The Diamond
Volume 2; Issue 4 January 2014
2 days until….Area 5 cdc ENVISION! President’s Message:
In This Issue:
President’s Message
Spirit Award
Conference Preview
2014-2015 Area 5 president candidates
It’s almost time!!! We are just 2 days away from the Area 5 Career Development Conference Envision. All the preparation and studying you have been doing for the past few months, it’s now time to use it to earn a spot at the Washington DECA CDC and eventually to ICDC Atlanta 2014. I encourage you to continue to study your performance indicators these next few days or practice your scripts in front of a mirror. Just like previous years we have and amazing conference packed of full and exciting activities. I can on envision success for all of Area 5 DECA and I hope we scared that vision together. See you all soon! - Wendy Menchu-Lopez | Are 5 President
Auburn High—Auburn Mountainview—Auburn Riverside—Decatur—Enumclaw— Federal Way—Global Connections— Highline—Kent-Meridian—Kentlake— Kentridge—Kentwood—Mount Rainier—Puget Sound Skills Center – Tahoma —Thomas Jefferson—Todd Beamer—White River
Area 5 Chapters
Spirit Award There are only 2 days left until the spirit award competition ends. Please pay careful attention to the items highlight as these activities for spirit points can make a big difference. It is IMPORTANT that you send me the information required for those activities in order to receive the points. There will be a lot of activities and games going on throughout our area conference so make sure your chapter members participate as spirit points will be given. Activity
Spirit Points
Submit Member of The Month Form
5 points
Member of the Month Winner
25 points
Officer Attends Area Council Meeting
10 points
Member Sends Wendy Picture(s) for FB / Newsletter
1 point per picture
Auburn Mt. HS—219
Fastest E-Mail Reply
10 points
Auburn Riverside HS—277
Chapter Visitation
50 points
Officer Meeting w/ Wendy
25 Points
Chapter Submits VP application
10 points
Enumclaw HS—100
Chapter/Class Picture with Wendy
10 points
Federal Way—177
st
Most Money/Hours for RMHC 1 place Most Money/Hours for RMHC 2
nd
50 points
Current Point Count: Auburn HS—298
Decatur HS—267
Global Connections HS—273
place
30 points
Most Money/Hours for RMHC 3rd place
15 points
Chapter reaches goal of 75$ or 7 hours to RMHC
25 points
“Likes” Area 5 FB Page/follows on twitter
1 point
E-Mail Response (Advisor/Officer)
2 points
Kentwood HS—307
Send Newsletter Feedback to Wendy
2 Points
Hold Community Service Event (Ex MDA or RMHC)
50 points
Mount Rainier HS—172
Chapter Attends FLC/Thunderbirds
75 points
Chapter Attends Area 5 CDC
100 Points
Thomas Jefferson—100
Participate in the Spaghetti O’s Ravioli can drive
15 points
Todd Beamer HS—142
Members attend Area Event
# members/point per member
Highline HS—365 Kentridge HS—339 Kentlake HS—299
Tahoma HS—178
White River HS—184
Area 5 t-shirts
8:30AM
Seating for Opening Session
9:00AM
Opening Session
9:30–12:00 Competition (3rd/4th Floors) 9:30-12:30
Conference Activities (5th Floor)
12:30PM
Grand Awards Session
Conference preview Photo Scavenger Hunt
Dating Game
Area 5 President 20142015 Elections
Miracle Minute
@Area5DECA Area5DECA
#Area5CDC #WADECA
Area 5 Candidate “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift” –Steve Prefontaine
twitter.com/5Area_Jazz Greetings Area 5! I am Jazz Biem, a junior, from Federal Way High School, and I have taken the opportunity to run for your Area President. I’m your average 17 year old; I drive, do sports and most definitely am passionate about DECA. Since this is the third year I’ve been in DECA, I have decided to aspire to become Area 5’s 2014-2015 President. Along with DECA, I am in Honor Society, the Cambridge program, and many other activities at school. For sports, I run Cross Country and Track and I am a cheerleader for the winter season. Later in life, I wish to pursue a degree In Business Finance and go to Western University. I am looking forward to seeing all of you, A5CDC!
Why did you decide to run for Area President? I chose to run for Area 5’s 2014-2015 President because I like to face challenges. Being a State Officer is hard work, and I believe I am fully prepared for anything that comes at me. Also, it’s simple, being an Area President sounds like fun! What are your DECA accomplishments? So far in my DECA career, I have qualified to SCDC the past two years. I have led my DECA Chapter in many charity events to raise money and bloodrives. Also, I have helped complete my Chapter’s first Chapter Awards Project in over ten years. What do you plan to do to benefit the members and advisors of Area 5? In the 2014-2015 school year, I plan to do many things that will benefit anyone in Area 5. For example, I want to get all the schools in Area 5 more acquainted with each other by arranging Area meetings. This will allow us to get to know each other and work together as an Area, not separately as schools. What does DECA mean to you? DECA means a lot more to me than just a business organization for marketing students. It is something where I can be myself, have fun, meet new people, and experience life. Anyone who doesn’t want to be in DECA is just missing out on greater opportunities for life. Which do you prefer, sunrise or sunset? Why? I prefer the sunrise because I live right next to a view of Mt. Rainier, and I see the sunrise by the mountain every morning. I love the orange and pink colors in the morning, along with all the birds chirping. Sunrises put a smile on my face everyday.
Area 5 Candidate Hey, Fellow DECA Members! My name is Elias Surface, and I am currently a sophomore at White River High School! I have two beautiful sisters who double as my best friends in life; together we’ve grown up in the small, backwoods town of Buckley. I am a 4.0 student, a part of my school’s tennis team and a member of the student council. Outside the classroom, I work as an intern at the law offices of Regeimbal and McDonald, and volunteer my time to countless causes. After my high school career has ended, I see myself getting my undergrad at Eastern Washington University and from there pursuing my passion for law and politics by obtaining a degree in Political Science. I look forward to meeting many of you at this year’s area conference! Remember: Together, we will go the distance!
“We are all Heroes. In Spite of Ourselves.” - Harlan Ellison
#SurfaceInOffice
Why did you decide to run for area president? If you were to ask me this same questions about a year ago, I would’ve said something along the lines of “Because it would look good on a resume.” My answer today is much different: After seeing the positive contributions the area presidents have made to not only DECA or sections of DECA, but to their communities or to their schools and to essentially everyone they meet, I decided that I want to be a part of this good. Area presidents do good for their followers, their classmates, and their community. Without their guidance and leadership, DECA would surely not have thrived as a club like it has to this point in time. What are your DECA accomplishments? As a freshman, I placed 5th overall at area in what is a considered to be a very difficult category: Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making. I also competed at State and attended Western Regional Leadership Conference. This year, I was also elected to the officer team by my peers. I have coordinated DECA into school assemblies, organized my chapter by making meeting minutes and by being in charge of sharing information to other members in my school, I run my chapter’s DECA page, as well as put together and hosted my school’s DECA Boot-camp. What do you plan to do to benefit the members and advisors of Area 5? I will continue fighting for improved organization and efficiency for us an area. I will do this by regularly updating the Area 5 DECA web page, through regular correspondence with advisors and members alike, and by enhancing the Area 5 Boot-camp to be more interactive with students, and by having the option to practice team role-plays. What DECA Means to you? To put it simply, DECA for me means Acquisition of knowledge, friendship and personal growth. Without DECA, I would still be “in my shell”, so to speak. I feel that with DECA I have started breaking out of my cocoon and began my transformation into the great person in which I aspire to be one day. If you could live in any movie, it would be? The Blindside, hands down. For me, it teaches the all-too important lesson that with love and support, you can accomplish whatever you set out to do.
Area 5 Candidate Hello Area 5! I’m Merissa-Elise McFarland and I’m one of your candidates for Area 5 President. I’m a sophomore at Kentlake high school and I’ve loved every minute that I’ve spent in DECA. Aside from DECA, I’m passionate about music and leadership. I am a part of Kentlake’s Symphonic Orchestra and Kentlake’s ASB team. I also participate in Sports Medicine after school. After high school I plan to double major in pre-med and international business. I then have plans to go to Cuba for medical school and one day I hope to open my own medical practice. Make it Count with McFarland and vote me, Merissa-Elise for Area 5 President.
“By striving to do the impossible man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.” - Mikhail Bakunin Why did you decide to run for Area President? I’m currently running for Area 5 President because I would like to connect all of the chapters in Area 5 by working to build a more bonded network between each chapter officer team. I would also like to enhance the Area’s competition strategies. What are your DECA accomplishments? I’m very proud of my accomplishments as a sophomore in DECA. My freshman year I attended a national conference, I got 11th place in my event during Area 5’s 2013 CDC and I joined my chapter at WA’s SCDC in Bellevue, WA. By my sophomore year I became Kentlake DECA’s VP and the VP of Social Media of Area 5. I am also a DECA Direct Social Media Correspondent. I hope this year to make it all the way to ICDC in Atlanta with my event, and I look forward to competing with all of you on the way there. What do you plan to do to benefit the members and advisors of Area 5? One of my goals if elected as Area 5 President is to create a stronger network throughout all of the Chapters of Area 5, and this will benefit the members and advisors of Area 5 in the way that it will make strategizing for competition, fundraising and community service easier with everyone’s collaboration of ideas and successes. What does DECA mean to you? DECA means everything to me. It is a remarkable organization and I hope to share the life-changing events that DECA provides with other students. I joined because my older sister was captivated by DECA. She inspired me to invest time in the organization and after time spent with DECA, I wanted to be so much more than a member. I’m running for Area 5 President because I want the members of our Area to love DECA as much as I do. If you could a Disney character who would you be and why? If I were a Disney character I would be Princess Tiana from Princess and The Frog because she was truly independent. I identify with her because she achieved all of her accomplishments on her own or with the help of her family. I also like that Princess Tiana was very helpful, and did what she could to make easier the lives of others. I strive to be like the independent and compassionate princess that was portrayed through Disney’s Princess and The Frog.
Area 5 officer team 2013-2014 -Area 5 President:
Wendy Mechu-Lopez (AHS) -Area 5 VP of Community Service: Calli Millang (ARHS) -Area 5 VP of Social Media: Merissa McFarland (KLHS)
Stay Connected with Area 5 Facebook.com/Area5DECA
@Area5DECA
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E-Mail Wendy @Area5DECA
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