By: Brooke Gronich and Emily Sobel
Once again, the Emerging Leaders Business Competition attracted students from all over Long Island and allowed them to get a glimpse of the thrilling business world. The 16th Annual Emerging Leaders business competition took place on Wednesday, November 28, at St. Joseph’s College. Hills East was represented by members of FBLA, DECA, and Business Honor Society. There is a myriad of events available through the competition that challenges students to think outside of the box in order to provide business solutions for different companies. The students were given the option to compete individually or in pairs. There were 291 students and 17 school districts who participated in the competition. High School East had 28 students compete, and a number of these students placed in the competition.
The competition provides a wide array of categories, each of which involves a different company and a different problem. The students have to make a visual board which displays their ideas and they are given five minutes to present in front of two judges. The judges follow up with 2-3 questions to attain a clear understanding of the plan presented to them. Categories in the competition include but are not limited to, Travel/Tourism, Hospitality Services, Not-For-Profit Fundraising, Retail Marketing, and Sports Marketing. The task for the Travel/Tourism category was to create a marketing plan in order to reinvigorate traffic to the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. Moreover, the Sports Marketing event was to engage potential clients in buying a training package for Vortex gym. The challenges for the other categories were similar, but they were tailored to specifically fit the given company.
Half Hollow Hills East once again experienced great success in the competition. In fact, we, Emily Sobel and Brooke Gronich, achieved second place in the Travel and Tourism category. Rebecca Farber and Samantha Hammer received second place in the Graphic Design category. Arden Josinsky and Sari Strizik got second place in the Sports Marketing category. Justin Adler and Ben Chozahinoff achieved second place in the Not-for-Profit Fundraising category. Lastly, Elan Elgavisch and Noah Epstein placed third in the Hospitality Services category. These students, along with the others that competed, all showed that they have a mind for business! Great job T-Birds!
