On Friday, February 2, the Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, competed in the annual District 6 Competition held at Moberly Area Community College. There were many schools in the surrounding area in attendance; Battle rode to the competition with Hickman and Rock Bridge High Schools. 16 individuals/teams from Battle placed in the top five in different events, and 8 individuals from Battle will advance to the state competition.

Even the students that are not continuing to the State Competition have learned from their trials at the District level. Nick Mirielli, junior, said, “It’s not necessarily about winning anything, but to understand what we can do better.” Mirielli placed fifth in graphic design with his teammates Chance McDonnell and Katelin Glascock. “I like the concept of Graphic Design, and how it can be used to portray an idea or product,” said Mirielli.

Many members of the club were excited to be at districts, especially first year member Chance McDonnell. “I think it is pretty interestinga�� I hope to represent Battle well,” said McDonnell, junior, “The environment is pretty chill and Mrs. Leary is probably one of the coolest teachers at Battle.”

Melanie Leary and Sawyer Wade are sponsors of FBLA. As sponsors they help to organize fundraisers for the club, hold meetings, and assist members with their competition events. Wade said, “I have a wonderful set of students, and I had high expectations. I think having that real world experience that FBLA provides is really great, and they definitely met my expectations.”

Teams that placed in the top five of their events include: Jackson Keller and Payton Roberts for Entrepreneurship; Katelin Glascock, Chance McDonnell, and Nick Mirielli for Graphic Design; Jasmine Jones, Lindsey McGee, and Cassidee Tuttle for Hospitality Management and for Social Media Campaign; Hope Adamson and Nicole Sachdev for Marketing; Baylee Eckles, Madison Ramsey, and Olivia Childs for Public Service Announcement. These teams took a placement test before the district competition and also had a performance piece on the day of competition.

Many other students will also be advancing to the state competition in Springfield, Missouri from April 8-10, 2018. Hope Adamson placed 3rd in Economics, Brenden Anich placed 4th in Economics, Baylee Eckles placed 5th in Organizational Leadership, Jackson Keller placed 1st in Personal Finance, Madalynn Owens placed 1st in Business Communications and 2nd in Journalism, Alex Riddle placed 2nd in Cyber Security, Nicole Sachdev placed 1st in Client Service, and Cassidee Tuttle placed 4th in Healthcare Administration.

Make sure to congratulate these amazing students for their achievements at the district level competition and to cheer them on for the upcoming state competition.