Rockbridge’s chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) planned and organized their goals for the club before the school year even started. Over the summer, economics and personal finance teacher and FBLA  sponsor Donna Wallace attended a three-day conference with junior To’alima Mulitalo at Longwood University. Mulitalo was elected President of the Longwood Region, which automatically promoted her to Vice President of the state chapter.

“Being president has been amazing,”  said Mulitalo. “I’ve been able to meet so many new people and learn so many new things, and take more advantage of all the opportunities FBLA continues to offer its members.”

In the fall, FBLA participated in the Hospice Hustle in Buena Vista. With a total of 17 members participating, FBLA was awarded free passes for a wagon ride at the Safari Park in Natural Bridge for being the largest group to enter the competition. Twenty five members took advantage of these tickets to take a three-hour field trip to the Safari Park, chaperoned by Wallace.

“The Safari Park was cold, but our tour guide was really knowledgeable about all the animals,” said senior  member Hannah Burch. “It was fun when the birds in the sanctuary landed on us.”

FBLA put on the 7th Annual Lip Sync Contest on Nov. 20 to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. With over 15 acts participating in the contest, the contest raised over $4,000 for the foundation.

“The Lip Sync was really successful,” said senior Abbey Mays, president of Rockbridge’s chapter of FBLA. “We have to organize acts, recruit judges, make baked goods and run concessions. Everything went really smoothly in our attempt to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.”

FBLA is starting to train for their competitions coming up later in the spring. Mulitalo is using the skills she acquired at the summer conference to help members tunnel in their passions and decide what events they should compete in.

“There is a variety of tests, projects, and group assignments that each contestant can compete in,” said Mays. “We have been going on the websites to look at practice tests and have started brainstorming for projects.”

Until the competitions in the spring, FBLA will continue to have meetings to hear from local business leaders, such as Al Hockaday of the Shenandoah Attic, as well as plan for their competition events.