AUGUST 2009 | INLAND SECTION VOL 1
R E D I S N I D N I NLA President’s Corner Hello Inland Section FBLA! It is an honor to serve as your president this year! The section team has been working tirelessly on various new proj ect s such as th e President's Council, the Time Capsule Project, the Inland website, and many other support systems for you during the summer. Our goal is to make a difference in your experience in FBLA so that you can maximi ze th e benefit s of you r membership. We are eager to put our plans in motion, and have high hopes that it will strengthen not only the section as a whole, but also the indi vidu al chapt ers. I cam-
Upcoming Events Sep. 19—OAT Day @ UC Riverside, Riverside Nov. 21—Leadership Development Institute (LDI) @ Hyatt Regency, Irvine Feb. 27—Inland Section Conference @ Santiago High School, Corona
paigned on the promise of increasing communications in our section, and I intend to deliver on my promise. We are actively seeking to contact you through our new outreach program, but we also encourage you to be active in contacting us. Take the time to add the officers' e-mails to your contact list and to befriend us on Facebook. After all, networking is the best part of FBLA. Immerse yourself in the experience and let FBLA Fuel Your Future. Together, we will reach new heights.
Li nxi Wu, P resi d ent
The 2009-2010 Inla nd Section Officer Te am at the Leadership Sum mit in Williams, CA. Left to right: Cather ine Dang, Ginny Wu
Planning Ahead Ensure a successful FBLA year by planning ahead and planning early! Tip #1: Set up a calendar of important dates and deadlines. Certain events, such as the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) and the Section, State, and National Leadershi p Conferences, have registration deadlines. Projects, such as the Professional Membership Division and Go Green, and pro-
, David Mao, Chance Nami Mottaghi, Linxi Harvey, Wu, Janki Kaneria, Nic ole Hwang
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G i n ny Wu
grams, such as the Business Achievement Awards (BA 2), also have deadlines for individual and chapter recognition at State. Tip #2: Sign up early for competitive events. Often times there are more people who want a specific event than there are slots available for it. Sorting through this early will avoid last minute confusion, as some events, such as the skills and group events, must be submitted prior to the conference.
Tip #3: Brainstorm fundraising ideas now so that there will be sufficient time to implement them between the time school starts and when the money will be needed. Fundraising helps pay for conference registration and transportation, and definitely helps reduce costs when it comes to the State and National Leadership Conference. Follow these tips, get ahead of the game, and race ahead to the finish line!
AUGUST 2009
Make the Most out of FBLA - Ni c ol e H wang As the new school year dawns, FBLA members anxiously anticipate another term of success in their involvement. For returning members, it is the perfect time of the year to step up the game and aim for the next Business Achievement Award, study for the competitive events, or even plan on running for an officer position. For new members, though it may present a daunting task to adapt to the new environment, they may also get a head start by simply reaching out to the nearby resources: advisers, officers, other members, the National and California FBLA websites, and the new California FBLA forums.
Nevertheless, for both new and old members, the best way to receive all the benefits of an FBLA member is to seek opportunities on their own. One of the numerous methods to doing so is to visit the national and state website and become an FBLA expert. Check out the latest news on projects, competitive events and awards—the possibilities are endless! Find out the best means of participating in FBLA, plan ahead, follow your strategy, and make the most out of FBLA!
OAT DAY Energizer - C ha nc e H ar ve y Hey gu ys Officer-A dviser Training (OAT) Day is fast approaching and this year things are going to be a little different but do not fear — it’s still the same fun time we all know and love. This year each section officer will be taking on one or two state projects and together with you, we hope to improve our numbers in each project. This will hopefully create a smaller setting for all of us where we can focus more intensely on each project instead of all of them as a whole and spreading ourselves too thin. Before these projects may have been a one day deal now they will be more prevalent throughout the year. For example, this year OAT Day will be held
at the University of California Riverside, which has an excellent FBLA-PBL chapter that is very eager to meet all of you and assist in any way that they can. This year OAT Day will prove to be very fun and exciting with the new changes made, while still maintaining the same essence that previous years have had. Personally, I have never participated in an Officer-Training Day but I am very excited to participate in this one. Overall , we have some great things going on this year and we are all very excited for OAT Day and this year in general to get underway. See you then!
Inland Section Projects There are state projects – your March of Dimes project, your FBLA Goes Green Project, your Government Awareness Project, and so on – so shouldn’t there be section projects? The answer is yes! This year, there will be even more opportunities to be recognized at the Inland Section Leadership Conference, through our three Inland Section Projects. First, the Inland Section will be continuing with its traditional Membership AllStar Project. The top schools with the greatest percentage of increase in membership will be recognized at the Section Leadership Conference, and will also be privileged with seating near the front during the awards ceremony. Second, the Inland Section will also be
California FBLA has set up a Forum for members across the state to communicate more effectively with their section officers as well as state officers. The FBLA Forum consists of message boards for you to post up any comments or questions for the section and state team. The FBLA Forum is posted on our state website and registration is quick and easy. This year’s State Team has organized the California State Council (CSC) to get members more involved on the state level. Members that wish to be more active and have their voice heard on the state level are encouraged to participate. To be approved, one must go through a phone interview to discuss his/her qualifications with the state board and be readily prepared to take on major responsibilities. Council members are given the opportunity to contribute ideas to help FBLA grow. Applications are available on the state website in the documents library.
- C at he r i ne D ang Communicate with FBLAers Similarly, Inland Section has set up a program known as the Presidents Council. We want to bring our section closer together by holding periodic meetings by inviting all the presidents from all ch apt ers to come an d sh ar e ideas. Through this program, chapters can learn, achieve and bring this section to greater heights. These meetings will encourage presidents to network, bond, and embark this FBLA journey together.
Dav i d M ao
continuing to recognize members in the Inland Honor Society. Individual members will receive recognition at the conference if they complete a certain number of points off of a large variety of activities. Depending on the number of points earned, a member will either be a ―Commissioner‖ or an ―Associate.‖ Also, only one extremely devoted member will be recognized after an application process to be the ―Executive‖ member. Last but not least, the final project this year is the Time Capsule project. Every four years, the capsule will be opened, and chapters will be allowed to put memorable items inside. Then, the capsule will be sealed and hidden for the next group of high school students. This year, chapters will have the opportunity to be the second group ever to be able
to submit items for the time capsule. Participation is easy – just bring newspaper clippings, old LCABRs, old slideshows on DVD, and so on to the Inland Section Leadership Conference, and the chapter with the most valuable submission will be recognized at the Inland Section meeting at the State leadership Conference. As you can see, there are several ways to be recognized at this year’s Section Leadership Conference, and every member should be taking the opportunity to lead themselves and their chapters to success. After you are recognized, you’ll find that a certificate is very minor compared to the value that comes from increased membership, activeness in FBLA, and giving memorabilia to future members. You can find more information on cafbla.org under the Inland Section.