A proud achievement for members of the Crisp County High School FBLA club, better known as Future Business Leaders of America.
FBLA serves as the largest business career and technical student organization in the world.
This year, CCHS saw more than 50% growth in club membership.
As of this school year, the club has grown to about one hundred members.
A stark contrast to last year’s membership, when they saw around twenty members.
Priya V. Patel, who serves as this year’s FBLA President, says she credits a lot of this year’s increase to FBLA Advisor Ivy Oliver.
“Ms. Oliver had a big impact on it. She always makes it fun. She balances her classes and FBLA on the same scale,” Priya said. “It definitely surprised me. People are doing stuff, everyone’s taking up their new part. It’s really inspiring to see people always bringing in other people, from looking back at last year at twenty.”
Oliver says this is her second year serving as FBLA advisor.
She says it’s the highest number of members she’s seen, and credits the officers for their hard work in recruitment.
“I think it’s having a strong leadership team. My officers, I try to make sure there’s a good mix of diversity and that it represents the whole school. Everybody has somebody they can familiarize themselves with,” Oliver said. “I believe the numbers will keep going up. Crisp County will be known for its FBLA program. “
Oliver isn’t the only one who shares this same pride in the club.
Vice President and Committee Chair Jaliya Hunter says this is her second year, and the skills she’s learned will follow her past high school.
“I’m learning business skills and how to communicate professionally. My favorite part is the community service and being around people with the same interests as me,” Jaliya said. “We have a lot of relationships with the community and a lot of skills you’ll learn later on in life, and everybody should have those skills.”
So, why should someone join FBLA?
It’s an easy answer for Vice President of Competitive Events Priya A. Patel to answer…
“It’s a really good opportunity, as they get into adulthood, it will help them with their jobs and things they want to do later in life,” Priya said. “It definitely helped my leadership skills and public speaking skills, and speaking with classmates.”
Each month, the organization has a different service project to show its appreciation, with September focusing on first responders.
They’re also calling on the community’s help as well to get behind them and support them.
One common goal they all share is that by the end of the school year, everyone will know what FBLA is and what they stand for.