Pell City High School FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) competed at the State Competition in Birmingham on April 12 and 13. FBLA is a national organization with over 250,000 students. 

The students who placed at competition are:  Madison Parris, Gabby Hanks, De’Onta Bush, Stacy Ross, and Parker Holmes — 2nd in Parliamentary Procedure; Bailey Warren – 3rd in E-Business; Connor Hamlin – 1st in Business Communication, and Daniel Vance – 2nd in Securities and Investments.

These students are now eligible to attend the National FBLA Leadership Conference in June in Baltimore, Maryland. Julie Foshee was also awarded the FBLA District 6 scholarship award.

“We are very proud of these students,” said FBLA sponsor Mollie Spraberry. “They have worked very hard.” Other FBLA sponsors are Danielle Pope and Hannah Parris.

Bailey Warren, 11^th grader at PCHS, shared his 3rd place winning presentation on E-Business with Pell City Rotary Club on Tuesday. His winning design for “Green Kitchen” was judged on website information, ease of use, and overall design. Students were also judged on presentation of their product.

“As a young person, there is so much out there to do,” Warren said. “You need to be educated and not just through college.”

Danielle Pope, Career Readiness Coordinator at PCHS, spoke about Career Preparedness. Career Preparedness is a required course for Pell City High School juniors and teaches the topics of decision-making, academic planning, employment, financial literacy, and career and research planning. 

Pope explained the benefits of work-based learning through internships and apprenticeships. The program is available to high school seniors. PCHS has 83 interns in local businesses and 55 apprentices out of approximately 275 seniors this year. Wages earned by apprentices during 2016-2017 totaled over $258k.

“This program creates work experience that is difficult to replicate in the classroom,” Pope said. “It offers specific work-based and school-based training in their chosen career, they earn income, and it helps develop responsibility and maturity.”

For employers, Pope stated the program helps develop future workforce and create awareness of their companies. Next week, juniors and seniors will go through a Mock Interview process with professionals from the local community. They will also have a job fair on May 1.