Brent Lemond
Director of Career and Adult Education
Nassau County School District
March 1, 2016 5:16 p.m.
The Nassau County School District will once again be well-represented at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Competition in Orlando next month. All four Nassau County high schools produced champions at the District IV competition held on Thursday, January 21st at the FSCJ North Campus in Jacksonville. In total, county schools combined for 19 individual champions and 6 winners in team
competitions. Additionally, 10 students finished second and 10 placed third. First and second place winners are eligible to compete at the state level, and state champions are eligible for the national competition in Atlanta, GA this summer.
Michele Stamps (sponsor) and the Hilliard Senior High School chapter won six first place individual and two team contests. The team of Cameron Driggers and James Scarbrough won the Entrepreneurship competition while the team of Brooke Swanson, Amanda Holcombe, and Rayann Stokes won for Global Business. Individual winners were Megan Kloft (Healthcare Administration), Scout Chaires (Impromptu Speaking), Abigail Cardwell (Introduction to Business Communication), Stephanie Weathington (Spreadsheet Applications), and Grant Graves (Introduction to Financial Math and Word Processing). Second place finishers from Hilliard included Aly Gordon (Healthcare Administration), Hannah Simpkins (Business Communications), Cadie Pickett (Introduction to Financial Math), Abigail Cardwell (Job Interview), and Brook Kelly (Word Processing); two teams also placed second – Stephanie Weathington and Aly Gordon (Hospitality Management) and Baylee Dover and Grace Keener (Sports Entertainment Management).
West Nassau High School’s chapter, sponsored by Joyce Finley, won top honors in seven individual and three team contests. Caleb Fahlgren (Computer Gaming and Programming Simulation, Cyber Security), Carlene Tompkins (Public Speaking 1), Bailey Sharkey (Business Law), Luke Libby (Introduction to Business Procedures), Trenton Lanning (Economics), and Tristan Klepzig (Business Communication) took home the individual championships while Dylan Waters & Brooke Howell (Sports and Entertainment), Luke Libby & Phillip Johnson (Business Presentation), and Erin McClellan & Emma Brinson (Digital Video) won team events. Ke’Ana Pennamon & Nasha
Peeples finished with a 2nd place win (Help Desk Team) and Elli Copher, Alli Copher, & Jessica Howard took 3rd place (Entrepreneurship Team).
Royal, Madison Steadman, Sabrina Jones, and Jasmine St. Leger.
Back Row – Mitchell Allen, Devin Hightower, Spencer Nguyen, Mercedes Reyes, Hadyn
Hoff, Taliyah Lipscomb, and Shekinah Wilson.
Not Pictured: Advisor Deondra Hightower
Yulee High School’s Parliamentary Procedures team plus six individual students were crowned 1st place champions. Hannah Millsap (Business Calculations), James Ellison (Computer Problem Solving), Michael McGahee (Desktop Application Programming), Devin Hightower (FBLA Principles and Procedures), Shaynah Bell (Sales Presentation), and Spencer Nguyen (Securities and Investments) were the individual winners and Madison Steadman (Public Speaking II) placed second. The winning team consisted of Jala Flagler, Hadyn Hoff, Sabrina Jones, & Mercedes Reyes (Parliamentary Procedures).
The Yulee chapter is sponsored by Deondra Hightower.
Despite having no previous exposure to the competition, Fernandina Beach High School students also experienced success. Winners include Sarah Lowe (Future Business
Leader) and Josh Sheffield (Microsoft Excel). Cameron Fromme (Impromptu Speaking) and Cutter Naismith (Job Interview) each placed third. The school’s Digital Design and TV Productions teacher, Stephanie Landtroop, sponsored the school’s first FBLA chapter this year and did an outstanding job fielding a competitive team.
Overall, it was another great year for Nassau County. NCSB Career Education Director, Brent Lemond, pointed out some key highlights. “What amazes me is how our schools seem to break new ground each year. While we’ve previously had students
that placed in both an individual and team event, this is the first year that two of our students, Grant Graves and Caleb Fahlgren, have won two separate individual contests. It’s also very exciting that Fernandina Beach High School had two district champions in their first year. We’re fortunate – Nassau County’s business
teachers are some of the most effective educators in the country.”
For more information or any of the Nassau County School District’sCareer Education Programs, contact:(904) 548-4474
Congratulations to all these young adults for their dedication and work for this competition. Clearly all the effort paid off!