Nebraska FBLA State President's Blog

Preparing for SLC

2012-02-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

Bubble sheets. Number two pencils. Proctors. No, it's not the ACT -- it's better. It has to do with FBLA, it's only 50 minutes long, and best of all, there's no science section!

For those of you taking objective tests (a.k.a. written tests) at the State Leadership Conference next month, here are some preparation tips that I have found helpful through the past three years.

1. National Competitive Event Guides: Ask your adviser if he or she has some of these. These practice tests contain actual questions from past national tests and are a good place for you to get a feel of what the test will be like at SLC.

2. Textbooks: I'm sorry, I know nobody likes textbooks, but when you're holding that ticket to San Antonio, it'll be worth it. By no means are you required to go through the entire textbook (nor should you have to). Skim through the table of contents and focus on the areas you are more unfamiliar with. The glossary is a great resource as well -- make flashcards for terms you don't know.

3. More Practice Tests: My favorite resource for these is fbla.testfrenzy.com. Warning -- some of the tests do have typos and wrong answer keys, but they are a great resource nonetheless.

4. Don't Cram: Cramming everything in the night before SLC is not a good idea. NOW is the best time to start preparing for SLC. Carve out 30 minutes to an hour of time each night to review.

Happy studying!

30 Reasons to Attend the State Leadership Conference

2012-02-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

#30: The girl-to-guy ratio is 2:1. Guys, if you're looking for a prom date, SLC is the place to be.

#29: If you watch closely during the general sessions, you'll notice that Amy Chin is SO short that she actually has to use a stool when she speaks at the podium! You can giggle at that, too (don't think she can't hear you).

#28: There are several amazing seminars lined up. Check out the list!

#27: As with last year, you'll get to get up and dance during the second general session!

#26: To hear Alex Raun sing the national anthem!

#25: There are several amazing seminars lined up. Check them out on the Nebraska FBLA Website (www.nebraskafbla.org)!

#24: You can giggle at the state officers when they "clap" on stage. (Don't think we can't hear you.)

#23: There is a dance following the second general session.

#22: It looks amazing on your resume.

#21: The Holiday Inn/CoCo Keys Hotel is now a Ramada and is getting a fresh look for the SLC!

#20: Josiah Hood will be there.

#19: There will be a showcase of Nebraska FBLA trophies from years past for your viewing pleasure.

#18: We'll be honoring past state advisers and past state presidents on stage! You can meet the faces of FBLA in person.

#17: Your hard work at the local level can be rewarded if you apply for the Delta Pi Epsilon award! One winner from each class, grades 7-12, will be selected to go on stage and receive a plaque!

#16: We'll be serving cupcakes at buffet dinner Friday night to celebrate 50 Fabulous Years!

#15: Okay, so Curtis Reynolds won't be there, but he'll be available to Skype! (It's the thought that counts, right?)

#14: Guys, you have an extra day to admire the girls in their gorgeous prom dresses!

#13: Ladies, the formal awards ceremony gives you another chance to break out that gorgeous prom dress!

#12: Having a good speech season so far? Then you'll love SLC, because we offer Public Speaking I and II and Impromptu Speaking as competitive events!

#11: You'll be able to learn the complete history of Nebraska FBLA through the historical displays that will be set up throughout the conference!

#10: Tyler Wellman will be there.

#9: Jessica Hansen will be there.

#8: Jenna Woitaszewski will be there.

#7: We've added Health Care Administration to our plethora of competitive events!

#6: You can make many new friends within hours!

#5: The air conditioner at the hotel will be fully functional this year.

#4: It's the only state conference that can get you to the 2012 NLC in San Antonio, Texas!

#3: A free buffet meal of pasta, salad, cookies, and warm, golden, buttery, delicious bread sticks is included in your registration.

#2: Taylor Sarman, the FBLA National President, is coming to Nebraska all the way from small-town Union, Oregon!

#1: Help Nebraska FBLA celebrate 50 Fabulous Years!

Guest Blog by Trevor Sorensen, State Parliamentarian

2011-12-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

With over 175 million registered users, Twitter is one of the most popular ways people communicate. As Twitter becomes increasingly utilized, a window of opportunity opens. This post will cover starting a Twitter account, the benefits of Twitter to your chapter, and how to promote your account to your membership.

Starting a Twitter account is relatively simple. Enter your information: name of your chapter, password, and email address before clicking 'create account.' The listed email address will be sent an email confirming you are a human being and not a spammer. Following confirmation you are free to personalize your account as you wish. You can change your background, upload profile pictures, and follow other users. The next step is to begin Tweeting. 'Tweeting' is the type of post you write. You are limited to 140 characters so you must make good of the little space you have. There are three main types of Tweets: normal Tweets, retweets, and replies. Each one serves a different purpose for your account.

The most basic type of tweet is a normal Tweet. When you tweet through this method you are saying whatever you desire in 140 characters or less. This type of tweet is the best for posting reminders and updates of what your chapter is doing.

Example: [Reminder: Tonight’s Meeting will be in the gym]

Retweeting is taking a tweet that someone posted and making it available to your followers. For example, someone may have said something profound that you feel will benefit your followers. Retweeting gives your followers the ability to be inspired and still give credit to the author who said it. Simple click the button that says ‘Retweet’ underneath the Tweet you found interesting.

The final type of Tweet is a reply. While Twitter is predominantly used to state what is happening in the moment, it can also be used to communicate between people similar to texting. By including the '@' sign and the account of the person you are communicating with, they will see that someone has sent them a message.

Example: [@TrevorSorensen I would like to learn parliamentary procedure]

The benefits of a Twitter account are numerous. Here are some of the most prominent:

1. Convenient
You can send multiple Tweets in a short period of time allowing you to send last minute updates and reminders to your members.

2. Current
Twitter provides your chapter with the ability to stay up to date with all things FBLA. You can follow the National Officer Team, State Officer Team, and other chapters with the click of a mouse. As they Tweet about what they are doing in their local chapters, you can take the ideas you find interesting and implement them into your program of work.

3. Accessible
Twitter can be accessed wherever there is an Internet connection. Members can find out what is going on in your chapter even when they are at home, when school is out of session, and when they are on vacation.

Promoting your account to your membership is an important task for your chapter to accomplish. Without followers there is no reason to continue to use the account. Here are a few ways to promote your account to your members.

1. The most obvious way is to use your chapter meetings to inform members of the account. You have their attention; you might as well take advantage of it. If your chapter has a newsletter, you can include the name of the account and how to access it. The time spent is well worth it.

2. Offer an incentive to members who follow your account before a certain date (Example: October 5th). Members who follow the account before the deadline can receive candy and the chance to win a bigger prize such as a gift certificate to a local business. Whether it is candy or gift certificates, incentives are a fantastic way to convince them to follow you.

3. Promote your Twitter account to members on other social networks. Your officer team can promote your Twitter account on social networks such as Facebook. By posting it to your chapter Facebook page or even their local profiles, their friends will see the link and will be able to easily follow the page.

Social networking has revolutionized modern society. It presents a valuable opportunity for Future Business Leaders of America chapters to take to continue to utilize social networking sites such as Twitter for our organization. I hope that you take the opportunity to utilize Twitter in your chapter.

You can follow Trevor Sorensen on Twitter at @TrevorSorensen. Don't forget to follow Nebraska FBLA as well: @NebraskaFBLA

Running for a State Office

2011-12-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Maybe you’re highly involved in your local chapter, an officer who coordinates and attends every fundraiser and social event. Perhaps you’re part of a national board, contacting potential national sponsors or writing articles for the Mountain Plains Region newsletter. Whatever your situation, it’s not quite good enough – you yearn for something more, to take your FBLA membership up a notch. Or ten.

Does this sound like you?

If you are nodding your head so fiercely that your neck is about to snap, you could be an excellent candidate for the next Nebraska FBLA State Officer Team. But wait – don’t jump too fast. Serving as a Nebraska FBLA state officer is rewarding but demanding, and you must put a lot of consideration into your decision to run.

First, ask yourself: how much do I really love FBLA? Go to the www.nebraskafbla.org to check out the list of state officer duties. The duties are not slim. Officers are required to attend multiple meetings per year, as well as four days of training in the summer and every state and national conference. Most of the time, you see us on stage waving or presenting awards, but being an officer is not that easy. Behind the scenes, it is a very labor-intensive ordeal. (Just to illustrate how demanding it is, I usually pull over 12 hours of sleep the night I get home from a conference, plus a few naps throughout the day.) Compare your potential officer duties with the activities you are in now – if you’re already highly involved in sports, other activities, or a job, you may need to cut back to make room for FBLA. Are you willing to do that?

Next, examine your motives. Why do you want to run for a state office? If your first thought was something along the lines of “To put it on my resume”, or “To raise my social status”, you may want to re-evaluate. The state officer team’s main focus is on the members and chapters of Nebraska FBLA, not itself. Being a state officer will undeniably look great on your resume, and you’ll get a lot of great personal development out of it, but if that’s all you care about, chances are you won’t have a very good time. Being a state officer is supposed to be fun!

Finally, visit the State Officers tab on the Nebraska FBLA Web site (http://nebraskafbla.org/state-officers/state-officer-informationapplication-link/). Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about running for and serving as a state officer – I highly recommend reading over all of the materials in great detail. If you have ANY questions at all, please shoot me an email (president@nebraskafbla.org) or Facebook message.

Good luck!

Social Media

2011-11-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

Facebook. Twitter. GooglePlus. Blogspot. Social media is a wonderful thing, especially when you use it to reach out to your chapter.

Nebraska FBLA has both a Facebook page...

www.facebook.com/pages/Nebraska-FBLA/239005639476228

...and a Twitter account.

www.twitter.com/NebraskaFBLA

If your chapter does not have at least a Facebook page, I would highly recommend making one. You can choose between a Facebook group and a Facebook page, whichever one works best for your chapter. Each one is a little different. For example:

-On a group, members must request to join and be added by a group administrator. On a page, members just click the "Like" button and they're done.

-When administrators update a group status or wall post, the author is the group name (e.g. Nebraska FBLA). On a page, however, individual officers can post under their own names.

-A group is designed more for small communities rather than mass amounts of people, which is why Nebraska FBLA employs a page instead.

A Facebook page/group is beneficial to your chapter for a number of reasons. Most importantly, the vast majority of high school students use Facebook. If your chapter members don't listen to daily announcements, aren't currently in a business class with your adviser, or don't check out the chapter website (if you have one), what better way to get in contact with them than through Facebook?

Also, if a member needs to know about an upcoming event in a short amount of time (e.g. "Our business tours are tomorrow and I don't know what to wear"), keeping a well-updated Facebook page will ensure that nobody should be kicked off the business tour bus for wearing denim jeans.

Facebook: It's a fast, easy way to keep your chapter in the loop (and, if your officers are all busy, it's a great way for a technology-aspiring member to earn some service points). Keep posted (no pun intended) for a blog article on Twitter!

Misconceptions

2011-10-08T13:05:00.001-07:00

I remember the day I first saw the state officer team. A naïve little freshman, I believed that these people lived and breathed FBLA. In my mind, they were in no sports, no clubs, and no other extracurricular activities, and they wore business attire to school every day. Okay, maybe not that last one, but it was still difficult to imagine them in “normal” clothes.

As I look back upon my freshman self, I have to laugh. But at the same time, it makes me wonder – do people look at ME like that? I sure hope not, because…

1. I wear sweats to school every day. The only time I don’t is when we have FBLA meetings.

2. Even though I work on FBLA a lot (more than is probably healthy), I still have time to play two sports as well as a plethora of other activities.

3. I once ran a stop sign (accidentally) while two other state officers were with me. Embarrassing? You betcha.

4. I still get nervous each time I speak in public.

The reality is, state officers aren’t perfect, nor are they the monsters that my freshman self thought they were. So, if you are putting the Nebraska state officers on a pedestal, please take us down. Believe it or not, we’re normal teenagers, just like you! Okay, so maybe we’re not quite normal, but if you ever see us at an FBLA conference, a speech meet, or even a basketball game, come talk to us – you won’t be sorry!

Our Favorite Quotes

2011-09-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

Need some inspiration? Here are the Nebraska State Officers' favorite quotes!

Trevor Sorenson, Parliamentarian:

"A great leader's courage to fulfil his vision comes from passion, not position."

John Maxwell

Sally Moore, Reporter:

“Follow your bliss.”

Joseph Campbell

Ashleigh Teten, Treasurer:

“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”

Francis Bacon

Shyanne Thompson, Secretary:

“Character is a diamond that scratches every other stone.”

Cyrus A. Bartol

Patrick Cook, Vice President:

“And here is how to measure it - the greatest of love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.”

John 15:13

Amy Chin, President:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.”

Nelson Mandela

Hello FBLA!

2011-08-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hey FBLA members! Welcome to the brand new State President's Blog. My name is Amy and I am the 2011-2012 Nebraska FBLA State President. I look forward to connecting with all of you through this blog!

The State President's Blog was designed so that you, the members, can have a more interactive experience with your state officers. (Coincidentally, it's also a requirement for the America level of the BAAs.) Most of the posts here will be from me, but you might also see some guest bloggers from the state officer team. Blog post topics will range from state projects to conferences to general "get to know you" information (because, believe it or not, state officers do have a life outside of FBLA!).

My biggest goal for this blog is for it to be member-driven. After you read a post, comment on it! What did you like? What didn't you like? Do you want more information? What has your chapter done successfully that is related to the post? Even better, please suggest topics that you want me to write about. You can leave comments on posts, email me (president@nebraskafbla.org), or send me an note on Facebook. Not from Nebraska? That doesn't matter! I hope that if you're from another state, you'll feel right at home here. You don't need to be from Nebraska to comment or suggest topics for upcoming posts!

With that said, comment/email/Facebook your ideas, and keep your eyes peeled for upcoming blog posts!