Despite not starting their competition season until second semester, Fossil Ridge High School’s division of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is getting a head start on honing their leadership skills and conditioning their members for domination at their competitions as they did last year. Currently, their leadership class works on fundraisers for the community, and puts together the study materials they will need in order to prepare for their competitions. Any student who is in a business class, or has an interest in the club, can join FBLA. However, the leadership class is invitation-only. It has twenty students in it currently, and at the end of each school year the leadership members sit down with their advisor, Karen Seeton, and determine which members have shown quality leadership skills and participation in events to be invited into the class for the next year.  Most FBLA competitions are speech and presentation centered, regarding business and overall professionalism.

On Thursday, October 5, FBLA went to the Fall Leadership Conference held at the University of Northern Colorado. This was their first chance to meet the district representatives from all across Colorado, and attend breakout sessions and a keynote speech to better stimulate the members of their chapter in leadership skills. The breakout session focused on networking, FBLA as a whole, ice-breakers, and characteristics of leaders. FBLA President Lexi Nylund stated that her favorite session was one about how having a strong chapter bond is important, and that, “even though chapter officers are important, we wouldn’t have anything to be “important about” if we didn’t have any members.”

Nylund said, “My favorite part about the fall leadership conference would probably be the networking aspect of it.” Nylund loved the teaming building aspect of the entire event. It’s a great opportunity for FBLA leaders to meet their new state officers and also get to know other FBLA members that they will see at competitions later in the year. FBLA meets on Tuesdays in the Roundhouse during lunch, and is always welcoming to new members.