Future Business Leaders of America has recently gone on their fall trip and stayed two nights at a hotel joined by Grayslake Central’s FBLA team. These trips prepare students for the more competitive trips like the National Conference.
“We do three trips a year. The one we go on in the fall is the National Fall Leadership Conference in Milwaukee. It’s a noncompetitive FBLA trip. It’s conference with many speakers and workshops,” said sponsor Tony Bussone.
The students that participate in this club do several practice tests, competitions and learning in order to prepare themselves for these trips whether they compete or not.
“When we have competitions on the trips, we prepare by studying and going over materials. Our next event won’t be until the state conference later this year. When we’re there, we attend conferences, participate in competitions, learn things from business experts, and meet new people, as well as doing some fun group activities in our free time,” said senior Ben Tompoles.
The students sell Krispy Kreme donuts at school every other week, and they also sell Yankee Candles to help with the cost of their trips.
“We sell donuts every other week. Our next sale date is December 15 and 16. We also do the Yankee Candle fundraiser that a percentage of the profits go directly to the student to help with the costs,” Bussone said.
For many people, FBLA has been a big part of their high school careers and was always something they looked forward to after school.
“My favorite part about FBLA is for sure the trips because we are able to travel all over the country, have a good time with good people, and when it comes time for business, you learn a lot of valuable lessons that have to do with networking with clients or how to dress/act for interviews,” said senior Jason Rhodes.