From left, Western Wayne FBLA members: Gabby Tetreault and Rachel Hoch
More than 12,000 participants from across the country convened online for the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) 2021 National Leadership Conference (NLC). The event, which connected middle school, high school, and collegiate level students through competitive events, leadership sessions, and networking, provided students with the collective opportunity to win more than $110,000 in cash awards.
Western Wayne High School in Lake Ariel received national recognition during FBLA-PBL’s Awards of Excellence ceremonies for the FBLA high school division July 1 and 2.
During the Awards of Excellence program, the team of Lenny Maiocco, Lena Piccolino, Rachel Hoch, Kaeli Romanowski, and Gabby Tetreault placed eighth in the nation in the Parliamentary Procedure event. To achieve this success, each of the students took an objective test covering the rules of parliamentary procedure.
“My experience with this event taught me a lot about cooperation in team work and how much time and effort it takes to be successful as a team,” team member Gabby Tetreault explained.
Their scores were averaged which qualified them for the final round of competition in which they had to conduct a simulated chapter meeting incorporating specific challenges prepared by the national office into their performance.
“I really learned about how to work professionally with others through this experience,” team member Rachel Hoch said.
The award is part of the National Awards Program, better known as competitive events, FBLA-PBL’s program that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers.
The NLC featured 74 events at the high school level, 60 events at the collegiate level, and 9 events at the middle school level. Events were modified to accommodate the online experience.
Both Lenny Maiocco and Lena Piccolino are recent Western Wayne graduates and will be heading off to college in the fall. Meanwhile, Hoch, Romanowski, and Tetreault will be seniors.
Other Western Wayne students who competed at this VNLC included Rhayni Carroll, Introduction to FBLA, Jenna Kwiatkowski and Alex Chapman, Intro to Parliamentary Procedure. Ms. Theresa Lubash, Business Department Chairperson, is also the FBLA local chapter adviser.
