Greencastle DECA members qualify for state competition

The Greencastle High School DECA chapter had a banner day at district competition, advancing 16 out of 19 competing members to the state contest in March.

Courtesy photo

TERRE HAUTE — Competing at a district competition last month, the Greencastle High School DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) chapter advanced most of its members on to the state competition in March.

GHS had 19 students take part in various competitive categories related to business, marketing, finance, management and entrepreneurship, and 16 of those students qualified for state.

The district competition was held at Indiana State University on Jan. 4, sponsored by the Scot College of Business.

The GHS chapter competed against Vigo County and Northview schools.

Greencastle brought home an impressive seven first-place finishes, which included MaCayla Stonebraker and Savannah Black in Marketing Management Team Decision Making, Elise Lausee and Hannah Seaman in Hospitality Services Team Decision Making, Boyd Ensley and Vincent Martoglio for Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making, Maieasha Rashid in Marketing Communications, Ben Huff for Human Resource Management, Isaac Hertenstein in Personal Financial Literacy and Grace Long for Principles of Hospitality and Tourism.

Claiming second-place honors were Joseph Hale in Personal Financial Literacy and Mya Weddle in Apparel and Accessory Marketing.

Other high finishers included Mylea Mangus, third place in Business Services Marketing; Madysen Conley, fourth in Principles of Marketing; Maverick Barnhart, fourth in Sports and Entertainment Marketing; and Addie Fowler, fifth in Principles of Business Marketing.

These students will be back in action March 6-8 in Indianapolis.

Maieasha Rashid

The GHS chapter also has a state officer this year in Indiana DECA Vice President of Career Development Maieasha Rashid, a senior who helped start the Greencastle DECA chapter.

DECA was established in 1946 with a goal to encourage students to explore the art of marketing. Prior to 1946, distributive education students found themselves employed in training programs after school.

Since its founding, DECA has progressed to currently have more than 275,000 members from all over the world. DECA currently has FIVE divisions, including the High School, Delta Epsilon Chi, Collegiate, Professional and Alumni divisions.

Valuing competence, innovation, integrity and teamwork, DECA especially helps its members with their “soft skills” of business, like self-presentation, business manners, confident speaking and quick thinking.

DECA strives to create students who are:

1) Academically prepared,

2) Community oriented,

3) Professionally responsible, and

4) Experienced leaders

For more information on DECA, visit www.deca.org.