Knox County’s future marketing and business professionals have promoted their way to the top in the state at the annual DECA conference in Louisville.
Students competed in various leadership events following their success at the regional competition earlier this year. On Tuesday, March 7, their hard work and knowledge of marketing paid off as they were recognized among other DECA students from across Kentucky.
From Knox Central High School:
- Riley Broughton, 2nd place, KY Retail Concept
- Janessa Spencer, 3rd place, Restaurant and Food Service Management
Anna Jo Carey and Nadia Smith advanced from the preliminary round to qualify for finals but did not place in the top five. Twelve teams competed in the final round of their event, Tourism and Hospitality Team Decision Making.
Their advisor, Meagan Hinkle, received exciting news about Riley’s performance at the region competition.
“They informed us that at region there was an error with the test scores and that Riley actually placed first place,” Hinkle said.
From Lynn Camp High School:
- Jayden Huff, Cierra Carr, and Kamren Flannelly, 4th place, Project Management Career Development
- Emma Williford and Ethan Simpson, 5th place, Project Management Community Awareness
- Matthew Garrison and Aniyah Hamilton, 5th place, Project Management Community Giving
The activities during the competition and conference have sparked students to get more involved, according to Lynn Camp advisor Selina Deaton.
“I have several interested in pursuing leadership roles in DECA next year after attending this conference,” she said.
Students interested in pursuing the marketing career pathway and participating in DECA are encouraged to speak to their counselor or marketing teacher in preparation for registration for the next school year.