The 2010 PBL National Leadership Conference (NLC) was held July 9 – 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.  Over 1,500 members and advisers from throughout the nation were in attendance.  Conference activities included general sessions with guest speakers, business related workshops, competitive events, and the election of the new National Officer team.

Arizona was represented at the NLC by members and advisers from 4 chapters.  We are very proud to announce that we took home the following national awards:

Individual Written Objective Tests
Accounting Principles – 4th Place Kevin Elhers, Arizona State University
Economic Analysis and Decision Making – 10th Place Nicholas Banes, Paradise Valley Community College
Macroeconomics – 1st Place Austin Lincoln, Arizona State University
Statistical Analysis – 8th Place Brian Ackerman, Arizona State University

Individual Performance Events
Future Business Executive – 4th Place Shawn Christian, Arizona State University

Individual Skills Events
Word Processing – 7th Place Julia Newlin, Eastern Arizona College

Team Events
Business Decision Making – 1st Place Arizona State University (Brian Ackerman, Shawn Christian, & David Mendivil), 3rd Place Arizona State University (Kevin Elhers and Michael Meintel)
Digital Video Production – 4th Place Arizona State University (Jeremy Spann)
Emerging Business Issues – 6th Place Paradise Valley Community College (Neenort Khibeir & Matthey Teefey)
Financial Services – 2nd Place Paradise Valley Community College (Matthew Teefey)

Special Recognition Awards
Gold Seal Chapter Awards of Merit (Arizona) – Arizona State University and Eastern Arizona College
Outstanding Local Chapter Adviser (Arizona) – Bahman Maneshni, Paradise Valley Community College
Who’s Who in PBL (Arizona) – Joshua Belhumeur, University of Arizona

To watch a video of the entire NLC Awards Ceremony, click on this link: http://pdcproductions.com/PBL/

Congratulations to all of our NLC competitors!

We are looking forward to another great year in Arizona PBL and continued success at next year’s NLC in Orlando, Florida on June 23 – 26, 2011.

Mike Manion
AZ PBL State Adviser
mikeazpbl@cox.net

The national officer team would like to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication in the beginning of the year. We still have a long way to go to reach our membership goal of 13,000. The first cut-off date for membership registration and dues is October 20. Please encourage your officers and chapters to register all the members and submit the dues as early as possible. A new “National Top 10 Chapters” award will be updated weekly on the FBLA-PBL national website to recognize the 10 largest PBL chapters every week. Also, keep in mind that the largest chapters will be recognized at the NFLCs. Therefore, please get your dues in early and you may see your school on the honor list!

Meanwhile, the National Fall Leadership Conferences are just around the corner. Register now for one of the NFLCs and save by taking advantage of the NFLC early bird registration and hotel reservation rates. Your national officers are looking forward to seeing you and your members in Baltimore, Denver and Orlando. Early bird registration is through October 10 for Baltimore, October 17 for Denver, and October 24 for Orlando. A lot of exciting workshops, keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and fun time await you!

Your national officer team is here to help in any possible way to ensure that your chapter is having a productive year. As Vince Lombardi once said “perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” With continuous hard work and dedication, we can certainly take PBL to another great level. Keep up the work and keep us posted on your chapter news!

Geoffrey Long
PBL National Secretary

The Road to 13,000

13,000 PBL members is an ambitious goal set by your PBL National Officer Team. It’s never an easy goal. But there’s nothing that would take PBL away from achieving something big. Getting new chapters and new members across the country will definitely do the trick. What if the state(s) with the greatest percentage increase in membership will receive priority seating at the PBL National Leadership Conference Opening Session or Award Ceremony in Nashville, TN? Can you imagine sitting in the front of the ballroom watching the shows?

National Officer at Your Local Chapter Meeting

With technology advancing on a daily basis, why not utilizing some of the fancy electronic tools available to us? Several weeks ago, I attended a local PBL chapter meeting in Alaska via web camera! I was able to speak to the entire group about membership benefits, conferences, and competitive events and really got to know the members on a personal level. A web camera, a computer, and an Instant Messaging program (Skype, MSN, GTalk) is all you need. Talk to one of your national officers, and we will be happy to arrange a “visit” to your chapter virtually!

Facebook!

Check out the many resources on the national Phi Beta Lambda group on facebook. It provides many resources, from the Promotional Video to link to the Region Webpages. Most of all, it serves as an exclusive community that allows you to connect with other PBL members from across the country. Stay tuned on facebook and search for “Phi Beta Lambda”!

PBL, it’s that time of the year again – membership and recruiting! We can’t wait to see the great things we can all accomplish this year. It’s challenging, but celebration only comes with determination, commitment, and hard work. Let’s get ready for what is sure to be “Simply the Best” year!

This article was written by Gloria Lau, the PBL National President. Gloria can be reached by email at PBLPres@fbla.org

The National Officer Team would like to wish everyone a strong and successful start to your membership year. With the membership goal set for 13,000, the main focus in the fall is membership. Membership registration is now open with our first deadline on October 20. There are plenty of resources available to assist all of you with your membership recruitment efforts. For instance, your Chapter Management Handbook and the State Officer Handbook (sent to you through the last email) contains a ton of great ideas for chapter activities, fundraisers and much more. Please be reminded that registration for the Career and Membership Achievement Program (CMAP) is also open to all members. Please encourage your members to complete the program!

On the other hand, we would like to announce a really exciting leadership opportunity. Do you have a passion in serving PBL at the national level? Do you know of someone you feel is ready to take on more challenges and responsibilities? Check out the applications for all the Region Action Councils and the National Treasurer Council. Members on the Region Action Councils assist the Region VPs in various membership and communication duties, and members on the National Treasurer Council assist the National Treasurer in national sponsorships. These are great opportunties to gain valuable leadership experience and to make a lasting difference in PBL. Don’t hesitate – visit the national website for the applications!

Members and advisers, we are off to a good start to “Simply the Best” year. Please feel free to contact any of your National Officers with any thoughts, questions or concerns. We are here to ensure that you get the most out of the year!

Best wishes,

Geoffrey Long
PBL National Secretary
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc.
318 Friendship St
Providence, RI 02903
P 410.802.8404

www.fbla-pbl.org

FBLA-PBL: Simply the Best!

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The preceding message was taken from a mass email sent by Mr. Long to the PBL distribution list.