Five students from LCHS placed in the top 10 at the FBLA State Leadership Conference held recently in Athens. They were: (l-r) Janelle Dukes, third place, Word Processing II; Kitty Ball, ninth place, Public Speaking II; Shannon Norman, second place, Marketing; and Hannah Crook and Savannah Crook, third place, Multimedia Presentation. Twenty-two FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) students from LCHS competed against 2,700 other FBLA members at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) held recently in Athens.

Representing Lincoln County in the various competitive events were Janelle Dukes, Region IV vice president and Future Business Leader, Word Processing II; Candace Marshall and Shannon Norman, Marketing; Savannah Crook and Hannah Crook, Multimedia Presentation; Kitty Ball, Public Speaking II; Emmi Layton and Tiquila Williams, Business Ethics; Ryan Andrews, Economics; Christina Baker and Sarah Sims, Digital Video Production; Madison Easter, Banking and Finance; Amanda Gay, Public Speaking I and Accounting I; Amanda Scott, Business Math; Kimber Kirkland, Accounting II; and Whitley Arrowood, Desktop Publishing.

Also present at the conference were FBLA member Hannah Cross and club advisors Janet Dukes and Joann Collins.

Those Lincoln County students competing but not attending the SLC were Ryan Williamson, Digital Video Production; Amanda Dion, Law; Krishna Patel, Accounting II; Matilda Watson, Accounting I; Sara Anne Remsen, Desktop Publishing; and Emily Hinson, Introduction to Business Communications.

Five students from LCHS placed in the top 10 at the leadership conference. They were Shannon Norman, second place, Marketing; Janelle Dukes, third place, Word Processing II; Hannah Crook and Savannah Crook, third place, Multimedia Presentation; and Kitty Ball, ninth place, Public Speaking II.

Norman and Dukes will go on to compete at the FBLA National Leadership Conference set for this summer in Chicago.

Likewise during the state conference, Janelle Dukes received the "Who's Who in FBLA" award and Janet Dukes was named "Advisor of the Year."

In addition to the competitive events and leadership workshops, the conference also offered participants the opportunity to hear from Governor Sonny Perdue; Michael Thurmond, commissioner of labor; Zell Miller, former governor and United States Senator; and hypnotist Patrick Grady.

Another highlight of the SLC was the presentation of Business Achievement Awards (BAA). The lowest BAA level (Future Level) deals with documenting participation at the chapter level, while the other three levels, Business, Leader, and America, focus on FBLA members getting involved in activities at the region, state, and national levels.

Those recognized for earning BAAs this year were:

.. Future Level - Amanda Gay, Tawanna Wright, Shannon Norman, Whitley Arrowood, Brooke Holt, and Krishna Patel.

.. Business Level - Whitley Arrowood.

.. Leader Level - Janelle Dukes.

FBLA is the premier student business association in the nation. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.

For more information about the club, contact Janet Dukes, FBLA advisor, at 706-359-2941.