PHS BPA students advance to NLC
By Bo Meadors
Plymouth High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) students attended the 52nd Annual State Leadership Conference (SLC) in Indianapolis at the downtown Marriott from March 10-12, 2019. PHS business teacher Gene Skirvin, the PHS BPA advisor, attended the two-day conference that began on March 10 with his 19 PHS students who competed against other students from across the state in various events.
BPA is a career and technical student organization that aims to develop leadership, academic, and technological skills in the workplace among students and leaders within the community. Throughout the year, PHS BPA students compete in three primary events, the Regional Leadership Conference (RLC), the State Leadership Conference, and the National Leadership Conference (NLC). To qualify for the state and national conferences, students must score high in their respective events to advance to the next level.
SLC awards for PHS during the 2019 conference consist of the following:
- First place - Website Design, Kaitlyn Renneker, Julia Patrick, and Nicole Keller
- Second place - Extemporaneous Speech, Jack Garner
- Second place - Advanced Interview Skills, Griffin Nate
- Third place - Human Resource Management, Bridget Schafer
- Fourth place - Graphic Design Promotion, Bo Meadors
- Fourth place - Parliamentary Procedure Team category, Hugh Smith, Konnor Ray, Jack Garner, Bo Meadors, and Griffin Nate
All Plymouth High School students who placed at the SLC will advance to the NLC in Anaheim, California on May 1-4 to compete in their respective events.
The state of Indiana is divided into 12 BPA regions. Regions 3 and 6 are combined, as are Regions 4 and 5. The remaining regions are represented independently. Students from all 12 regions were represented at this year’s State Leadership Conference March 10 through the 12th. Plymouth High School is a part of Region 2, which includes Argos High School, Culver Community High School, John Adams High School, Northwood High School, and the Warsaw Area Career Center.
Nicole Keller, a Plymouth High School senior, is the current Region 2 elected president for the Indiana BPA. it was announced at this year’s SLC, that Keller’s successor for Region 2 will be Griffin Nate, a current junior at PHS. Skirvin said in the five years that he has served as a PHS BPA advisor, two Plymouth High School students have not been elected consecutively to serve as the Indiana BPA Region 2 president. He said this is a tremendous honor for PHS BPA and Plymouth High School in general.
PHS BPA students who competed in individual events at this year’s SLC were as follows:
Rachel Bockman, Graphic Design Promotion
Bryce Carmichael, Economic Research
Alaina Clady, Personal Financial Management
Larry Dragani, Computer Security
Jack Garner, Extemporaneous Speech
Nicole Keller, Entrepreneurship
Bo Meadors, Graphic Design Promotion
Griffin Nate, Advanced Interview Skills
Julia Patrick, Presentation Management
Konnor Ray, Entrepreneurship
Bridget Schafer Graphic Design Promotion and Human Resource Management
Hugh Smith, Extemporaneous Speech
Olive Stanton, Medical Office Procedures
Elizabeth Sutterby, Basic Office Systems and Procedures
PHS BPA students who competed in group events were as follows:
Video Production: Bryce Carmichael, Alaina Clady, Clay Hilliard, and Olive Stanton.
Parliamentary Procedure: Jack Garner, Hugh Smith, Bo Meadors, Konnor Ray, and Griffin Nate.
Financial Analyst: Drew Harrell, Matthew Janus, and Jonathan Hernandez
Website Design: Kaitlyn Renneker, Julia Patrick, and Nicole Keller in Team.
(L-R)
Back Row:
Alaina Clady (11), Matthew Janus (10), Griffin Nate (11), Drew Harrell (10), Hugh Smith (11), Larry Dragani (12), Bryce Carmichael (12), Konnor Ray (11), and Bo Meadors (11).
Front Row:
Clay Hilliard (12), Olive Stanton (11), Jonathan Hernandez (10), Bridget Schafer(12), Elizabeth Sutterby (10), Kaitlyn Renneker (12), Rachel Bockman (12), Julia Patrick (12), and Jack Garner (12).
