After competing in the FBLA Club’s first state competition, the team placed fifth.

“Organization that helps build skills to run businesses, help build leadership skills and it also helps build relationships.”

That is what the Future Business Leaders of America Club is all about according to senior Michael Compton.

Compton is one of the contenders in the FBLA competition that was held in Reston, Virginia, on April 11-12.

The students that qualified for this event were seniors Michael Compton, Jeremy Wyatt, Landon Holly, and Dustin Meadows. Senior Thomas Harris and junior Kyle Davis competed in entrepreneurship; although they did not place in states, they placed first in the district competition.

To qualify for states, the students were required to take a test at the district level, in which they placed first and then proceeded to the state competition.

Compton, Wyatt, and Holly competed as a team and simulated a role play on global business. Meadows competed in the accounting region of the event and placed fifth as well.

Global business is “basically about foreign business compared to domestic business and how they are different in attitudes and beliefs,” said Wyatt.

For the role play, each team was given 20 minutes to strategize and develop a business plan for the company they were assigned. Then they were given two notecards to write down their planned solution that they were required to present in seven minutes.

There were two judges and a time-keeper at the event, observing and judging each team on how the problem was presented and solved.

“I liked the concept of two judges because they offered two different opinions and perspectives on the subject,” said Compton.

“I was very proud of how well they worked together. They were supportive and encouraging to each other. We were genuinely, all around excited,” said FBLA leader, Mrs. Kristal Harris.

Mrs. Harris is hoping that this will spark the desire of the other business students to want to compete in later competitions.

On the day the club members traveled to the competition, they took the metro to D.C. for some time of leisure before the competition on Saturday.

They visited war memorials as well as the Lincoln and Washington Memorial.

Mrs. Tara Mills took time out of her spring break to help chaperone with Mrs. Harris.

Mrs. Harris is hopeful that this will be the first of many trips for FBLA to the state competition.