Arts and Entertainment Editor
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| R t L: Collin Gibbons, Caroline Lewis, Matt Bigelow Photo Credit to Webb Chawla |
It has been an eventful year for the Apex DECA chapter. Hot on the heels of a record number of wins at the district level, the association of marketing students delivered a stellar performance at the state competition. Thirty-six Apex competitors placed in one or more of the categories they compete. Apex DECA’s Quiz Bowl team finished in the top six at the state competition. DECA advisor Gary Austin was recognized for five years of service to the organization, and Apex DECA was honored for having the largest Professional Membership in North Carolina. The Apex chapter was also bestowed with the highest membership award given by North Carolina DECA, the Gold Level Membership Award.
There are far more categories at States than at Districts, competition is spread across the board more; however, there are also a few thousand competitors as opposed to a couple hundred, so it all balances out,” Gibbons said. Gibbons also enjoyed a fervor of excitement leading up to the competition. “I was incredibly excited having done very well the previous year; I had high expectations for myself and others since this had already been our most successful year at district competition and regarding membership.” Gibbons earned first place for his public relations project with senior Matt Bigelow and senior Caroline Lewis, and placed third in the Marketing Communications Team Decision Making category with senior Tyler Rogers. This is the second year in a row for a first place finish at the state level for Gibbons and Bigelow, who had previously partnered with graduate Richie Cook.
Senior Collin Gibbons recognized the energy going into the state competition, which provided much more freedom for competitors when compared to the preceding district level. “
During the course of their high school career, the mainstay DECA competitors have gone from mere proficiency level winners to first place winners and finalists. Last year, the team of Gibbons and Bigelow finished thirteenth nationally. The competition itself hasn’t changed much over the past few years. “The format was exactly the same,” said DECA advisor and marketing teacher Greg Murphy. But while the competition itself may not have changed, the competing students have become more of a challenge. “The competition was tougher this year, it was harder to win,” Murphy said.
Gibbons was grateful for the assistance provided by all of the DECA advisors, even though he had only had Murphy as a teacher. “Mr. Murphy helped guide everyone who did written projects in both Strategic Marketing and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship classes, and really made everything that our chapter projects accomplished possible,” Gibbons said.
Over twenty-five Apex students will compete in the DECA nationals, which will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from April 28 to May 1. In order to raise sufficient funds for qualifying Apex DECA members to compete, students will be hosting the Salt Lake Showdown basketball fundraiser on March 28 and a Chick-fil-A school spirit night on April 11. The Salt Lake Showdown event, sponsored by the local Rotary Club, will include a basketball game between faculty and students, auctions, and baked goods will be available for purchase.
Even though the end of the seniors’ DECA dynasty is bittersweet, the Apex chapter hopes to continue to recruit and train new competitors while encouraging alumni to continue to participate at a collegiate level. “DECA is what originally helped me realize that business was something I would like to pursue in the future, and I now plan to go on to study finance in college. It has also given me opportunities to work on projects that extend beyond the classroom and take what I've learned and actually do something with it,” Gibbons said.
Even though the end of the seniors’ DECA dynasty is bittersweet, the Apex chapter hopes to continue to recruit and train new competitors while encouraging alumni to continue to participate at a collegiate level. “DECA is what originally helped me realize that business was something I would like to pursue in the future, and I now plan to go on to study finance in college. It has also given me opportunities to work on projects that extend beyond the classroom and take what I've learned and actually do something with it,” Gibbons said.
