Rossville FBLA | Chapter #8669

Local Chapter
Chapter President - Meetings - Training - Communication
Summer Leadership Seminar - Officer Responsibilities

State Chapter
State Editor - State President - CTSO Training

Any Rossville High student interested in running for a local office is invited to do so in the spring of the previous school year. The adviser prepares a list of questions concerning important chapter issues to present to each candidate. After the questionnaires are returned, the adviser and current chapter officers then determine which office each candidate is best suited to obtain. Each current chapter member votes on the proposed slate of officers.

Rossville High School Chapter President. Brett Eakin was elected as the Rossville High School Chapter President in the spring of 2004. Brett also served as Chapter President his junior year. His state winnings and state officer position as District III Vice President, made him eligible to attend the 2004 National Leadership Conference. Brett served on the Community Service Project last year, and is currently a chairperson of the Partnership with Business Project. FBLA has had such a tremendous impact on Brett’s life, was eager to run for the position of State President his junior year, and now he holds this position. Brett is a great leader and shows his passion for this organization through his dedication and hard work.

Monthly Chapter and Officer Meetings. The chapter officers of Rossville High School believe strong leadership and communication skills are essential to the success of the chapter. Once a month the chapter officers and the chapter adviser, Mrs. Ernestine Gordon, meet to review the performance of the chapter, discuss future activities, and polish leadership skills. These meetings are vital to chapter management and are equally important to the development of leadership among the chapter officers. Regular officer meetings allow officers to gain experience in time management, communication, and teamwork.

In addition to monthly officer meetings,

the Rossville High FBLA chapter holds a monthly meeting for all chapter members. The chapter meeting serves to keep members informed on activities within the chapter's governing body and provides an opportunity for members to share their input and participation on chapter affairs and business. Members are always welcome to become part of the meeting agenda and share any information.

Local Officer Training. Local officers begin chapter duties immediately following installation. An organizational meeting is held in the spring following the Annual FBLA Awards Night held at Rossville High School. The objective of this meeting is to discuss basic goals and plans for the coming year, plan a tentative meeting and event schedule, discuss the duties and implications of each office, and make arrangements to attend the Summer Leadership Seminar. Over the summer, in addition to attending the Summer Leadership Seminar, an exclusive officer meeting is held in which specific goals for the organization are outlined for the following year and committee heads and project chairpersons are designated.

Communication Used Within the Chapter. Krystle Thompson, Rossville High School Local Chapter Reported, published three issues of the News Brief to keep members informed of activities within the chapter. The issues were also part of the Newsletter competition for the 2005 State Leadership Conference.

Summer Leadership Seminar. This year chapter officers, Hailey Hoobler, Matt Ebert, Gina Newsham, Rachelle Brown, Krystle Thompson, Meg Guindon, Hannah Sharp, Brett Eakin, Sheldon Newsham, Ashley Shepard, and chapter adviser, Mrs. Gordon of Rossville High School’s FBLA chapter attended the Summer Leadership Seminar in Manhattan as part of local officer training. The seminar was filled with leadership building activities so that the officers present could take ideas back to their schools. An example of one of the workshops available for participants to attend was “Interviewing Skills” which was led by Rossville’s President State Officer, Brett Eakin and State Editor, Matt Ebert.

Officers’ Responsibilities. Under the chapter management plan detailed later in this report, each of the 16 officers has a specific responsibility to fulfill during the school year. Each officer must participate in every chapter activity and are often assigned extra duties. In addition, five of the sixteen chapter officers serve as chairperson of a yearlong chapter project. Each officer also has the responsibility of acting as chairperson of one of the chapter's annual activities, such as parties or community events. Since the chapter is large and diverse, all chapter officers must demonstrate strong leadership at all times. The chapter has also found that by encouraging leadership opportunities and enthusiasm among members to hold leadership positions keeps this organization growing.

Any member has the opportunity to serve a leadership position in the local chapter. Rossville FBLA strives to encourage leadership by operating on a type of equal-opportunity leadership program. Any member is invited to serve as a head or member of a project committee, special event committee, or serve on the newspaper or scrapbook staff. All members are encouraged to run for local, state, and national offices or serve as a campaign staff member or manager.

Kansas FBLA State Editor. In Matt’s campaign speech he quoted Vince Lombardi, saying that, “Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work.” Matt believes in this quote wholeheartedly and finally put it to the test this year as Kansas Future Business Leader of America State Editor. As State Editor, Matt’s duties included keeping up-to-date information on the Kansas FBLA Website and producing quarterly state newsletters. These were just two of many responsibilities that make holding a State FBLA Office one to remember. Matt ran his campaign on the slogan “Ebert for Editor”. Even though preparing materials for a state campaign can be quite extensive, it is one that Matt says he would do again if given the opportunity. From the beginning Matt started with a vision and feels that he has made steps to himself and KS FBLA with his contributions as State Editor. Matt enjoys the individuals that he has worked with, and the lifelong relations he will never break. Getting to work along side with State President Brett Eakin, also from Rossville has offered Matt the inside track to opportunities and experiences.

Kansas FBLA State President. The majority of Brett Eakin’s time with Kansas FBLA is spent implementing the Program of Work. This is a list of goals that the state has established for the year. Some of those goals include organizing the Chapter Mentoring Program, increasing membership, expanding the Event Sponsorship Program, and promoting the FBLA organization. Brett presides over all Kansas FBLA State Executive Board Meetings and organizes most of the public relations activities. Brett’s second campaign for state office was successful last March. The campaign emphasized his energy, character, and experience. The slogan chosen was “Takin’ Eakin to the Top” with an American Idol themed booth. The biggest hit was during the conference when the karaoke machine drew voting delegates to the booth. Many people helped make the campaign a success and one of Brett’s greatest FBLA memories. Brett credits the victory to his painted rocks that simply read, “Brett Rocks”. These past two years have been life-changing for Brett. This opportunity has allowed Brett to grow as a leader and as a person. He has represented the Rossville Chapter with honor, dignity, and class.

Kansas State Officer Training (CTSO). On June 6-8, 2004, the Kansas FBLA State Officers from four Career and Technical Student Organizations attended a leadership-training seminar in McPherson, Kansas. Rhett Laubach led the workshop. Mr. Laubach taught the officers valuable skills as a leader such as: communication, teamwork, and using resources. Also, Mr. Laubach focused on the sense of teamwork and what standards each separate team of officers wanted to set. Brett Eakin, Kansas FBLA State President and Matt Ebert, Kansas FBLA State Editor attended the training. Meeting state officers from other organizations was a valuable tool. The activities Matt and Brett enjoyed most were the competitive team events. The Kansas State FBLA Officers had a chance to grow as a team. The entire two days came to a close with an executive board meeting.