By: Submitted Article
news@wbcowqel.com

Twenty-one students from the Pioneer/Bucyrus Marketing and Media Satellite programs competed at the Ohio DECA Career Development Conference March 14 and 15 in Columbus, Ohio. In order to be eligible to compete, participants were required to qualify at the District competition held Feb. 4 at Ohio Northern University.

Four Pioneer Bucyrus students qualified for DECA’s International Career and Development Conference from the State Competition and will go on to compete May 3-6 in Atlanta, Georgia. Students included the following:
• Alex Howard – 1st place, Financial Services Operations Research Event
• Laney Mollenkopf – 4th place, Community Service Project
• Taylor Bayless and Brock Lykens – 4th place, Sports and Entertainment Operations Research Event

Howard’s project included a 30-page written manual about how a finance business could develop a plan for rebranding that would bring additional value to the business. Her project was judged as one of the top ten in the state, and Alex then presented her project for ten minutes to a panel of judges. The presentation concluded with a five-minute question and answer session from the judges.

Mollenkopf’s project, while a chapter-wide endeavor, involved her developing an idea for a community service project and ensuring the events were carried out as planned. Additionally, she wrote a 30-page paper that was selected for the top ten, and Laney presented her project to judges at the state conference.

Bayless and Lykens’ project included the writing of a 30-page paper, which served as a rebranding plan for a business in the sports and entertainment industry. Their plan examined different ideas for adding value to the organization’s existing brand such as a new logo, new mission statement, new signage and other marketing concepts. Taylor and Brock’s paper was selected as one of the ten best, and they presented their ideas to a panel of judges.

“Having four students qualify for the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta is huge for the Pioneer/Bucyrus DECA program,” Bucyrus DECA Advisor Ashley Severt said. “We have great students in this building and to have their knowledge, hard work and personality show through in these projects and be recognized at an international level is just beyond what words can describe.”