Eighteen Alma DECA members, who were first place winners at the Arkansas State Career Development Conference, competed at the International DECA Career Development Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 21-24, 2018. Over 19,300 students from 10 countries participated in the event.

The Opening and the Grand Awards sessions were held at the newly opened Mercedez-Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons.

Students who participated in the competitions and their events were:

Business Services Operations Research

Abigail Langley, Tabor Shores

Community Service Project

Abby Barnes, Emily O’Kelley

Creative Marketing Project

Noah Dowdy, Zeik Gregory

Learn and Earn Project

Hadley Medlock, Michelle Wells

Entrepreneurship Promotion Project

Josephine Meinardus

Professional Selling

Gage Wells

Hospitality & Tourism Research Project

Allison Mooney

Business Growth Plan

Colin Keady

Public Relations Project

Chandler Champion, Taylor Cruse, Grace Murphy

Sports and Entertainment Operations Research

Austin Cluck, Seth Cole, Sidney Hatley

Fourteen of these students received the DECA Award of Excellence, which indicates that all performance indicators for their events have been successfully met.

Josephine Meinardus, AR DECA State President, and Austin Cluck, AR DECA VP of Finance, represented our state at the DECA Executive Officer caucuses, where they interviewed the executive officer candidates, then they participated in the Election of the 2018-2019 Executive Officer team.

DECA, an Association of Marketing Students, prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to be college and career ready.