Penn College of Technology came alive on Jan. 7, as it was filled with students from 12 different schools competing at the FBLA regional conference. Montoursville’s team had twenty-six members who placed high enough to make it to the state level at Hershey in April.
“I really enjoyed my first regional competition,” freshman Zelma Haight said, “Dressing and acting professional was really fun.”
Haight placed 2nd overall in Intro to Public Speaking, which is an event that requires participants to prepare a five-minute speech about a topic and present it to a panel of judges.
“I am thrilled to go to [the state competition],” Haight said.
In addition to public speaking, FBLA members can also compete in Sales Presentation, which is what juniors Rebecca Teffeteller and Rowan Fortin, and sophomore Christian Berwanger decided to do as a group.
“I chose to compete in Sales Presentation with [Fortin] and [Teffeteller]… not only because they are my friends, but because I was inspired by friends who competed last year. It felt like a fun challenge, and I wanted to be part of a team,” said Berwanger
“I was confident in [Fortin], [Berwanger], and I’s ability to work together and effectively sell a product,” Teffeteller said.
The group sold a Hatch Restore Alarm Clock to a panel of judges at the competition, but experienced some technical difficulties during the performance.
“The [alarm clock] wouldn’t connect to the wifi, so that certainly added to the stress,” Teffeteller said.
“…we had to think on our feet to fix the issue,” Berwanger said.
Despite the setback, the team was prepared and placed 2nd in the region for their event.
“During the performance… I was confident because I knew I was prepared and knew my entire script,” Fortin said.
Also an option in FBLA is to compete in an objective test event, where unlike the presentation events, students take written tests months before the conference and discover their scores at the award ceremony that takes place during the conference. Junior Austin Davidson competed in the objective test Sports and Entertainment Management.
“I chose [my event] because sports is probably the subject I have the most knowledge of… so I knew I could do really well on the test. This year’s conference was a lot more fun for me because since I did a test and not a performance event, I wasn’t worried about my performance and I could just relax with my friends,” said Davidson.
The next step after placing at the regional conference is attending the state conference to compete there.
“I am very excited for states. I love staying at the Hershey Hotel and meeting other FBLA students,” said Tefffeteller.
Berwanger and Fortin are also looking forward to the state conference.
“I’m looking forward to competing again [and] experiencing the energy of the competition,” Berwanger said.
Fortin said she enjoys meeting new people and hanging out with friends at the state competition.
“My goal…would be for me to ultimately get in the top 20 [Intro to Public Speaking contestants in the state], but I want to feel confident in myself with how I perform,” Haight said about her goals for the state competition.
Davidson’s goal is to have a good time and his time there while also advancing to the final presentation round at the conference.
This sentiment is shared by Teffeteller, Fortin, and Berwanger, who also want to place high enough to attend the national conference in the summer.
The FBLA state conference will take place from April 12- April 15.
“My favorite part about FBLA is probably the camaraderie and being able to be in a club with my friends,” Davidson said.
“I recommend that everyone join FBLA next year because it is really fun,” said Fortin.
Featured photo (at top): FBLA members who attended the regional conference gather in front of the Penn College ACC Auditorium for a group picture. Students who advanced to the state competition will have the chance to compete in Hershey from April 12- April 15.
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