FBLA was established in 1937 and is considered a non-profit organization. The club has a middle school, high school, and collegiate level. There are different positions and ranks of officers such as chapter, region, state, and national (fbla.org). These positions help to introduce and teach young adults the responsibilities and importance of higher-up roles. According to fbla.org’s mission statement, “FBLA inspires and prepares students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences.” The club has taught students at Central many good qualities and continues to influence new students.
Over the past three years, Central Hardin’s FBLA (Future Business Leaders Of America) Club has grown tremendously. Christopher Greene, who serves as Central’s FBLA Advisor, started sponsoring the club in 2022. That year, the club consisted of seventeen members. A total of two people made it to regional and state competitions, according to an interview conducted with junior academy student Mya Reddick. This school year the club now has over 170 members, growing 10 times the amount since 2022.
“FBLA is more known at our school through social media and word of mouth,” Reddick said.”
“We continue to grow by always analyzing our club and how we can improve it,” Greene added. “Our officers are great and really want the club to be great.”
The club is said to be so popular because it does not have any restrictions on joining.
“We tried to make a club that no matter your GPA or school performance, everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed in FBLA,” Reddick said.
Due to the popularity of FBLA at Central, the club won multiple awards at state competitions last year, such as Largest Chapter Growth and 3rd Largest Chapter. These awards help recognize Central as a school where students want to be involved. According to Greene, the club also had roughly 30 students make it to the Kentucky State Competition and roughly nine9 students make it to the Nationals competition level last year.
As the club continues to grow and evolve, the surrounding communities hear and learn from the activities conducted by Centrals FBLA club. The club officers and advisors make it a priority to go on trips and to be involved with the community.
“FBLA has many different aspects to it allowing students to go on different field trips and learn about all the different jobs around them. (Westpoint Bank, Tennessee Titans lab, Cecilia Valley Fall Festival, etc.),” Reddick explained.
There are multiple different ways that students can benefit from joining the club.
“Leadership skills, communication skills, networking travel to places you might not see otherwise, and becoming a well-rounded student” are benefits of the club, Greene said. Students not only interested in business but other aspects such as communicating and learning leadership skills are also involved in FBLA. It helps these students in more ways than one. There are different competitive events for a variety of subjects. fbla.org lists all the different events there are to choose from, ranging from accounting to journalism to law. Having all of these different options to analyze and try before going into college or starting life as an adult can be very beneficial for students.
Senior Meredith Highbaugh is the Community Committee Head for the club. Highbaugh says,
“This opportunity has affected my school by connecting with the community,” Highbaugh said. “When we placed our food pantry boxes last year our school was featured in the newspaper (The News-Enterprise). We connected with local businesses and sought out a way to help our community succeed.”
Central’s FBLA club has reached many students. The club continues to grow every year and improves in the community. Joining FBLA can be helpful to you in many ways and the officers encourage you to join! If you have any questions regarding the club you can contact Christopher Greene at [email protected].
