The DECA Chapter from William Byrd High School was well represented at the DECA State Leadership Competition on March 2-4 in Richmond.
Fourteen DECA district winners from William Byrd participated in a weekend of leadership, networking, competition and awards.
State competitors from WBHS were Elena Boitnott, Holly Caraway, Hallie Chewning, Sam Dantzler, Caleb Divers, Tanner Hough, Hayden Lyle, Kasey McKee, Natalie Mullins, Meghan Stinnette, Erin Taylor, Julie Wang, Ellen Webb, and Katharine Williams.
The big winner from William Byrd was Ellen Webb, whose combined scores in her role play and written test in the Principles of Hospitality and Tourism Event earned her a position to compete in Atlanta, Ga., at the DECA International Career Development Conference from April 20-25.
Sam Dantzler brought home a medal for his score in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making Event written test.
Hallie Chewning medaled in the Apparel and Accessories Competition for her role play score.
Elena Boitnott competed in the Retail Merchandising event and earned a medal for her excellent role play score.
Katharine Williams and Meghan Stinnette won medals for their team role play in the Hospitality and Tourism Team Decision Making Event.
As part of the DECA district, state and international competitions, each competitor takes a 100-question exam in one of the five cluster fields: Finance, Marketing, Business Management and Administration, Entrepreneurship, and Hospitality and Tourism.
Students also participate in two role play scenarios based upon their event category. In a role play, the student is given a role in a company and given a situation that needs to be resolved. After a short prep time, they begin competing by presenting their role play to the judge and are scored on their knowledge of marketing or business as shown by their ability to answer certain performance indicators. There are individual events ranging from Apparel and Accessories, Human Resource Management, and Marketing Communications, to Sport and Entertainment Marketing, just to name a few.
DECA (once known as the Distributive Education Clubs of America) prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
“We are proud of all the competitors and wish Ellen the best of luck,” said Marketing teacher Jill Harris.