Earlier this school year, DECA held a walk for the Muscular Dystrophy association. In doing so, they raised $2,652. They raised another $136 by selling Frostys.

     “The students did everything. Our DECA president, Amanda Miller, a senior, put most of this together, with the help of junior Tony Simonton, but our other DECA members were instrumental in the success too,” said DECA advisor Jeff Brown. “One of our group’s major focuses is civic consciousness.”

     Out of the 25 DECA members, three students were chosen to participate in the DECA State Career Development Conference. To attend you had to place in the top ten at districts, which included an online test and role play. The qualifying students are seniors Sean Harwood, and Amanda Miller and sophomore Adam Miller. Accompanying them will be the adviser, Jeff Brown.

     The state conference will be held in Grand Rapids on March 18-20. 3,000 students will be attending. Adam will be competing in the Principles of Marketing, while Amanda and Sean will be competing for the Gold Merit Awards. Competition is to be held on Friday and Saturday. They will get a chance to network with other students and attend a dance Saturday night. Also, they get to attend a Griffins hockey game.

     “I’m looking forward to going to the state conference again,” Sean Harwood said. “Because it not only prepares you for marketing, but gives you the opportunity to network yourself with thousands of other students.”

     All marketing tests and roll plays are over the curriculum they learned in their marketing classes. This conference gives them the chance to learn about leadership, civic consciousness, social responsibility, and develop career goals.

     “It should be a really good experience,” Adam Miller said. “I have a really good time in DECA and encourage others to join.”
     Students who place in the top ten at the state conference will be attending the international conference in Orlando, Florida. This will be held the last week in April. Around 13,000 students will be participating. The conference will last four to five days. Besides competing, they will also be going to Disney World.