FBLA-PBL

Logo of FBLA-PBL, Inc.

The Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, or FBLA-PBL, is an international Career and Technical Student Organization that has its headquarters in Reston, Virginia. FBLA-PBL is a non-profit organization of high school ("FBLA High School"), middle school ("FBLA Middle Level"), and college ("Phi Beta Lambda") students, as well as professional members ("Professional Division") who primarily help students transition to the business world. FBLA-PBL is the largest student-run business related organization in the United States, with 250,000 members. Local FBLA-PBL chapters are often connected to their school's business education department.

Contents

1 History
2 Structure
3 Competitions
4 Conferences
5 Institute for Leaders
6 Running for office
7 Dues
8 The March of Dimes
9 Famous alumni
10 External links

History

Dr. Hamden L. Forkner, head of the Commercial Education Department of the Teachers College of Columbia University developed the FBLA-PBL concept in 1937. In the fall of 1940, the National Council for Business Education accepted official sponsorship of FBLA; on February 3, 1942, the first high school chapter was chartered in Johnson City, Tennessee. In 1958, Phi Beta Lambda becomes an independent division of FBLA with its first chapter at the University of Northern Iowa. The Professional Division (originally the Alumni Division) began in 1979; the latest group to join FBLA-PBL (in 1994) was the FBLA Middle Level, for students in grades 5-9. There are now approximately 240,000 members worldwide amongst the four divisions in over 15,000 chapters.

Structure

FBLA-PBL is structured into various levels of organization. At the first level is the chapter level, generally consisting of individual high or middle schools. Next is the sectional or district level, consisting of chapters in the same general area. Then there is state level, consisting of the sections within that state, and finally the national level. The progress of competitions goes through this same hiearchy. FBLA-PBL's current President and CEO is Jean Buckley.

Competitions

FBLA-PBL holds yearly competitions that include technology and speaking oriented contests such as: Computer Concepts, Information Processing, Public Speaking, and Website Development. The 2005 National Leadership Conference was held in Orlando, Florida at the Swan and Dolphin Hotels at Walt Disney World. The 2006 National Leadership Conference will be located in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center from June 24 to 27 for Phi Beta Lambda and June 29 to July 2 for FBLA.

The competitions start at the sectional or district level, some at state, where chapters may submit people to compete in the various competitions, and winners progress to the state, then national level. At the competitions there are many workshops that help the high school students develop leadership and business related skills and formalities.

The top ten competitors in each national-level event are featured on stage at the Closing Session of the National Leadership Conference where they receive trophies and/or certificates. Some events are sponsored, adding a cash or scholarship award to the top competitors for that event.

Conferences

FBLA-PBL holds its national conferences all over the United States. In the fall, there are commonly four conferences, each better known as the National Fall Leadership Conference (NFLCs). In the past, national conferences have been held in Anaheim, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Baltimore, Buffalo, Greensboro, Kansas City, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City.

The National Leadership Conference (NLC) is held in the early Summer. Two are held each year; one for both the FBLA/Middle Level divisions, and another for the PBL (Phi Beta Lambda) division. This is the pinnacle of the FBLA-PBL year in which all competitors (who have advanced from the state level) compete against one another for national honors. Additionally, members have the option of attending workshops in order to grow in character, and leadership, and to expand their knowledge of business and business-related fields. The NLC is the largest conference of the year, drawing crowds of approximately 6,000 students and advisors.

The 2006 NLC was held in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Among the workshop presenters was be Coach Ken Carter, who inspired the 2005 film, Coach Carter. Carter was also the keynote speaker for both FBLA and PBL's opening session.

Institute for Leaders

At the NLC, a two day seminar is presented by FBLA-PBL and TRI Leadership Resources, which is open to all FBLA-PBL members. Tracks available during this "Institute for Leaders" include Communication and Entrepreneurship, among many others. General Opening and Closing sessions are held on each day; these provide every track to get together, share what they learned, and make connections. Also at these general sessions are keynote speakers, highlighted in 2004 by a special talk by The Apprentice runner-up Kwame Jackson.

Running for office

Members may run for local, district (section), state, regional, and national office. Regional offices are appointed by national officers from the respective regions, and district officers are also appointed in a few states. All other positions are elected, with the exception of Parliamentarian, which is an appointed position based on knowledge of parliamentary procedure

At the National level, the following offices are available for FBLA-High School and PBL:

President
Secretary
Treasurer
Parliamentarian
Eastern Region Vice President
Mountain Plains Vice President
North Central Region Vice President
Southern Region Vice President
Western Region Vice President

Candidates for each Region Vice President must be a member of the region in which they would like to be the Vice President.

In the Professional Division, only the offices of President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer are available. FBLA-Middle Level has no national representation.

State, regional, district, and local offices vary.

Dues

FBLA High School national dues are $6. PBL national dues are $10 annually. FBLA Middle Level national dues are $4. Professional Division membership is available for $23 annually or $350 for lifetime membership. State and local dues vary with each state and chapter.

The March of Dimes

FBLA-PBL has had a partnership with the March of Dimes for over 35 years. During this time, FBLA-PBL members have raised and donated over 15 million dollars to the charity, originally founded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Today, the March of Dimes is fighting to prevent premature birth, a common problem in America and all around the world.

The newest addition to this partnership is the "March To" program. Through this program members sell paper feet in celebrating heading towards the National Leadership Conference. This program was piloted by the North-Central region in the 2003-2004 year with "March To Denver". The following year, a nationwide "March to Orlando" was held.

Famous alumni

Some of the notable alumni include Johnny Mathis (singer), Troy Aikman (NFL Quarterback), and Ronnie Musgrove (former Governor of Mississippi). Patricia Nixon (former First Lady under the Nixon Administration) was an FBLA adviser during her years as a high school teacher.

External links

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