DECA brings home the bacon

DECA, an association of marketing students, recently hosted the DECA Region 1 competition on January 27th at Kennesaw State University. The competitions focused on skills such as marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. The DECA competition hosted a variety of competitions. Among the competitions, Creekview students were able to stand out and finish well, allowing them to advance on to the state level.

Among the winners were: 1st Place-Logan P (Business Administration), Brett T (Buying and Merchandising), Samantha G (Food Marketing), and Derek T (Entrepreneurship). 2nd place-Amanda F (Quick Service Restaurant Management) and Mary M (Accounting Applications). 3rd place-Meghan G. (Marketing Management), Danielle H (Principles of Hospitality and Tourism), and Zachary D (Hospitality Services). 4th place-Kamela K (Principles of Business Administration and Management), Landon E (Principles of Finance), Zachary P (Retail Merchandising), Tyra M (Hospitality Services), and Rebecca M (Apparel and Accessories Marketing).

During the competition, students took a test or role played or performed a scenario in front of judges and how well they did in those competitions determined their rank. Shelley Gravitt, DECA advisor and marketing instructor, brings DECA to Creekview as she teaches her students to learn the structure of business and marketing by integrating skills from a business into the school store. The school store teaches students the how-to’s of finance, hospitality, and marketing. She states that most of her students are interested in marketing and going into the business world. The DECA competitions are a great example to teach students what it is like to run a business. Mrs. Gravitt states, “The [competitions] are much more competitive and students have to study for that. I’m impressed with our students.”

The winners will qualify to compete at the state competition on February 25-27th in downtown Atlanta at the Marriott Marquis. The top six winners from each state will then have an opportunity to compete at the national level in Orlando, Florida. We wish the winners best of luck as they compete at the state level in February.
Written by: Beatrice Torralba