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Future Business Leaders of AmericaFuture Business Leaders of AmericaFuture Business Leaders of AmericaFuture Business Leaders of America

Phi Beta LambdaPhi Beta LambdaPhi Beta LambdaPhi Beta Lambda

Winter Edition 2008Winter Edition 2008Winter Edition 2008Winter Edition 2008----2009200920092009

In This Issue:In This Issue:In This Issue:In This Issue:

FBLAFBLAFBLAFBLA----PBL WeekPBL WeekPBL WeekPBL Week

Running for OfficeRunning for OfficeRunning for OfficeRunning for Office

Getting Ready for CompetitionsGetting Ready for CompetitionsGetting Ready for CompetitionsGetting Ready for Competitions

FundraisingFundraisingFundraisingFundraising

High School to College Transition High School to College Transition High School to College Transition High School to College Transition

Preview of State Leadership ConferencePreview of State Leadership ConferencePreview of State Leadership ConferencePreview of State Leadership Conference

Local & District News Local & District News Local & District News Local & District News

FBLAFBLAFBLAFBLA----PBL WeekPBL WeekPBL WeekPBL Week

By:

Dilia Tabora

FBLA

Parliamentarian

As we enter a new year we encourage you to take part in all of the exciting events going on in FBLA. Besides district and state competition, the new year brings the traditional celebration of FBLA-PBL week. FBLA-PBL week is an annual event occurring statewide in most school chapters from February 8-14th. Become a part of it by leading your chapter’s activities or by participating in each day’s events. If your chapter already celebrates FBLA-PBL week, we want to give you some tips about how to make each day more productive. FBLA-PBL week is a great opportunity in which all members get together, so why not take advantage of that and fundraise as well? You can sell food, drinks, or cre-ate games for each day and sell tickets for those games. There is virtually no limit to what your chapter can sell to fundraise during this week! Moreover, your chapter’s activities should not be limited to your members only. On the contrary, try to make as many non-members observe and even take part in some of the activities. This will both make your event a larger success and may even increase your membership next year! No matter what themes or activities your chapter prepares, be sure to par-ticipate and even supply some ideas to make your FBLA-PBL week more productive. Everyone gets to have fun being together and your chapter gets exposure to the rest of the student body. Most important of all, remember that FBLA-PBL week celebrates the dedication of advisers and members like you which will undoubtedly make Florida FBLA-PBL the best at Na-tionals!

FBLAFBLAFBLAFBLA----PBL WeekPBL WeekPBL WeekPBL Week Cont.Cont.Cont.Cont.

By: By: By: By:

Jennifer Burklo

PBL Vice President

District 3

FBLA-PBL Week 2009- What Will Your Chapter Do To Get Involved? Once again February is fast approaching and that means the yearly FBLA-PBL week, the second week in February, as well. Many members have spoken with me and other State officers about ideas for what they should do during FBLA-PBL week. Today I will give you an answer to that question. Other than Wednesday which is specifically Adviser Appreciation Day, each chapter may do different events for each day or try to do similar events as others. Either way as long as we are trying to promote FBLA-PBL, our mission, goals, membership, awareness of FBLA-PBL, publicize their success, or to just get their members excited for the spring activities. Here are some ideas for the events your chapter can discuss doing for FBLA-PBL week:

Monday, Kick Off- A social event for all the members is a wonderful way to kick off FBLA-PBL week. Have an ice cream social or go for pizza. Just get everyone together and discuss FBLA-PBL (ideas and plans). Speak to in front of your classes about FBLA-PBL, what are mission is, how we give back to our communities, and the net-working opportunities. Talk to your professors as well about becoming a professional member or even better an adviser. Discuss how FBLA-PBL helps transform student into ethical and professional business leaders. Really get the word out about our organi-zation. Tuesday, Membership Madness- Many chapters stop recruiting once the rush period is over but getting members to always be recruiting even by simply talking about their success in FBLA-PBL to other students, is important. On this day you can have a com-petition for your members to see who can meet the most new people (students), talk to them about our organization and how they can join, and get to sign up and leave their contact information. Make sure to recognize the winner with at least a certificate and announcing it before the other members. Have members create a new brochure and dis-tribute them to students. I great idea for the meeting following this week would be to have pizza or something to offer to get more people to attend and find out more about what exactly FBLA-PBL is and does. Wednesday, Adviser Appreciation- This should be one of the best days. It is the day you can thank the people who make your success possible. Have a surprise get together for the adviser, at where you will present them with a certificate of appreciation and have members share why they are appreciative of the adviser. This will make them re-member why they put in all the hard work and time to help use succeed. Have the members, who cannot be there or if you cannot have a surprise get together, email the adviser and thank them. You could take your adviser out to lunch. Remember to honor your deans, professors, and administration as well.

FBLAFBLAFBLAFBLA----PBL WeekPBL WeekPBL WeekPBL Week Cont.Cont.Cont.Cont.

Thursday Chapter Recognition Day- Go to your local public access cable television station to find out how and when you can make a public service announcement about FBLA-PBL Week to run on local television stations. This is often a free service. Write a 30-second script featuring key members of the organization and stating the FBLA-PBL mission. Write a press release to your school and or local paper about your chap-ter, what you are doing and your accomplishments. Friday Wrap-up Day: Hold a reception for school administrators, advisers, members, Professional Division members, and local business partners. Plan a social for your chapter members—meet for a group dinner, host a volleyball tournament, sip some lat-tes at a coffee shop, or go out dancing! Saturday, Community Service Day- Take this day to either promote the State Project or the National Project. This years State Project is the American Heart Association and the National is always March for Dimes/ March for Babies. Have a mini Heart Walk or March For Babies at your campus or local area. Have flyers, Emails, and radio an-nouncements about the event to get more involvement from other students and commu-nity members. Have speakers from either or both organizations come and speak on the importance of each worth while cause. Go to local homeless shelters and help those less fortunate. Help out at local animal shelters or with any organization that helps oth-ers. All that matters is that you are giving back to the community you live in.

No matter what your chapter decides to do for each day, just remember what our mission and goals are. Be professional and future leaders. Teach others about important organi-zations such as American Heart, Susan g. Komen, or March for Babies. Speak to others about FBLA-PBL and what it can do for them. Recruit members. Recognize and appre-ciate the advisers, who donate their time, knowledge, and experience to help us, the members, succeed. Spend time inspiring and exciting your members about FBLA-PBL and our spring activities including SLC and NLC. Good Luck and Best Wishes. Re-member to Defy Gravity… Anyplace, Anytime!!!!

Running For OfficeRunning For OfficeRunning For OfficeRunning For Office

By:

Mauricio Escobar

FBLA

State President

Well hello Florida FBLA! To start off, I want to thank you all for giving me the greatest opportunity in allowing me to serve you as a state officer. This year has been passing by quickly. The time of year is has no come for all of you members to make the decision in running for a state officer position. I can not begin to tell you how much of a great experience serving as a state officer is. For those members that say, “Well, I might not have enough time with school and all,” guess again. If you truly love FBLA and want to continue in the footsteps of leadership, nothing will stand in your way of becoming a great and successful FBLA state officer.

As state officers, the officer team gets to attend all conferences around the

state, gets to meet the national FBLA team, and even gets to meet the Governor of Florida. It is a great honor and privilege to serve as a Florida FBLA state officer. You get to increase your networking skills, speaking abilities, and leadership skills. As a state officer you not only get the whole business experience, but also get to meet the closest people you will communicate with for the rest of your life; those people are you beloved state officer team.

Serving as a state officer, I can tell you that you will have the most fun you will

have in your high school experience. You will have times to play and laugh with your

fellow officers and truly get to know who they are. From the moment you are inducted,

you begin to build professional relationships that will last you a lifetime. The greatest

part of this experience is to know that you made a difference in improving Florida

FBLA as a whole. Even though you will come to a few obstacles, as every other human

being does, do not worry for you have a caring officer team and advisers to help you

through. A wise person once told me, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will

land amongst the stars.” If you take the challenge in running for a state officer position,

no matter what the outcome may be, you will come out knowing a greater person than

you were before entering the competition. Again, thank you all for this amazing ex-

perience, and I encourage you all to take the step on becoming a state officer.

Lets Get Ready for Lets Get Ready for Lets Get Ready for Lets Get Ready for

Competition!Competition!Competition!Competition!

By:

Yanyn SanLuis

PBL State President

The most exciting time of year for FBLA-PBL members is almost upon us. It is also the most nerve racking time for both students and advisors alike. FBLA-PBL Competition can make or break an entire school year for some, but fortunately for you, I am here to offer some tips to help curb your anxiety. For starters, because Florida is such a competitive state, you have to put in the time to prepare. If your goal is to win at Districts and make it to State competition, you can’t realistically think you will get there without dedicating yourself to knowing your event.

Most top competitors put in several hours a week studying or practicing, and they start doing this several months in advance. You don’t want to leave it up to lady luck whether or not you advance, you have to make your own luck, and how you do that is putting forth a great deal of effort in preparing. The next thing you have to do is refer to the competitive events study guide that your

chapter hopefully already has stashed away. If not, you need to have your adviser order one right away. Not only does this package have written test study guides, but the now new and improved version has sample case studies for performance and skill events, and even better, it offers you links that you can go to online to find even more resources you can use to help you study or prepare. This is an advantage every member should not let go to waste. It is not enough to review the questions on the study guide over and over again. You need to challenge yourself to go above and beyond what you think is necessary to succeed. Researching for additional help is definitely worth doing. Being over-prepared is better than being shocked when there are questions on the test or a problem in the performance that you aren’t ready to deal with. The final thing you should do to best get ready for competition is to seek out teachers who may be willing to sit down with you and help you with your event. As great as our

FBLA-PBL advisers are, most of them aren’t proficient at every single category. You may need to go out and borrow the expertise of your school’s Speech and Debate coach, a math teacher, or maybe the Business Law teacher that isn’t necessarily an FBLA-PBL

adviser. See if these individuals would be willing to either give you some pointers, or, perhaps even explain to you some key concepts that could make the difference between winning and losing. It doesn’t hurt to ask the question of a knowledgeable person, the worst they could say is they are too busy, but what teacher would completely shut you out and not even throw you a bone? Any little bit extra of something they can send your way is better than not having anything at all.

So there it is in a nutshell – your keys to winning at District level and making it to

State competition. If you put in the time, use additional resources by trying to find as

many sources as possible to improve your standing, and get a teacher to work th you,

that is about as prepared as you can be for the big day, and then, it all comes down to

who worked the hardest and knows the most. If you follow my advice, you’ll have a great

shot at winning and you won’t be disappointed with your effort if you fall short.

District Competition District Competition District Competition District Competition

By:

Maryouri Avendano

FBLA Secretary

District competitions are the first FBLA conferences in which members can ex-perience what FBLA is all about. It is important to get members involve and enthusias-tic about competitions. Remember chapters, make sure members are aware of which event they are competing in and how they should prepare themselves.

Choosing a Competition

Members should look at the FBLA website and read each description to see what the event is focusing on. Make sure to choose an event in which you have some knowledge about, catches your interest, and in which your supervisor can provide you with enough materials to study from. Also, make sure to choose an event you feel comfortable with. If your strength lies in speaking in public choose a performance event. If your strength involves memorizing facts choose an objective test or there are always events that rec-ognize your talents in computers.

Preparing for Competitions

One way for members to prepare for competitions is for chapters to have workshops in which they provide members with materials for their competitive event. Also, if mem-bers have excelled in an event from previous years they can help members participating in the same event by mentioning the main components of the competition. Ask supervi-sors about previous published test with an answer key and for books about your com-petitive event. Remember to give yourself enough time to cover the material. Objective test mostly consist everything about the subject. For those who will participate in a skills event, make sure to speak with your supervisor since the events are before the conference. Members, I wish you the best in your competitions. Please remember, if you do not place this year there is always next year even for seniors (PBL). In the end remember to have fun and enjoy what FBLA has to offer.

Fundraising IdeaFundraising IdeaFundraising IdeaFundraising Idea

By:

Sarah Rasheid

PBL Vice President

District 4

One of the hardest things for members is to come up with fundraising

events to help them attend conferences! It can be very frustrating to come up with ideas but there is a variety of events that you can host that can bring in the money as well as

new members.

Bake sales, candy bars, and most food items are always excellent ways to attract

hungry people! Selling products for a lower price will also create more revenue; stick

with the $.50 to $1.00 range.

In high school and middle level FBLA it may be fun to host concerts or talent

show events that will help showcase our organization more to generate funds. A car

wash can be another great way to make money as well as a fun get-to-know your mem-

bers. And sometimes catalogues are easy ways to help with funding around the holi-

days.

Just have fun with what ever event or sale you host; because in the end you will

spend time with your members and those times will be some of your greatest experi-

ences!

If you’re still having trouble coming up with events, or if your events do not

generate enough money for your members to attend that conference, ask for help from

your school. Check with your adviser and find out if there is any way to receive fund-

ing from your district.

Helpful Tips For Balancing High Helpful Tips For Balancing High Helpful Tips For Balancing High Helpful Tips For Balancing High

School and Preparing For CollegeSchool and Preparing For CollegeSchool and Preparing For CollegeSchool and Preparing For College

By:

Anna Lee

FBLA

Vice President

Region 1

At this time of year it is beginning to become hectic for many high school seniors. It is the time of your high school career where you start to have to stop and think about, “Man what am I going to do with my life after high school? What colleges and schol-arships am I going to apply for?” You suddenly realize that there are all sorts of dead-lines, paperwork, and tests that you have to deal with, and you do not really know where to begin. I am not someone who has no clue what I am talking about, because I am a high school senior just like many of you and going through these same things. Throughout these past few years I have learned a few things that I am going to share with you that I hope will help some of you as well. Here are a few things you can try:

• The first thing you want to make sure and do is to keep your high school grades up. As important as it may seem to make sure you get everything into tons of colleges, you have to remember that without your grades and your GPA you won’t go very far. You need to stay focused and study hard throughout your high school career and make sure that you have the grades so that the schools you apply to can’t resist admitting you.

• PLANNERS! I don’t know about many people, but without my planner I would be lost. When you start preparing for scholarship and college deadlines, it is extremely important you have a simple reminder there to help you. Balancing your extracurricu-lar activities, school life, and friends and family can become so overwhelming that you become unorganized and easily forget what needs to be done. It is never too late to be-come organized. Get you a planner, or in my case I use my daily planner on my cell phone, and record deadlines and things that need to be taken care of. Another way to help remind you of deadlines is post them somewhere you look frequently like a mirror or refrigerator. These little tricks will help you stay focused and remember to get things done.

• Most importantly, when preparing for college you should start focusing on your study habits. Many students are so use to being able to spend little to no time studying in high school and believe that this will be the same case when they reach college. They are sadly mistaken. A huge majority of students realize they have not prepared themselves for the study habits they will need for some college courses and in realizing that many give up and fail. Do not be one of those students start working now to better your study habits and be prepared. It is now the perfect time to change your habits and start preparing for your future. You can start by following these few simple tips, and then come up with some of your own! Believe me, after your first weeks in college, you’ll be glad you did.

Recap State Fall Recap State Fall Recap State Fall Recap State Fall

Leadership ConferenceLeadership ConferenceLeadership ConferenceLeadership Conference

By:

Carlos Santiago

PBL Vice President

District 2

Hello Florida FBLA- PBL members! With the many successes to come this

year for FBLA-PBL, I am sure you are all at the edge of your seats wondering what

other great experiences you will take part in, in the months to come. One of those great

opportunities was the Florida FBLA-PBL Fall Leadership Conference held this past fall

semester in the beautiful city of Tampa, October 25-26, 2008.

At this conference, members visited the St. Pete Times Forum, and got special-

ized tours of the center. Members were divided into groups and rotated from station to

station, learning about the inner workings of the forum. This experience put things in

perspective, as we got to see how what we are learning through our varied business

curricula can help us out in the “real world.” Presentations ranged from Marketing, to

Sales, and even to Community Relations. Members ended the night with an opportunity

to attend an action-packed Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game.

The conference continued on day 2 with the popular Battle of the Districts,

where PBL District 5 took home the gold. The day proceeded with a series of work-

shops, some put on by your very own FBLA-PBL State Officer Leadership Teams. Some of the workshop topics included Running for a State Office, where members

were divided into several groups and got to emulate a state officer team, to a very spe-

cial session limited to high school seniors. The conference came to a close with a won-

derful key note speech from former Senate President Tom Lee.

All in all, this year’s Fall Leadership Conference was an amazing experience

for all who attended. For those that did not have the opportunity to be in attendance this

time around, I definitely encourage you to attend the 2009 FLC next fall.

Florida FBLA-PBL, thanks for all your support in making this conference a

success, and always strive to Defy Gravity, Anywhere, Anytime!

FBLA State Leadership FBLA State Leadership FBLA State Leadership FBLA State Leadership

ConferenceConferenceConferenceConference

By:

Diana Viera

FBLA Reporter

The State Leadership Conference should be scheduled on your list of events to

attend for April 13-16. This year of 2009 we encourage every single member to be ex-

cited, show spirit, study hard and go to the Rosen Centre Hotel. As the past few years,

we hope this conference will be as good as past times with a keynote speaker, intense

competition, exciting workshops and numerous amounts of people. Don’t miss out!

Last year for me it was an experience like no other; being on stage in front of

thousands of other members, with the lights pointing right at you, and your nervous

face on two screens. Your heart starts beating fast, hoping your name is called last to

win an enormous trophy. Who wants to miss a chance like that! The State Leadership

Conference consists of voting delegates who listen to the candidate speeches, visit the

campaign booths, ask questions, and attend the voting delegate briefing and voting ses-

sion to elect a candidate for office. At the general session is where we hear the motiva-

tional speaker and several chapters are granted an award. In addition, the conference

offers the advantage of many different workshops where you are taught about service,

education, and progress. As far as competition goes, at night teams stay up having their

last minute preparation while others are able to view the different performances from

all over the state.

Register for the State Leadership Conference and defy gravity!

PBL State Leadership PBL State Leadership PBL State Leadership PBL State Leadership

ConferenceConferenceConferenceConference

By:

Tahsin Nabid

PBL State

Secretary

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a great first half of the semester and

are enjoying a great Spring! The 2009 Spring State Leadership Conference will be held

at the Tampa Hilton Airport Westshore in Tampa, FL. This conference serves as an excellent opportunity for PBL members as they compete in a variety of events in the

hopes to qualify for the National Leadership Conference this summer in Anaheim,

California ! The State Leadership Conference is also the time when you elect your

2009-2010 state officers.

During the conference, PBL members will have the opportunity to participate in

up to three different events. Members also are allowed to enter the Christopher Heider,

Rob Kelleher, or Who’s Who event in addition to their three other events. These are

special awards given out to Florida PBL members – two of which are in honor of past

PBL members and their contributions to Florida PBL.

Chapters may enter only one contestant in: Impromptu Speaking, Job Interview,

Future Business Executive, Future Business Teacher, and Public Speaking. Chapters

may enter only one team in Business Decision Making, Business Ethics, Emerging

Business Issues, Network Design, and Parliamentary Procedure.

Besides the competitions, the conference is a great time to get together and net-

work with other PBL members from around the State and hear inspirational speakers as

well as network with local business leaders.

Mark your calendars for this year’s Florida Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership

Conference in beautiful Tampa, FL from March 19th to the 21st, 2009! The PBL State

Executive Team is eager to meet you and wish you the best at this year’s conference.

In Local News !In Local News !In Local News !In Local News !

By:

Ashleigh Nelson

Vice President of

Public Relations

FBLA District 26: Miami Sunset Senior High School

Miami Sunset Senior High School is pleased to announce the reactivation of our

FBLA chapter. To make up for lost time, we've started our year off with a bang! So

far, we have organized two fundraisers, a park clean-up, a holiday party, an Adopt-a-

Family community service project, and have begun preparing for District Competition.

This is a new experience for our entire chapter, as none of our members have

ever participated in FBLA at the high school level. Our nine officers, all underclass-

men, are excited about what the year will bring, but we know there is a lot to

learn. Amongst other things, we are eager to come across some fundraising ideas that

we can initiate to support our state charity, the American Heart Association, as well as

the March of Dimes.

If you have any great ideas and are willing to share them in order to help out a

young and growing chapter, please e-mail me at [email protected]. We are

definitely interested in collaborating with other chapters on projects or events of any

kind. Our goal is to make the most out of our FBLA experience and we expect you'll

be seeing us in Orlando "Defying Gravity," with the rest of Florida FBLA.

Good luck to all at District Competition!


By:

Maurie Murray

FBLA Chapter

6322 Reporter

Make a Difference Day 2008

District 1 Chapter 6322 (Booker T. Washington High School)

Pensacola, Florida

On October 25, 2008 Booker T. Washington High School's Chapter FBLA

members, in Pensacola, Florida, teamed up with Pensacola's broadcast station, WSRE,

to present a morning of reading fun activities for first and second graders of Holm Ele-

mentary School. Members selected this activity to do as part of the National Make a

Difference Day and invited WSRE to bring Clifford the Big Red Dog and The PBS

Kids. WSRE shared “Raising Readers” activity books and Clifford dispensed books

from his very own collection. FBLA members popped popcorn, read to the elementary

students, donned the costumes, and distributed books to all of the participating chil-

dren. Fun and literacy were the order of the day which was evident on the smiles that

brightened the children's faces. Our members were certainly giving their all to make a

difference in our community this year.


By:

G. Holmes

Braddock Senior

High

G. Holmes Braddock Senior High is off to another great year! We

have already recruited many members through our recruitment rallies and

classroom recruitments. Already our chapter has signed up for many com-

munity service events such as, The Buddy Walk for kids with Down-

Syndrome, The Heart Walk for the American Heart Association, and we

conducted our own community service walk which was the Veteran’s Walk

-a-Thon in honor of our nations’ Veterans. Competition sign up has already

ended, and we seem to have had many people interested in competing.

This is pretty much a quick glance at what’s going on in our chapter. Hope

everyone else is having a wonderful start!


By:

Melanie Morgan-

Jackson,

APMS FBLA

Advisor

Avon Park Middle School in Avon Park, FL is proud to have chartered a new

FBLA Middle Level chapter. We are in the process of recruiting members, but have

already held two meetings. About 40 potential members have attended each meeting.

Our advisors are Linda Albritton, a teacher at our school, and Melanie Jackson , the e-

Learning/Technology Director at our local community college. A former Avon Park

High School FBLA member attended a recent meeting and shared with our members

the goals of FBLA, the benefits of membership, and how FBLA helped him in the busi-

ness world. We are learning about FBLA competitions and hope to see many of our

District 18 chapter members at our upcoming District Leadership Conference in Febru-

ary 2009. Our APMS FBLA members are in the process of deciding which of the com-

petitive events to compete in. During the second week of December, our members will

volunteer several hours “ringing the bell” to raise funds for the Salvation Army. We

are very excited! Our new chapter is off to a great start this year and hopes to keep the

rest of the year just as great!

Important DatesImportant DatesImportant DatesImportant Dates

February 8-14 FBLA-PBL Week February 15 PBL State/National dues postmark deadline to be eligible for State Competition February 17 PBL postmark deadline for State Conference registration February 17 PBL postmark deadline for State Conference hotel reservations February 17 Postmark deadline for PBL chapter reports, website, digital video, etc. February 28 FBLA-PBL Spring Activity Day, Busch Gardens, FL March 6 FBLA postmark deadline for State Conference registration March 6 FBLA postmark deadline for State Conference hotel reservations March 6 Postmark deadline for FBLA chapter reports, website, digital video, etc. March 19-22 PBL State Leadership Conference, Hilton Airport Westshore, Tampa, FL April 13-16 FBLA State Leadership Conference, Rosen Centre, Orlando, FL

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