CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Vol. 43, No. 18
March 20, 2009
Missouri DECA Reaches 10,000-member Milestone
Record Attendance Expected for DECA Career Development Conference
A record number of high school marketing students will gather this weekend for the annual Missouri DECA State Career Development Conference (March 22-24) at the Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake Ozark.
More than 1,500 students from across the state – a record number for the spring DECA conference – are expected to attend. The high turnout reflects the steady growth in DECA membership. Missouri passed the 10,000-member milestone this year, due to a successful membership campaign. Missouri DECA is only the fifth state to reach this level.
DECA is an international association of high school students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. The annual conference is sponsored by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“Through classroom instruction and DECA activities, our members are learning to become savvier in today’s economy and acquiring knowledge to advance their studies in marketing, management and entrepreneurship,” said Christopher Young, state advisor for DECA and supervisor of DESE’s Business, Marketing and Information Technology section.
“DECA provides an avenue for students to develop essential skills for a successful career and gives them an edge in a competitive job market. DECA’s goal is for students to use these skills as a catalyst for contributing to our economy,” he said.
International DECA officer, Isaac Robinson III, will be on hand to greet students and their teachers. Robinson was a member of the McCluer North High School DECA chapter, Ferguson-Florissant School District. He is now a freshman at Truman State University and serves as DECA Central Region Vice President.
On Monday, students will test their skills in 40 competitive events related to real-world topics such as entrepreneurship promotion, Internet marketing, financial analysis, buying and merchandising, food marketing sales and hospitality services. A new chapter team event this year is the Financial Literacy Promotion Project. Awards will be presented Tuesday.
The individual, team, and chapter projects will be judged by 120 professionals from the business community.
“Even though our judges’ volunteerism is priceless, we estimate that their collective contribution of time translates to a value of more than $15,000. That’s a stellar contribution to Missouri’s future from these corporate professionals,” Young said.
Winners at the state conference will advance to international DECA competition that will be held April 28 - May 3 in Anaheim. More than 22 Missouri chapters will be recognized on stage for their member-recruitment and community service accomplishments.
For more information, contact Christopher Young, DECA State Advisor, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (573-751-4367).