Wallkill Valley FBLA attends national conference

HAMBURG — Eleven members of the Wallkill Valley Regional High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) attended the 2018 FBLA National Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, from June 26-July 2.
Members participated in various motivational general sessions and workshops in order to develop their leadership skills.
Wallkill Valley FBLA placed first in the Nation for the chapter that donated the most money to the March of Dimes. Members hosted Super Night 2017 last November and raised $16,635.74.
Kayla Bifano and Tyler Small received the Community Service Achievement pin; each contributed 500+ hours in community service during their high school years in FBLA. The Wallkill Valley chapter was recognized as an Outstanding Chapter and received the 2017 Hollis and Kitty Guy Gold Seal Award of Merit and Non-Stop November Award in recognition and appreciation of the chapter’s active participation in programs and projects advancing the goals of FBLA-PBL.
Students had outstanding performances in the following individual and team events and rank in the top 100 in the Nation in their respective events: Broadcast Journalism – Tyler Small; Future Business Leader – Kayla Bifano; Impromptu Speaking – Kaitlyn Taylor; Local Chapter Annual Business Report – Harshil Bhavsar; and Partnership with Business Project – Drew Langenfeld and Kaitlyn Taylor.
Garett Koch ran an amazing campaign for National office; and he was elected as the 2018-2019 FBLA Eastern Region Vice President. He will oversee the states from Maine to Maryland as well as 12 International chapters. Campaign Chairpersons Drew Langenfeld and Kayla Bifano and the campaign committee did an outstanding job in promoting Garett’s FBLA platform.
Students were able to take in some sightseeing, including the Baltimore Aquarium; a Baltimore Orioles baseball game; and a Washington DC tour of monuments, the Vietnam Wall, Capitol Hill, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court. The Wallkill Valley contingency attended the NJFBLA dinner at Bubba Gump’s. Over 12,000 members and advisers attended the conference from across the country, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Haiti, China, and Europe.