Getting on Stage

 

As each conference passes, we are left with one question in mind, “what’s next?” Although Fall Leadership Conference has passed, the lessons we have learned there can take us far in our journey in FBLA and life. 

Getting on stage at the State Leadership Conference does not need to be a daunting task. Take what you learned from FLC and apply it to the test you take, the report write, or the presentation you make. The newly designed workshops for various competitive events were a success at FLC this year. From chapter projects to tests, Georgia FBLA brought back national and state winners in various events to enlighten others on how to succeed in a specific event.  The competitive event workshops taught about how to write the perfect report, how to make a presentation, how to create a project that is successful, how to ace a test, and more to prepare our members for SLC and Region Leadership Conference. 

Some tips for success in events:

• Get the whole chapter involved if your event is a chapter event as it will highly impress the judges.

• Dress to impress. Professional clothing is a must when presenting.

• Practice your speaking parts or speech. Note cards can be used but aim to do away with them.

• Study for your event. Go into the test feeling confident in your knowledge.

• Remember to shake your judge’s hand. 

• Have fun and enjoy yourself!

These are just some of the many tips you can use to win an award at SLC or RLC. If you dream to be on stage as a state winner and then a national winner in a FBLA event then take all the lessons you learned at FLC and incorporate them into your project, test, or event.  

 

How to Be an Effective Officer

Serving as an officer can be an overwhelming task at times but it’s one which is meant to be challenging, yet rewarding. Officers are elected officials who play a vital role in the success of their chapters. To be a leader who is dedicated, informative, and motivated are some of the qualities necessary to be an effective officer.

As an officer of your FBLA chapter, you must be dedicated to all that you part take in. Officers should be the first ones to a meeting or an FBLA event and the last ones to leave. Remember, early is on time, on time is late, and late is forgotten. The work that you submit to your adviser should be of quality as should the meetings which you oversee. Give yourself sufficient time to complete tasks to the fullest and make certain that you are aware of upcoming events, field trips, meetings, and projects at all times as knowing what is going on in FBLA is key to being a successful officer.

Officers should know what FBLA is and what its goals are. They should be able to stand up in front of a crowd and explain to the crowd what FBLA is. The members of your chapter come to you for questions as you are partly in charge. They look up to the elected officials for information regarding field trips, meetings, and more. It is crucial to be an officer who is able to enlighten his or her fellow members of such.

Lastly, officers should be able to motivate their chapter members to be their best. Officers serve as the role models who guide the members to success. Members turn to officers for advice on whether they will be able to complete the Future Level of the Business Achievement Awards or whether they should compete in a certain competition. It is an officer’s duty to encourage members to participate in projects and attend conferences and meetings.

Effective officers are required to be the best of the best as the manner in which they carry themselves reflect upon Georgia FBLA. They are the ultimate leaders who will lead their fellow members in becoming prominent business leaders of the future.

 

Partnering With Local Businesses

To get the word out about FBLA, it is a good idea to get your local community involved with what is going on in your chapter. You could start by getting a group of students to work on a presentation for your local chamber of commerce or some other community organization.   This helps your local businesses know what FBLA stands for while giving your students the opportunity to meet business leaders in your community at those meetings.

Near the end of your presentation, it is a good idea to mention that you are looking for guest speakers for your classes and for other opportunities for students to learn how the business world works through activities like job shadowing.  Networking at these community events will give you valuable contacts for needed activities that can count toward BAAs, state projects, and Chapter of the Year points.

Another good way to get local businesses to partner with you is to help them out by meeting some need the business has. Typing menus, designing business cards, flyers and websites are all examples of ways you can help a small business owner cut costs and create goodwill. Also, many of these projects could be conducted during class to meet standards and give students the opportunity to get their creative juices flowing.  This helps get a connection between your classes and the business community so that sponsorships and shadowing opportunities fall into place more naturally.

Don’t forget the parents of your students may be valuable contacts in the business community.  Doors that have previously been closed to your students may suddenly open when you know someone with close connections.  Using your students as volunteers at community and charity events sponsored by those businesses is also a good way to create goodwill and foster good relationships between the school and the community.  Keep your eyes open every day for new ideas in the business world—you never know when opportunity might come knocking at your door!

 

Georgia FBLA Scrapbook

Would your chapter like to be included in the Georgia FBLA scrapbook? To appear in the scrapbook all you have to do is submit a completed 12”x12” scrapbook page with good times with your chapter. The deadline will be February 1. Please place your chapters name somewhere on the scrapbook page. Pages will not be returned. Mail Pages to:

Hope Morris

East Laurens High School

920 Hwy 80 East

East Dublin, GA 31027

 

 

 

 

 

Running a Meeting

Running a meeting efficiently can be a difficult task at times, but it’s not one that is impossible. The two important methods of creating and running a successful meeting are planning effectively and executing with proficiency.

When planning for a meeting with officers, consider all the reasons for having this meeting. What information do the members need to know? When contemplating on what is going to be said at the meeting make sure the Secretary is creating an agenda which you may want to hand out at the meeting. The agenda should be an outline of the meeting and should be used to inform members of the subjects to be covered. Next you must establish the time, date, and location of the meeting. You want to allow officers and advisers to have some time to publicize the meeting.

Lastly, make certain that officers know what to say about each project or conference on the agenda.

While members are entering the room where the meeting is held, have lively, but school appropriate music playing and also have a leadership activity prepared for members to partake in, creating a positive atmosphere. Always start on time and abide by the agenda created. It is crucial to have the member’s attention before speaking. The easiest way to get their attention is by using a catchy phrase or saying such as “If you can hear me clap once.” You want to keep the meeting going and keep the information being delivered short and to the point. If some members are unable to attend, then the minutes should be delivered via email or hardcopy once the secretary has typed them up. Adjourning the meeting on time is just as critical as starting on time.

With these simple steps your meetings will be extremely organized and successful. Your chapter will have a blast while acquiring the information needed for upcoming events and conferences, service projects, Business Achievement Awards, and more.

 

Use Parliamentary Procedure to Encourage Member Participation

When your chapter decides to increase dues or offer money for a raffle, make sure you make a motion to your members and allow them to vote upon the motion. This allows for them to be involved in important decisions while teaching them parliamentary procedure. 

Getting Started on Time

In order to get a meeting started right on time, preprint the meeting sign in sheet so members just have to initial after their name. If you have a large chapter, prepare multiple sign in sheets and spread them out around your meeting room.

 

Leaving a positive impact of the members is decisive. One way to go about accomplishing this is by inviting guest speakers to meetings. Speakers can be past or present state or national officers, local celebrities, or local business moguls. 

September Service Project of the Month: Going Green: Spread the Word

People say that the younger you are when you start something, the more likely you are to stick with it as you grow up. That’s why this month’s service activity involves spreading the word about the importance of conservation to the leaders of tomorrow. All you need to do this are some sunflower seeds, soil to plant the seeds in, and cups for the soil to be stored.

This month, we ask our chapters from across the state to do something simple: go read the famous Dr. Seuss book, The Lorax¸ to a kindergarten class in your community. After you finishing reading the book, discuss the impacts that deforestation has on planet and the importance of preserving our natural resources. Also, let them know what role they can play in the preservation of these invaluable resources and how to renew them.

When you finish this discussion, take the students outside and let them plant sunflower seeds in a cup for them to take home and show their parents. Not only will this activity allow members to complete a Business level BAA activity, but it will also give the leaders of tomorrow an opportunity to learn how they can help to protect our planet.

The Professional Division

The Professional Membership Division is a key component to any chapter’s membership recruitment efforts. Members recruited to this division can be very helpful to the high school members as they can provide them with valuable information from the business world. They can also be highly resourceful for your chapter as they may be able to provide you with job shadow opportunities to experience the business world firsthand.

 

All you have to do in order to recruit new professional members to your high school FBLA is to ask your parents, your parents’ friends, aunts, uncles, or any other people from the business world that you may know to pay a $23 fee to join for this year. If they choose to become a lifetime member, they must pay $350. Tell them that they would be doing a great service to your FBLA members and that you would greatly appreciate their membership. The Professional Division is one that we must thoroughly develop as it is now only in its primitive stages.

 

Membership Recruitment Idea of the Month

It’s a new month, a new year. With the start of new things, one idea that members across the state can use to spur recruitment is to cut membership prices a few dollars. The cut in price, however, cannot be too significant because then existing members will be angered that they had to pay more. Maybe with the cut in price, you can include a clause that does not allow anyone that has just joined to compete in any competitive events. This way existing members will value their own membership and the new members will still get a taste of what it is like to be an FBLA member.

 

Local Recruitment of Chapters

For many chapters, recruitment starts and ends with membership recruitment. However, there is an opportunity for chapters across the state to gain state and national recognition:  the Local Recruitment of Chapters Award. This award challenges chapters to go beyond the walls of their high school and recruit chapters in nearby areas.  By doing this, you are not only helping to increase FBLA membership in Georgia and the nation, but also giving students at the schools that you help charter to gain the benefits of FBLA membership. If you successfully charter even one chapter, visit FBLA-PBL.org and search for the Local Recruitment of Chapters Award entry form. The state officer team challenges every chapter to attempt to charter at least one new chapter at a nearby high school. This is a great way for your chapter to build its reputation in your community and give your students an opportunity to network with other members in nearby areas.  

 

Mid-Year Recruitment

It’s December. Yes, for some, it is the greatest time of the year. Students obtain the opportunity to be with their families on Christmas and enjoy a long winter break. Generally, people tend to think of this month as a time of happiness. This happiness, however, doesn’t have to be isolated to you and your family. This can also be the time of happiness for your local FBLA chapter! Students should try to think of December as the start of a new school year and start recruiting new members just as they would in August. It’s the holiday season, a time for gift-giving. So why not gift your friends the opportunity to join the largest student business organization in the nation? 

 

2^nd Semester Recruiting: How do I do it?

Great job everyone! Thus far, we are close to achieving our state goal of 25,000 for membership this year. However, we are not out of the woods yet. Even though we all had a great first semester of recruiting, we still need to continue to keep our feet down on the recruiting gas pedal to prevent falling short of our goal. 

But how to recruit? There are clearly not as many people left to recruit in the student body at any school because most of those who wanted to join FBLA have joined already. This may be true, but there are still many potential members out there and it is your job to find them this 2^nd semester. The best approach to recruiting 2^nd semester is to use the same strategies that you used 1^st semester but to apply them this time to a younger student base. The younger the student, the more likely he or she is to be open to join a new organization. Thus, I recommend hitting the recruiting trail on the freshmen and sophomores at your school as historically these grade levels have proven to be the most receptive to recruitment in the 2^nd semester.

 

Time to Recruit! 

It is September fellow FBLA members and it is time to start pushing towards as much membership recruitment as possible! This is one of the most important months on the calendar as far as membership recruitment is concerned, and it is imperative that every member in our state recognizes this and accordingly recruits many new members into their respective chapters during this month. There are many ways to achieve this end, as you may already know, but here are some tips anyway:

• Use the morning announcements as a tool to publicly announce to the entire school about FBLA
• Get the principal’s permission to put up signs and posters across the school advertising FBLA
• Personally go in and speak to business classes at your school on the importance of joining FBLA and how it has helped you
• Create a Facebook group for your local FBLA chapter that everyone can join. Social networking is one of the most effective marketing strategies that you can use to reach out to potential FBLA members

At this point, you might be asking: what do I get out of all this recruiting? At FBLA, we know that recognition is important and we believe that everyone who does an amazing job of recruitment at their local chapters should be recognized for it. As a result, there are many membership awards that are available for students and local chapters that do a good job of recruiting members. The one membership award that you should focus on for this month is the Membership Achievement Award. This award is given to all chapters that either maintain or increase their overall membership count. This is an award that all chapters should keep an eye on early as it can be a great goal to set and achieve.

Therefore, your state officers encourage all of you to get out today and start recruiting! This is a necessary process to create a strong, effective chapter this upcoming year so we hope you take advantage of such an opportunity.

 

Name Tags: 

• Every Person will receive a pen and a name tag.
• They will write their names on the name tag.
• When the instructor says “go” the students/members walk around the room and introduce themselves to someone and tell that person three things about their self and the other person will do the same.
• They now swap name tags and go introduce themselves to another person and that person the three things they previously learned
• At the end of the icebreaker, they pair back up with the first person and repeat back their information to see if they got it correct.

 

Balloons 

• Give everyone a  balloon and a sharpie
• Have the students blow up the balloon and tie it off with string/yarn (at least a foot of string)
• Next have the students right on the balloon the following (or make up your own):
• Name
• Birthday
• Favorite Food
• Favorite Movie
• Some special place they would like to go
• Some special place  they have been
• Now have them partner with someone in the room and tell them about their balloon
• Now the students swap balloons and go tell someone different about the persons balloon they now have
• This is about a 10 -20 minute activity

 

Drawing Fourths

Pass out a blank sheet of paper to all students.

Fold it into fourths, then unfold and have them draw out in each square the following

• Your favorite hobby
• your favorite place to vacation
• the most important thing in your life
• if you could be an animal which one would you be.

Once all students have completed have them stand up and explain each drawing

Unleash the PEACH—Action

The world that we live in today is constantly changing, and many teenagers do not understand how the choices that we make today affect the world we will live in tomorrow.  This month, raise awareness of how everyday actions influence the outcome of the future and how to make a better future for us all.  Whether your chapter makes a bulletin board focusing on the importance of planning for college and beyond or does a presentation about the 7 habits of highly effective people at a school assembly or local chapter meeting, any promotion that provokes your student body to think about how they can grow as leaders and become more prepared for the future that is quickly approaching will do a great service to the future leaders of our nation.  Also, have students in business classes (and even chapter members at your next meeting) develop a 5, 10, and even a 20 year plan for where they want their future to lead and then discuss how important goal setting is to a successful future.  This month, we challenge chapters to see how they can change the world of tomorrow for the better by simply providing students with information about how they are influencing the world of tomorrow with every choice they make and how sometimes having a plan in place can streamline your decisions and help ensure they are the correct ones.

 

Viral Marketing Strategy; The Use of Social Networking for Increasing the Visibility of Your Local Chapter

The spread of social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter has revolutionized the way we get information. “Word of Mouth” is no longer just a useful side-effect of marketing- now it’s a viable business strategy. By using these websites and applications, a quick-witted FBLA member can maximize their chapter’s visibility on the internet and beyond. Here are a few helpful tips:

Websites like Facebook and MySpace provide many useful tools for marketing. Creating “networks” and groups related to your local chapter is an easy, searchable way to get your chapter out in the open. “Searchability” is key to internet visibility- that’s why so many corporations hire people who focus on “Search Engine Optimization”.

Twitter has been compared to a combination search engine and chat room more than once, and for good reason. A convenient new concept that comes with Twitter’s programming is that of hashtags. Hashtags give users a way to make and use key, searchable terms and can even lead to your chapter become one of the trending topics of that day.

 

Government Contact Project

This month’s public relations activity features on of Georgia FBLA’s multiple state projects. Having members of the community recognize your organization is important, but so is having members of government do the same. This project is designed to raise awareness of our organization among government officials. It involves contacting officials and inviting them to chapter events. Your chapter can become familiar with the people who represent your members in government while also showing the officials what FBLA is all about.

The Governmental Contact Project focuses on involving government officials by:

• Inviting a local government official to a chapter social or meeting
• Contacting officials about FBLA and it’s advantages to students
• Telling officials about the benefits of the business education program at your school
• Contacting officials about the personal benefits your have received as an FBLA member

Participate in this project to help FBLA and business education programs become well known among government officials and to increase your chapter’s awareness of the government officials who represent them. 

 

Get the Community Involved 

One of the easiest ways to increase publicity on the local level is to involve the community in your chapter’s events. People are more likely to remember your chapter if they are able to interact with your organization.  Some ways to get the community involved include:

• Invite a guest speaker from a local business to a meeting or event.
• Help a local business by offering desktop publishing or marketing services.
• Have an FBLA open house for parents and friends of students to preview what FBLA members will be working on during the upcoming year.
• Hold a social event like a block party or carnival where members from the community are invited to join in on the fun.
• Do community service projects that community members can participate in.
• Send news releases to local newspapers, radio stations, and other publications about local FBLA events and activities.

If people know what is going on with your chapter, they will be more inclined to be interested. Communities generally like to get involved with schools and extracurricular activities, but they are often not invited. Get the community on your side by letting them be involved.

 

 FBLA in the Classroom

FBLA Week is coming up, and it is always a good idea to get students involved with planning and preparing for it. One way is to assign students to make a brochure to promote FBLA Week. With this idea you could tell them to use their creativity to help get the word out about FBLA.

If you can’t come up with any activities that students would enjoy during FBLA Week, assign your students the project of coming up with  planning a week during February to help get the word out about the organization. Activities must be appropriate for school, and should get students who are not in FBLA interested in joining.  Your students might come up with creative ideas that you would not have otherwise considered.

 

Integrating FBLA into the Classroom

A good way to bring FBLA into the classroom is to allow students to work on business achievement awards (BAAs) as enrichment projects when they finish work early.  Completed activities could be counted as extra credit points or even as class grades for activities done in large groups. For those of you who are really not sure about the BAAs, there are four different levels:  FUTURE, BUSINESS, LEADER, and AMERICA. In these four different levels there are numerous activities that students can do to use leadership activities to achieve their goals.

Each level contains activities listed in three different categories:  Education, Service and Progress.  Students must choose three or four activities under each category to achieve one of the full levels mentioned above.  The first level, FUTURE, requires a student to complete ten leadership activities doing simple actions like listing goals and/or personal strengths and weaknesses.  Attending meetings and bringing prospective members to meetings also count toward their first level accomplishments. 

Activities like job shadowing and making presentations to community groups even give students hands on experiences in the business world. Plus, for each level a student obtains, he/she receives a certificate and a lapel pin. Those who get LEADER level get state recognition, and those who get AMERICA level get state and national recognition for themselves and their chapter.

Business Achievement Awards are a great way to occupy idle students while gaining recognition for your students and your chapter.  Since BAAs are aligned with national standards, they are also a great way for you to document use of many of the Georgia Performance Standards.

 

September Curriculum Integration Idea of the Month

There are many ways that FBLA can be incorporated into the classroom. Since the Fall Motivational Rally is coming up, one quick way to interest your students is to enter this year’s Main Street, FBLA Placemat Design Contest. Chapters are encouraged to design a placemat that could be used in any restaurant in your community. Promote your local community by including unique attractions, businesses and/or industries, important facts, fun historical trivia about your area, etc. The entries will be judged on content information, promotion of community, overall design, practicality, and adherence to the guidelines. Check the Adviser Intranet for more specific information. This is a great opportunity to find those creative students who might make good competitors for the Desktop Publishing event.