Future Business Leaders Shine In Dayton FBLA

DAYTON - The Future Business Leaders of America in Dayton are studying and competing to become the cream of the crop in the business world and the practical job interview and parliamentary procedure skills they earn will help them in their future careers.

Dayton High School teacher Rob Moore said FBLA is one of the fastest-growing clubs in America for high school students. The club has been in Dayton for many years. Moore said when he began teaching at the school in 1987, it was already well-established. And being the new business teacher, leading the club of future business leaders was a natural step.

"It's kind of just part of what you do," Moore said.

Many of Moore's past FBLA students have gone into the family business or now own companies of their own, he said.

This year, Moore's club boasts 35 students who meet at lunchtime and after school as needed. Most of their time is spent preparing for annual competitions that test their business sense in a variety of ways. The club is getting ready for nationals in San Antonio, Texas, after school gets out.

The club members begin the competition season in February with regionals. Those who do well in regionals advance to state and the top two in the state head to nationals, Moore said.

The kids are tested and challenged in so many ways, it definitely takes time to prepare. Competitions vary from answering 100 questions on a computer to going through a job interview or giving a fiveminute speech. The tests are given on economics, marketing, introduction to business, business ethics and mathematics. There are objective tests, which involve solving a problem or participating in a case study, and there are speaking events. In some of the competitions, a team is asked to study both sides of one issue and it is decided at the competition which side they will fight for.

There are even competitions just for ninth and tenth graders so there is a more even playing field, Moore said.

In addition to the team events, there are competitions on entrepreneurship and technology events that test students on word processing, databases and spreadsheets.

Because there are so many competitions to choose from, Moore said he picks a couple to focus on and practices with his students in those specific areas.

"We don't try to do all of the events," he said.

The Dayton High School team is best at a category called parliamentary procedures, Moore, said. The competition is simply an objective test for individual students on meeting procedures and bylaws.

Moore enjoys preparing his team for parliamentary tests because he has the students simulate a 10-minute meeting where they run through the processes.

"It's my favorite," he said. "I get to work more directly with the kids."

And Moore and the Dayton students have been very successful in competition this year. Twenty-nine of his club members recently competed in state, which was an amount "higher than usual," he said.

Malia Frame and Grant Heinrich, who will both be seniors next year, will be attending the upcoming national competition as representatives. Both are state officers for the club. Freshman Caitlyn Robins will actually be competing in state in FBLA principles and procedures.

Heinrich said he joined FBLA because his older siblings had been part of the club and had told him what a good experience it was.

For Heinrich, he said he most enjoys meeting new people and he said the club has influenced him to go into a leadership-driven career.

"The competitions get you ready for real life," he said.

Heinrich wants to work in the Air Force after graduation, with the hope of performing inair refueling. He said FBLA has most helped him with his job interview skills. In the Navy, job promotions are based on an interview in front of a board and the ability to speak and represent himself well will give him a leg up, he said.

"FBLA has made me more confident and a better speaker in general," Heinrich said. "I can articulate myself better."

In addition to enjoying seeing his students succeed on the national level, Moore said as an advisor, he really enjoys watching his students grow and sees the club as a positive activity and as a place where they can grow.

"They just grow in their confidence," Moore said of his club members. "If we can get every kid a place where they can excel -- that's a very positive thing."