Future Business Leaders of America, a branch club at Harriton High School, is getting ready for their state competition in Hershey, Pennsylvania, coming up this April 3rd. Consisting of over 45 members and preparing for careers in business-related fields, FBLA can be currently spotted setting up presentations, preparing for test exams and other timed events, in order to showcase the best of their business skills in April. To hear more FBLA and what they are up to, we were able to sit down with the club’s leaders, juniors, Maxwell Beck and Benjamin Garber.

Harriton Banner: Tell us about FBLA and its history at Harriton.
MB: FBLA has been a club for many years at Harriton. However, this year, FBLA was not on track to become a club because the past officers had not found a teacher advisor. Ben and I assumed that we were going to sign up for another year of the club at RAM day (the club signup day), but when we looked around, we could not see FBLA anywhere. I quickly grabbed a spot at a table, and we got a signup form from one of our past officers. Ben went around signing people up for the club, and I stayed at the table, also getting people to sign up. We were able to enroll many members and restore the club to its past success. We were also blessed with getting an extremely helpful advisor, Mrs. Ranson, who has helped us to organize the club. We are now prepared to bring 22 students to the state competition in Hershey, as we had many win the regional competition.

Harriton Banner: What was your recent fundraiser for? Did it prove successful?
MB & BG: Krispy Kreme donut fundraiser was to raise money to cover some of the expenses for our trip to the FBLA state competition. We raised nearly $1,000, as we also sold food at the breakfast table.

Harriton Banner: How often does FBLA meet?
MB & BG: It really depends. Earlier in the year, we meet less and mainly do organizational work. As the regional competition begins to approach, we make sure that the club is ready to compete. This means having numerous meetings discussing the different events in which our members can compete, as well as preparing for the events themselves. Additionally, the officers meet often to organize the club and make sure everything runs smoothly. For example, Ben, our treasurer, spends a lot of time making sure that the club’s financials are well-maintained. He deals with all of the costs that come along with competing and manages the money that we raise.

Harriton Banner: What are some of the past accomplishments of FBLA Harriton?
MB & BG: Last year, we had a group qualify for the national competition in Atlanta, Georgia. We have sent many people to the national competition throughout the years that FBLA has existed at Harriton.

Harriton Banner: What do you guys hope to achieve by the end of this school year?
MB & BG: By the end of the year, we hope that we have contenders for the national competition. Additionally, we are working to bring in successful women and members of minorities who have broken boundaries in their professions to speak to the student body of Harriton.

Harriton Banner: How can students join FBLA?
MB & BG: Students can join FBLA by speaking to one of the officers or Mrs. Ranson, signing up at RAM day, or just asking a friend in the club to contact us. We invite anyone to join FBLA, regardless of whether they made states or not. We just ask for full commitment, which means showing up to meetings and partaking in any in-school events such as our fundraisers.

We wish all the FBLA members who are anticipating on competing at the state competition the best of luck in two weeks!