Exeter Business Club Succeed at FBLA Competition

Last week, Exeter Business Club (EBC) traveled to Manchester, NH to participate in the New Hampshire Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference. There, 19 Exonians competed in 13 different disciplines; 17 of them have qualified in their respective categories to advance to Nationals which will be held, this year, in Chicago.

Every Sunday, EBC meets in room 316 of the Academy Center to educate current students in all of the large aspects of business through workshops, presentations, group learning and the semi-annual competitions. For many, EBC has become a way to express interest in finance and other business-related topics.

At a typical EBC meeting, the club members gather around a Harkness table and discuss current affairs in the business world. They then jump into working with smaller groups dependent on the area of business in which they are competing in. Of course, they are hard at work in their meetings, but according to co-head and lower John Wang, “The normal club atmosphere is very encouraging and friendly.” The club strives to work together while allowing everyone to learn as much as possible.

Prep Jack Baker, a consistent attendee of the club meetings, agreed with Wang’s opinion and added, “The club has become one of my favorite parts of the week; it is very relaxed, and I learn a lot about business, an area that I am interested in studying later in college,” Baker said.

Aside from the regular meetings, EBC also hosts guest speakers to talk with the members about real-world business situations. These meetings occur once every few weeks from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesdays. EBC has planned for trustee Remy W. Trafelet, a managing partner of private investment management firm Trafelet & Company, to speak, present and explain the aspects of management in his business later this May.

In addition to the club’s co-heads, EBC has multiple faculty advisors: faculty of the finance office Marijka Beauchesne, admissions officer Porter Hayes and chief financial officer David Hanson, all of whose expertise proves to be valuable resources for the club. They offer guidance to the co-heads and share business knowledge to all of the club members. Hayes, along with all of the other advisors, expressed the confidence he had in the co-heads and how impressed with them he was.

“They run the majority of the meetings and execute a lot of the logistical club efforts independently, but the club advisors are always available to offer input and advice,” Hayes said.

The club competes formally in FBLA competitions. In each competition, EBC splits into three groups, one for speech-related competitions, one for team competitions and one for objective test competitions. Each of the co-heads check on the groups’ progress and often give self-assessments before the competitions.

EBC is a rather new club on campus; it was founded this year by the current co-heads, Wang, lower Cameron Gruss, lower Melissa Lu and upper Joon Kim. In each of their home towns, FBLA is quite popular, and when they realized that there was no club on campus that offered similar hands-on business experiences, they knew they needed to start one themselves. FBLA became the center for which they based their club around, using it as a way to show improvement and also have something to work toward.

Lu said, “FBLA teaches students fundamental business principles, brings together students across the state and nation who share the same passion, business and introduces us to successful entrepreneurs.”

After EBC’s recent success at their first competition, they will be working hard to do even better at Nationals. In the upcoming weeks, they will be hosting many more workshops with PEA staff who works in the financial office, local entrepreneurs and even alumni. Every member of the club hopes to polish his or her skills and arrive fully-prepared at the FBLA National Conference. 

Because EBC is such a new club, the club-heads look forward to seeing how it grows in the next few years. This year was mostly spent on creating the basic structure of the club and next year they hope to compete in even more competitions aside from just the semi-annual FBLA conferences.

Kim said, “I think the club has truly made a reputation for itself as a legitimate and enjoyable business experience found nowhere else on campus. We have gained a foothold within the school, and we fully expect to grow in size next year. We will also set up community events so that our FBLA chapter doesn’t only compete but gives back to the community that helped shape us as well.”