2022 District 4 DECA Competition

 

This past weekend members of Coon Rapids DECA competed at the MN District 4 Career Development Conference.  Among the 40 DECA members that attended the competition, there were 34 students that qualified for state in at least one event!  Some of the highlights at the conference included 59 overall team or individual finalists for Coon Rapids High School. 

 

Coon Rapids had 10 students who qualified for state in two of their events.  A special recognition goes to Libby Larson, Thomas Samit, Cody Aadland, Julia Dutton, Mya Kelley, Peyton Himley, Kate Garbow, and Harry Covel who qualified for state in all three of their events!

 

In addition to the state qualifiers, Tom Samit, Ava Kehr, Jackson Stewart, Peyton Himley, Madi Froslie, and Eli Guthrie all earned a top twenty-five exam score at the conference.

 

These students will be competing in March at the DECA Minnesota State Career Development conference, for the right to represent Minnesota DECA at the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, GA this April.

 

All the DECA members who attended should be applauded for their excellent showing.  Lastly, Mr. Bodenburg and Mrs. Leidall would like to thank all the DECA members who competed in the District 4 competition for their respectful and professional behavior at the conference.  Thank you and congratulations!

 

2022 MN State Career Development Conference

 

Front Row: Austin Cooper, Cody Aadland, Harry Covel, Carter Aadland, Tom Samit, Elijah Smith, Peyton Himley, Zach White, Reed Peterson, Asher Khan, Nick Leibold

 

Middle Row:  Mr. Blake Bodenburg, Mya Kelley, Kate Garbow, Samantha Schulz, Julia Dutton, Arieanna Hoium, Ava Akrivos, Mariame Kane, Kelsey Koehler, Gavin Anderson, Madi Froslie

 

Top Row:  Gianna Isaacs, Renell Cooper, Anna Kelley, Kevin Genis, Sydney Holloway, Ava Kehr, Jaxson Stewart, Kimora Freeman, Libby Larson, Jordanna Bradford, Nadia Kyei

 

On March 6^th, 7^th and 8^th at the DECA State Career Development Conference in Minneapolis, Coon Rapids DECA had a wonderful showing. Some of the highlights of the State DECA Conference included an 8^th place team finish for the Community Awareness Project of Ava Akrivos, Samantha Schulz, and Anna Kelley.  Also earning 8^th place was senior  Kate Garbow in her Hard Line Sales Demonstration. The Coon Rapids team of Gianna Isaacs, Austin Cooper, and Ava Kehr also qualified in the School-Based-Enterprise Project by re-certifying the Cardinal Image as a gold level enterprise. Senior Julia Dutton placed 7^th in Sales Demonstration Soft Lines, and the team of Mariame Kane, Elijah Smith, and Zach White earned a 7^th place finish for their Sales Project.  Also earning 7^th place finishes were Madi Froslie in Principles of Marketing, and the Junior Gold Chapter team of Jordanna Bradford and Sydney Holloway.  Mariame Kane and Mya Kelley brought home a 6th place finishes in Quick Serve Restaurant Management and Sales Demonstration Soft Lines respectively. Senior Peyton Himley gained a 4th place finish in his Sports and Entertainment Marketing event. Ava Kehr earned an impressive 3^rd place finish in her Quick Serve Restaurant Management Event.  Lastly, Senior Tom Samit placed 3^rd in his Advanced Level Employment Interview and followed that up with a 2^nd place trophy in Principles of Marketing. Overall, Coon Rapids had 23 state finalists in their individual or team events.

 

Amidst the 1,800 competitors at the state conference Madi Froslie, Tom Samit, and Ava Kehr stood out by earning top 25 test scores on their individual comprehensive exams. In addition to all the top finishes, the Coon Rapids chapter was acknowledged with the distinction of earning the highest Achievement Level on all five national DECA chapter campaigns. The campaigns include the Membership Campaign, the Global Entrepreneurship Campaign, the Promotional Campaign, Community Service Campaign, and the Advocacy Campaign.

 

Other highlights of the conference were when Ava Kehr and Austin Cooper were named Coon Rapids High School’s Outstanding DECA Members of the Year. Elijah Smith, Asher Khan, Mya Kelley, Peyton Himley, Sydney Holloway, and Jordanna Bradford earned the Minnesota DECA Speaker’s Bureau Awards, for their work this year in speaking in promotion of business and marketing education to the larger community. Along with all the student successes, advisor Blake Bodenburg was honored to be named as one of ten Minnesota Secondary DECA Outstanding Advisors at the conference.

 

In addition to all the top finishes, recognitions, and awards Austin Cooper, Zach White, Mariame Kane, Madi Froslie, Kelsey Koehler, Ava Akrivos, Samantha Schulz, Anna Kelley, Jordanna Bradford, and Sydney Holloway all qualified to attend this spring’s International Career Development Competition in Atlanta, GA.  At this conference Coon Rapids will be competing with 20,000 other marketing competitors from around the world in an extremely competitive international field.  Last but not least, Mr. Bodenburg and Mrs. Roo would like to say thank-you to all the DECA members that competed in the state conference; you represented Coon Rapids and yourselves with dignity and class. Congratulations to all!

 

International Conference Attendees, Atlanta, GA

Jordanna Bradford:                               Gold Chapter Campaign, Ignite Academy

Anna Kelley:                                         Chapter Community Service/Promotional/Global Entrepreneurship/and Membership Campaigns, Thrive Academy

Sydney Holloway:                                  Gold Chapter Campaign, Elevate Academy

Madi Froslie:                                         Principles of Marketing, Award of Excellence

Samantha Schulz:                                 Chapter Community Service/Promotional/Global Entrepreneurship/and Membership Campaigns, Thrive Academy

Austin Cooper:                                      School-Based-Enterprise, Food Operations, Award of Excellence

Kelsey Koehler:                                     Chapter Community Service/Promotional/Global Entrepreneurship/and Membership Campaigns, Thrive Academy

Ava Akrivos:                                         Chapter Community Service/Promotional/Global Entrepreneurship/and Membership Campaigns, Thrive Academy

Mariame Kane:                                      Quick Service Restaurant Management, Award of Excellence

Zach White:                                           School-Based-Enterprise, Food Operations, Award of Excellence