Vol. 42, No. 17
March 13, 2008
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Missouri DECA Marks 60th Anniversary
Marketing Students Convene this Weekend at Lake Ozark
More than 1,400 high school students from across Missouri will convene this weekend for the annual DECA State Career Development Conference (March 16-18) at the Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake Ozark.
DECA is an international association of high school students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. Missouri DECA has more than 9,000 student members across the state.
The Missouri DECA organization celebrates its 60th anniversary at this year’s conference, which has the theme “Power to Accelerate.” The conference will focus on topics that include professional development, leadership, dressing for success and community service.
More than $11,000 in scholarships and special awards given by DECA and Missouri businesses will be announced during the meeting.
Students will test their skills in 35 competitive events related to real-world topics such as international business plans, marketing research, entrepreneurship, fashion merchandising promotion, advertising, marketing management, and Internet marketing business plans. Students had to qualify to compete at the state level by placing in district-level competitions held last month.
More than 100 industry professionals will serve as judges for the events in their appropriate occupational area, providing realistic feedback for DECA members.
“Since our competitive events are tied to national marketing education standards, students are evaluated on actual industry-based competencies,” said Christopher Young, supervisor of business and marketing education for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and state advisor to the DECA organization.
“Our corporate judges add even more merit to our flagship competitive events program, and in turn, the students receive an unparallel experience that will undoubtedly better prepare them for successful futures,” he said.
Winners at the state conference will advance to international DECA competition that will be held April 25-30 in Atlanta.
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For more information, contact: Christopher Young, DECA State Advisor, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (573-751-4367).