the South Carolina FBLA state website. State officer applications are due postmarked by February 21 or emailed by February 22. Please be sure to check out the requirements to run for office. This year, candidates for State President must complete all levels of the Business Achievement Awards.

Candidates for any other position must complete the Future and Business levels. The BAA levels must be completed by February 28, 2019. Remember to adhere to all deadlines and requirements.

Once you are officially confirmed as a state officer candidate, it's time to plan! You will need to select a dedicated campaign team; campaigning is a collaborative effort between a group of individuals.

Next, decide on a campaign theme/slogan and purchase campaign material. At the State Leadership Conference, you will have to campaign and deliver a 2-minute speech. Your speech is integral to your campaign. Remember, when talking to voters, be genuine but appear informed about your platform. At the end of the day, remember to have fun! Best of luck!

SC FBLA State Officer Update

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Chapter Visits By: Anna Maryniak & Bennett Velasquez Chapter visits are very important for your state officers to connect with members! The State Officer Team wants to help any chapter in need and would love the chance to meet as many members as possible! This is a wonderful opportunity for members to get direct answers to their questions and are beneficial to both members and officers. At all conferences, District, State, National, etc., the best part for state officers is talking with members and getting to know them better. If you feel that your chapter has any questions or just wants a State Officer to attend an event, reach out to any of us and ask for a chapter visit. We are here primarily to serve you to the best of our abilities and would be thrilled to have the opportunity to meet you.

I had the pleasure of attending Berkeley High School’s FBLA weekly meeting. Not only was I able to attend, but I learned that if you put in hard work you will be able to see the rewards and benefits. In my many years in FBLA, I have not seen a harder working and dedicated chapter that emulates every aspect of FBLA in the student’s life. They work to do their very best at everything. When I was there they taught me so many things about FBLA that I didn’t even know existed. Chapter visits are important because they allow us as State Officers to understand how the different chapter approaches problems or other aspects and to be able to relay that to other chapters.

To request a Chapter Visit, click here: SC FBLA Chapter Visit Form

National Fall Leadership Conference Highlights By: Travis Johnson South Carolina FBLA was well-represented with a delegation of over 100 members at the National Fall Leadership Conference in Charlotte! Members participated in engaging workshops and interactive sessions. Members also had opportunities to interact with other FBLA members from different states and form life-lasting relationships. I even had the opportunity to host a workshop about campaigning! Alice Drive Middle School's FBLA, located in Sumter, South Carolina, was recognized on stage at the closing session for placing 3rd in the FBLA National Fall Leadership Conference Scavenger Hunt. NFLC was definitely a success for South Carolina FBLA!

SC FBLA State Officer Update

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Preparing for Your Competitive Event By: Andrea Clark Preparing for a competitive event can easily be one of the more stressful aspects of membership in FBLA. Are you like most people, and don't know where to start? Below are a few tips to help you conquer your competitive event and do your absolute best!

1. Study the event guidelines. This may seem very selfexplanatory but studying your event guidelines should actually be something you do multiple times while preparing. This will help you to make sure you’ve checked all your bases for what your event requires, and to make sure you won’t be losing any points for careless mistakes.

2. Start preparing for your event well in advance. It can be easy to put off preparing until the week before a conference, but that approach is more counterproductive and causes unnecessary stress.

3. Set daily or weekly goals for yourself. Instead of conquering the entire event in one day, it helps to spread things out. If you are doing an objective test, study one topic one day, and tackle the other topics on other days. Or, if you are competing in a speaking event, outline the introduction to your speech one day, and tackle your main points the next. This allows you to focus more thoroughly on the multiple aspects of your event and fine-tune the parts you’re weaker on.

4. Be open to suggestions. Talk to your other members or maybe even friends outside of FBLA to hear an unbiased opinion of either how you go about studying for your test, or how your presentation sounds. Hearing someone else’s perspective can help you improve your presentation by acknowledging other points of view, which is a sign of a well-rounded presenter. It can help a test taker by helping them to try different methods to intake information more effectively. This approach is especially beneficial when talking to people who’ve previously competed in your event, meaning they can help you to get a realistic picture of the event will take place.

5. Practice. The most important thing to do is to practice, and to practice under the conditions under which you’ll be competing. Without genuinely practicing, it’s impossible to know how you’ll react under pressure and whether you are truly prepared. A good thing is to remember that even if you feel like you’ve practiced enough, practice again.

Being a Leader By: Malcolm Gamble

In order to effectively lead others, you first must lead yourself in an upright way. In order to be your best self, you must have good character, high self-esteem, and definite life goals. When people see you, they should see someone who is: respectful, honest, compassionate, dependable, responsible, self-confident, and trustworthy.

Self-leaders aren't afraid to give compliments to others.

Self-leaders must always operate at maximum strength and to do this you must complete a series of things. First, you must take care of your emotional, physical, social, and intellectual needs. Next, you should set realistic goals and establish boundaries for yourself. Then, you should surround yourself with people who respect you. Next, you should take time for personal reflection.

Most importantly, you should become involved in activities and interests that provide memorable experiences. FBLA helps self-leaders reach their full potential.

SC FBLA State Officer Update

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What to Expect on Conference Day

Dress to Impress at Conferences By: Kerry Singleton, Anna Maryniak, & Bennett Velasquez

By: Kerry Singleton This is the day for which you have been working extremely hard. Here comes the "big day!" As your heart will be racing (as it should be), take a deep breath and tell yourself, "I've got this." When you enter opening session, you will see so many new people. You may be in awe of how many new faces you will see! As this might be a "spotlight moment," keep your eyes on the prize. Be focused on the fact that it's competition day, and you want to bring home a victory. When entering the waiting room, study and remember that you have been waiting for this moment. When entering the actual performance room, you will see the judges or test administrators seated, and they will greet you. This might make your heart race, but remain calm, put on your game face, and walk and talk with confidence! Give your competition, whether it's a test or another form of event, your all! At the end of the conference, the winners will be announced.

Keep your head up regardless of the results and remain confident!

Any and every time you are at the conference, be sure to be dressed in FBLA official attire. Acceptable conference attire includes: business suit with a blouse or a collared dress shirt and neck or bow tie, dress pants or skirt with a Blouse or a collared dress shirt, a business dress, or a blazer with dress pants and a blouse or collared dress shirt and tie, and slacks or a knee length skirt with a button up shirt and blazer. Dress shoes or dress boots are acceptable. At any conference, you could be asked to leave the conference building, if you are not dressed appropriately.

Also, when at the conference, be sure to have on your wristband and badge at all times. Not adhering to this policy could result in disqualification, or not being admitted into a conference event.

You can even get points deducted from your event score if you do not adhere to dress code. Your attire is absolutely crucial, so remember to dress to impress!

District I Leadership Conference

District II Leadership Conference

District III Leadership Conference

District IV Leadership Conference

State Leadership Conference

January 26, 2019 Dorman High School

February 2, 2019 North Augusta High School

February 2, 2019 West Florence High School

February 2, 2019 James Island Charter High School

March 22-23 North Charleston Coliseum

SC FBLA State Officer Update

Page 6 Middle Level Information By: Nikara Johnson & Janiyah Morton

FBLA is always expanding our selection of events to create better Future Business Leaders. This year five new events have been added to help our members better understand how to become innovative leaders. The five new events are: Google Basics is a test that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge about Google. The event tests you on its applications such as Google Docs, Google Sheet, Gmail etc., as well as its history.

Future Leader is similar to the high school event Future Business Leader. This event examines the necessary qualities needed to become a leader. This event examines the position of leaders, the title of leaders and even acknowledges the leaders in middle school.

Global Topics is an event that invites students to explore real-world events and topics that will affect them right now as well as in the future. Since FBLA have chartered with Canada and China, they now want to explore more global events while also building Future Leaders.

General Business is a very useful tool in the business world. In college, the major teaches you all the phases of a business operation. Because of this FBLA created an event that test your own types of ownership, sizes of business, and explores business terminology; your knowledge of computer uses will also be incorporated.

Personal Budgeting test students ability to manage money and their knowledge of financial terms You will be able to compete at District and State in these new events. We wish all middle-level competitors good luck in your event!

2018-2019 State Officer Team Top L-R: Dawson Glenn, Kerry Singleton, Travis Johnson, Malcolm Gamble, Peyton Crowder, Bennett Velasquez Bottom L-R: Janiyah Morton, Anna Maryniak, Andrea Clark, Nikara Johnson