Day 3 Competition Day!
You can tell a lot about a person by what they say about others, their competitors and to strangers.
These students, of over 4000, are as polite and well behaved as any I have ever seen. On the escalator I heard a young man talking to a friend asking how her new roommate was and she replied, "She's great"! A bus load of students getting off at their hotel, each thanking their bus driver as they left. Boys holding doors for others, allowing females and advisers their place in line. These students certainly are amazing in more ways than just academics. Over and over I heard students tell others they just met "good luck". Below is Hanna with one of the competitors in her category she met at State.
These students, of over 4000, are as polite and well behaved as any I have ever seen. On the escalator I heard a young man talking to a friend asking how her new roommate was and she replied, "She's great"! A bus load of students getting off at their hotel, each thanking their bus driver as they left. Boys holding doors for others, allowing females and advisers their place in line. These students certainly are amazing in more ways than just academics. Over and over I heard students tell others they just met "good luck". Below is Hanna with one of the competitors in her category she met at State.
Everyone was hard at work today from the organizers, to the judges, timekeepers, runners, and administrators. This conference is very well organized all the way down to the table where you sit so you can be located for your event. Many of the categories were online tests which saves human correcting, collecting and chances for errors. It also makes for faster tabulation for the final results.
Categories had between 50-120 or so competitors depending on the category. Many were performance based and a variety of judges with a preliminary and final round. Today was preliminaries!
We find out tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. if Josh moves on. Fingers and toes crossed.
Many of the team or group events had members dressed alike, both male or female. It really makes them look like a team. Students from each state get pins they trade and wear on lanyards or a sash. This makes for a very decorative and showy presence. They also get ribbons to add to their name tag. There are ribbons for literally everything including following Twitter. Wisconsin had under 50 students last year attend Nationals and I believe this year it was just under 500. That is a big difference! This was not just due to Middle School participants this year. Last nights opening ceremony had chapter awards and one school had 91% participation in FBLA. WOW. Another had over 600 members, I can't even imagine.
Each year, one of the FBLA members designs the pin. Entry is open to all and Voting Delegates get to vote on the design they like the best. This is Wisconsin's 2018 pin. Let me know if you want to design next year's, I have a form!
This was a giant sticker on the sidewalks surrounding the Convention Center.
Thanks, Lorri, for your well-written commentary of the day's events! Although I don't know Hanna and Joshua well, I, too, am very proud of them! And, you, for bringing them that far in the competition! Best wishes!
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