Miranda H. Lewis
Carter County Times
Three West Carter High School (WCHS) students recently traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to take part in the National Leadership Conference (NLC) of Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA), the nation’s largest Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) focused solely on business.
The event attracted more than 13,000 middle and high school students and educators from across the country to compete for top honors and cash prizes in more than one hundred competitive events.
Aubrey Cox, Kya Taylor, and Karianne Jenkins participated in the Introduction to Event Planning category. The trio placed third during the FBLA Region 5 Conference and advanced to the State Conference, where they earned their national bid by placing second in the state.
In addition to the competitive components of the national conference, students also attended workshops, traded state pins, and met with representatives from more than sixty colleges, universities, and employers.
The organizations appearance at state was quite the feat, acknowledged Adviser Jeff Erwin.
“This is the first time in many years that West Carter represented Kentucky at the FBLA National Leadership Conference,” said Erwin.
Jenkins’s brother Garrett qualified to represent the Commonwealth last year in Business Calculations but was unable to attend the National Conference due to a scheduling conflict. Before that, it has almost been a decade since the Comets have had a member qualify for the national conference.
“During the 70s and 80s West Carter attended the National Conference a few times as documented by chapter record books but has not been since I have been a teacher starting in 2008,” added Erwin.
As incoming sophomores, Cox, Taylor, and Jenkins will have the opportunity to compete in the event again during the 2023-2024 school year.
“It has been a pleasure working with these students both inside and outside the classroom and we are very proud of them and look forward to their future success,” Erwin said of the students.
Erwin extended his gratitude to WCHS and the Carter County School Administration for helping to fund the trip to Nationals and for the support they supplied the students and organization.
Contact the writer at miranda@cartercountytimes.com