Posted on 10/24/2016
Fifteen public high school students were recently named state
officers for the Missouri Association of DECA, the international
association of students studying marketing, finance, hospitality and
management. And two of those, Shaneerah Woodruff and Kevin Welch, are
from the Francis Howell School District (FHSD).
These
highly marketable students were elected and installed during the
Missouri DECA Fall Leadership and State Officer Election Conference,
which was held Oct. 16 and 17 in Lake Ozark, MO. The annual state
conference was attended by more than 780 high school marketing students
and their teachers, so having two FHSD students chosen for leadership
positions tells a lot about the great efforts put into the programs.
Welch,
a senior from Francis Howell North (FHN) High School, was named the
Vice President of District 6. Francis Howell High School (FHHS) senior
Woodruff was selected to become one of the Executive State Officers, and
will take on the role of Vice President of Communications.
One
of Welch’s advisors, FHN teacher Melissa Trochim, said, “Kevin has
worked hard to achieve this position. He was an officer last year for
our chapter as a junior, and was inspired by Anthony Lupo – who served
as Missouri DECA's State President last year. Kevin was on Anthony's
campaign team in Nashville at DECA's International Conference, and so
that compelled him to run for DECA District 6 Vice President this year.
We are proud of him!”
Woodruff’s advisor, Larry Anders,
wasn’t surprised at all by his student’s outstanding achievement.
“Shaneerah has embraced what DECA has to offer to young aspiring
marketing students,” Anders said. “She has excelled in networking with
other like-minded students, and sees the benefits of DECA. She has
strived to be the best leader she can be for not only Francis Howell but
the entire state of Missouri. She will help communicate the DECA
message at the district, state, and national level.”
Click here to learn more about DECA at FHHS. Click here to learn more about DECA at FHN.
At
the conference, students participated in leadership and educational
workshops, competitive event practice programs, and learned skills to
develop their own leadership potential. In addition, these students
joined other student delegates from around the state to select this
year’s cabinet of Missouri DECA State Officers. The students were
elected and installed during the closing session.
Missouri
DECA is a nationally recognized association with close to 8,100
members. There are 12 DECA districts and 153 DECA chapters in Missouri.
Top photo: Shaneerah Woodruff, DECA MO VP of Communications
Bottom photo: Kevin Welch (third from front left) with the FHN DECA team.