Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is the business club at the high school. We have 16 members this year and many activities in which we plan to participate.
The culminating activity will be going to Coralville at the end of March to compete with over 400 other students from across the state in events all focused on the aspect of business. If students qualify in their chosen event, they will be given the opportunity to advance to national competition, which will be held in Atlanta in 2023. Here students will compete with over 8,000 students from across the country. However, there are many things that the club does throughout the year to learn valuable skills they will need for their future.
One event that FBLA puts on is the annual "Hall"-o-Ween. This year marked its fourth anniversary. This event is set up in the halls of the school and aims to showcase the school's sporting groups and clubs. Each school activity group decorates a booth and gives candy to the trick-or-treaters. This year there were over 200 people that attended the event.
On Oct. 14, five members of the FBLA group went to the University of Northern Iowa for their business division showcase day. They had a division fair set up to introduce students to the different branches of business education that UNI offers. Afterwards, visiting students listened to a panel of current business major students at the college. They spoke about their experiences there and why other students should attend.
Next, visitors got to pick a business division group to go with and talk in more detail about that division. They had topics about appraisal, economics, being a business teacher and a lot of other things. After lunch there was an optional college tour where the students got to explore the campus.
Members of both FBLA and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) hosted a food drive for O'Brien County Outreach, located in Primghar, from Oct. 17-Nov. 7. Foods that were most needed were canned proteins, boxed meals, canned fruit and cereal. Throughout this three-week period, students and staff filled three huge boxes to help families in need.
On Nov. 13, five FBLA members loaded a van for Des Moines to attend the United Fall Leadership Conference with 900 other Iowa students and advisors. The theme for the year is Amplify. Students were greeted by Adam Carroll, a UNI graduate and author, as the keynote speaker. They were then dismissed to attend breakout sessions and learn how to make their clubs strong.