Business Professionals of America Clubs Hillsdale High School 04-0351 Davis Middle School 04-0447 http://www.hillsdaleschools.org

Press Release - May 9, 2019

 

From Mindy Eggleston

Hillsdale High School

30 S. Norwood Avenue

Hillsdale, MI 49242

517-439-4320 x 292

 

 

HORNETS PERFORM WELL AT NATIONALS

 

 

Eighteen Hillsdale students (13 from Davis Middle School and 5 from Hillsdale High School) joined 6,000 of their peers at the 53rd Annual Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, May 1-5, 2019.  BPA is the leading career and technical organization for students in grades 6 through college. Business Professionals of America is known as an organization laser-focused on the professional development and future of our youth, providing the tools, skills, and experiences needed to compete, succeed, and thrive in the business world.

The students, their advisor, and a few parent chaperones stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim.  Twelve Hornets placed in the top ten in our nation! Six more placed in the top twenty! Lara Neumann ‘19, placed third in Fundamental Accounting and she also earned a Precision Exam Certification in Accounting I.  Lara had to take an accounting test that covered inventory costing methods, depreciation, and more. Also placing third in the nation for the Hornets was Sophomore Ella Springer. Ella designed a trading pin, a logo, and a poster to advertise the BPA conference for 2020 in Washington D.C.  Her theme was “We The Leaders” and she created a beautiful logo for her project.

John Maier ‘21, earned fourth place in the extremely difficult Economic Research Project competition.  John had to research monopolies, write a paper, and then present his findings to a panel of judges. His presentation was very entertaining and insightful.

The DMS team of Brynn Bigelow, Cooper Eggleston, and Annemarie Moore placed 5th in the nation in the Presentation Management Team competition.  This was the first time that Davis Middle School entered a team in this competition. The group placed second at state and actually beat the first place team at nationals. Brynn, Cooper, and Annemarie were tasked with helping a stagnant family-owned business to develop a plan to revitalize their company. They created a new logo, along with developing social media and traditional advertisements.

Sixth place in the nation went to a team of 8th graders who developed a website which showcased a new downtown area focuses on families. A fictional investor donated $500,000 to enhance the downtown area in the city of their choice. Jacob Davis, Jack Granata, Addison Hoffman, and Megan Rufenacht, chose Hillsdale and created a dynamic website that showed the end product of the revitalization. Their site included new businesses, a map showing the layout of stores and attractions, parking and transportation, etc.

Sixth graders Brahm Gambill and John Petersen placed 9th in the Digital Game Design Competition. DGD is a brand new competition for both BPA and Davis Middle School. The boys learned a lot and were able to create a “Flappy Bird” style game where George Washington avoided the pipes in order to get to the capitol to find the Declaration of Independence.

The Ambassador Torch Award, given at the national level, requires 70 points in each Torch Category. An Ambassador is defined as “a diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as a representative of the organization.” A student who earns an award through the Business Professionals of America Torch Awards Program will be presented with a certificate and pin commemorating their achievement. Most importantly, though, a student participating in the Torch Awards Program builds a rich catalog of service and leadership experience to be proud of. Five seniors earned this distinction:  Breanna Bildner, Ella Lewis, Emily Kimball, Hunter Sharp, and Sarah Shreffler.

On Friday, May 3rd, Grace Shreffler ‘21, Annemarie Moore ‘24, Chaperones Micha Moore and Jill Shreffler, and BPA Advisor Mindy Eggleston participated in BPA’s Day of Service.  From 3:00-6:00 p.m. they wrote letters of thanks and support for our active, reserve, and veteran military members, and they packed care packages and hygiene kits for those in need.  Grace and Annemarie also wrote “Smile A Day” thank you cards to those working behind the scenes to make the conference experience a positive event for everyone. Advisor Mindy Eggleston also donated a pint of blood at the American Red Cross Blood Drive.

In addition to the great competition, some of the students and parent chaperones enjoyed Universal Studios, a Hollywood tour, an Angels baseball game, Downtown Disney, and the Santa Monica Beach.

We would specifically like to thank our sponsors:  Dr. Colin Mayers, Drews Place Assisted Living, Hillsdale County Community Foundation, Kiwanis Club, Hillsdale Community Schools Education Fund Board, Tenneco, Inc., and Dr. Nichole Ellis.  These generous individuals and businesses, along with our fundraising efforts made this trip possible. We sincerely thank everyone who supported us.

 

BPA NATIONAL RESULTS

• 3rd Place - Lara Neumann - 12th Grade (Accounting)
• Precision Exam Certification - Accounting I = 95%
• 3rd Place - Ella Springer - 10th Grade (Graphic Design Promotion)
• 4th Place - John Maier - 10th Grade (Economic Research Project)
• 5th Place - Brynn Bigelow - 8th Grade, Cooper Eggleston - 8th Grade, Annemarie Moore - 7th Grade (Presentation Management Team)
• 6th Place - Jacob Davis - 8th Grade, Jack Granata - 8th Grade, Addie Hoffman - 8th Grade, Megan Rufenacht - 8th Grade (Website Design Team)
• 9th Place - Brahm Gambill - 6th Grade & John Petersen - 6th Grade (Game Design Team)
• Ambassador Torch Award Winners:  Breanna Bildner, Ella Lewis, Emily Kimball, Hunter Sharp, Sarah Shreffler
• 11th Place - Landon Dunning - 7th Grade, Peter Moore - 7th Grade, Stephen Petersen - 7th Grade (Video Team)
• 16th Place - Cooper Eggleston - 8th Grade (Graphic Design Promotion)
• 17th Place - Quinn Ortiz - 6th Grade (Graphic Design Promotion)
• 18th Place - Megan Rufenacht - 8th Grade (Prepared Speech)
• 21st Place - Stephen Petersen - 7th Grade (Graphic Design Promotion)

 

BPA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE QUALIFIERS

• Brynn Bigelow ‘23 - Presentation Management Team
• Jacob Davis ‘23 - Website Design Team
• Landon Dunning ‘24 - Video Production Team
• Cooper Eggleston ‘23 - Presentation Management Team & Graphic Design
• Abrahm Gambill ‘25 - Digital Game Design Team & Computer Literacy Concepts
• Jack Granata ‘23 - Website Design Team & Spreadsheet Applications
• Addison Hoffman ‘23 - Website Design Team
• Annemarie Moore ‘24 - Presentation Management Team
• Peter Moore ‘23 - Video Production Team
• Quinn Ortiz ‘25 - Graphic Design Promotion
• John Petersen ‘25 - Digital Game Design Team
• Stephen Petersen ‘24 - Video Production Team & Graphic Design
• Megan Rufenacht ‘23 - Prepared Speech & Website Design Team
• Sarah Korn ‘21 - Intermediate Word Processing (Microsoft Word)
• John Maier ‘21 - Economic Research Project
• Lara Neumann ‘19 - Accounting
• Grace Shreffler ‘21 - Intermediate Word Processing (Microsoft Word)
• Gabriella Springer (Ella) ‘21 - Graphic Design

 

SPONSORS

• Platinum Sponsor - Dr. Colin Mayers
• Platinum Sponsor - Hillsdale County Community Foundation
• Gold Sponsor - Drew’s Place Assisted Living Communities
• Gold Sponsor - Hillsdale County Kiwanis Club
• Gold Sponsor - Hillsdale Community Schools Education Foundation Fund Board
• Silver Sponsor - County National Bank
• Silver Sponsor - Tenneco, Inc.
• Silver Sponsor - Dr. Nichole Ellis

 

ADVISORS

• HHS BPA - Mindy Eggleston - 11 years
• DMS BPA - Laura Wilson - 4 years
• DMS BPA - Mindy Eggleston - 4 years
• HHS BPA - Lauren Cornett - 1 year
• HHS BPA - Sarah Sutliff - 1 year

 

2018-2019 BPA Student Certification Series Awards

• Alley, Gabriel
• Boyd, Brylee
• Gendron, Olivia
• Hassenzahl, Kylee
• Kelly, Sierra
• Kimball, Emily
• Korn, Sarah
• Lewis, Ella
• Manifold, Karissa
• Moore, Madeline
• Randolph, Kenzie
• Reiniche, Leah
• Rufenacht, Rachel
• Shafer, Sarah
• Sharp, Hunter
• Shreffler, Grace
• Shreffler, Sarah
• Sizemore, Joel
• Vondra, Grace  

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