Photo by Katy Ferrell
THE INAUGURAL MEMBERSHIP OF COLUMBIA JUNIOR HIGH’S FBLA CHAPTER. (back row): Columbia FBLA Advisor Keith Hannah, Shannon Vogel, Makenna Larsen, Katie Kamenzind, Gabby Kiss, Kimberly Mueller, Jessie Raetz, Dimarya Funk; (front row): Andrei Morelos, Julia Loeber, Eduard Prokhor, Aylin Escobar and Alexis French. Not Pictured: Arika Matoba.
Walk into Columbia Junior High (CJH) some Friday morning, and you’ll be greeted by one of the most comforting aromas there is – freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. If you try to resist buying some, let your inner “treats monster” take over because the proceeds of all sales go toward the school’s brand new chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).
Selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and muffins is just one of the ways Columbia’s FBLA student membership works to make the new chapter a success – that and putting their best academic foot forward collectively and as individual students.
Comprised of 18 ninth-graders, Columbia’s FBLA did their school proud at their first FBLA Regional Conference last fall, securing 18 top-five place winners. These scores qualify these students to move on to the FBLA state competitions in Yakima in April. FBLA nationals will be held in Nashville this July, and in most state events students will need to place in the top two or three to qualify for nationals.
Columbia’s FBLA public relations officer Jessie Raetz won first place in Graphic Design at regionals, beating out senior students to win the top prize.
“That was really exciting,” Raetz said. She placed second in Job Interview. “I think there were about 40 or so doing Job Interview, so it was pretty exciting to place second.”
Other first place winners include Kim Mueller for FBLA Creed, Julia Loeber for Word Processing and Andrei Morelas for Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure.
CJH business and technology instructor Keith Hannah is Columbia’s FBLA advisor. He said starting an FBLA chapter was something he had been interested in during his teaching career, and he realized the time had come when Fife High Schools’ FBLA advisors encouraged him to take the plunge.
“Having two years under my belt at Columbia, I decided it was time to add an FBLA chapter,” Hannah said. “While I knew it would be a great experience for the kids, I wasn’t sure if it was something that a middle level student would embrace.”
The students laid his uncertainty to rest quickly enough. “My initial plan was to start out with a small core group of 5-7 students, [but] we ended up closer to 20 members. Instead of just getting my feet wet, I ended up jumping in head first.”
Longtime Fife High School FBLA advisor Laura Hilzendeger said she’s looking forward to working with Columbia’s membership when the junior high students enter the high school next year. “I’m really proud of them,” she said. “They’ve done an awesome job competing, and I can’t wait to have them here next year.”
On March 20, Columbia and Fife’s FBLA teams organized a successful basketball fundraising tournament together and raised $3,000 for their trip to state.
Raetz said she enjoys participating in FBLA because it gives her the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom. “This club is even more effective than a class because we learn life skills that you just don’t learn in school, like how to job interview and things like that.”
Chapter President Alexis French agreed. “(FBLA) really helps push you farther on your career in life. It gets you started in the grown-up world.”
“And it does it in a way that makes it fun,” added Vice-President Katie Kamenzind.
Columbia’s FBLA membership has been meeting weekly, and after school, to prepare for their next big conference. “Now that state is coming up, it’s important that we meet a lot,” Raetz said. Working closely with Fife High School’s FBLA team and advisors, Columbia’s chapter couldn’t have better mentors. Being the largest chapter in the region, Fife’s success with FBLA is impressive, said Kamenzind. “At regionals we had other schools asking us how we do it.”
Hannah said he’s very proud of his FBLA team. “It has just really impressed me with how they took to it, and how much more connected to the school some of them seem to feel. I really do think it does foster that connection to the school, as well as that self-satisfaction, that they can compete with kids from other schools and do well.
“It’s been a good learning experience for me as well as for the kids. I feel like I’m learning at the same time.”
“We are very proud of Mr. Hannah and all of our inaugural FBLA members,” said CJH Principal Jeff Nelson. “They have set a very high standard in their very first year.
“Congratulations to all of the kids for their outstanding performances, including qualifying a huge number of state participants.”
In May, Columbia’s FBLA will be holding a 5K run fundraiser during Fife’s annual district-wide art show. Keep reading the Fife Free Press for further information on this fun event, and how you can help build CJH’s FBLA chapter.
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