Phi Beta Lambda Group Excels in State Competition
JONESBORO — The Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) organization at Arkansas State University captured 42 awards, including the top three membership awards, at the Arkansas state PBL leadership conference and competition, Saturday, April 2, in Little Rock.
A-State finished first overall as having the largest chapter membership and the largest professional division membership. The group also received the Silver Chapter Award. In addition, Arkansas State came in third with its community service project regarding the Humane Society, and fourth in the same category for organizing a food drive for helping neighbors. In all, the breakdown is 12 first places, eight second-places, and 10 in third and fourth places, and two fifth-place winners.
PBL is the collegiate division of Future Business Leaders of America, whose goal is to develop leadership, communication and team skills. It is also an organization for students to meet and network with others at the local, state or national levels. The PBL academic competitions provide students with what it takes to be successful by covering technology, public speaking, business, finance and management.
Individually, A-State winners include:
First-Place — Sarah Robertson of Jonesboro, cost accounting; Madison Blancaflor of Hot Springs, desktop publishing; Tristan Adkins of Brookland, entrepreneurship concepts; Daniel Smith of Paragould, financial analysis and decision making; Chris Barnes of Paragould, financial concepts; Daniel Smith, financial concepts; Thomas Hamacker of Hampton, information management; Kenneth Riddle of Magazine, project management; Joseph Stark of Jonesboro, statistical analysis; and Mingdelun Chen of Shenzhen, China, strategic analysis and decision making.
Second-Place — Mingdelun Chen, accounting analysis and decision making; Connor Shannon of Jonesboro, accounting principles; Zachary Corbitt of Redfield and Thomas Hamacker, economic analysis and decision making; Chris Barnes, financial analysis and decision making; Morgan Miller of Jonesboro, Sarah Robertson of Jonesboro and Jerri Mathis of Jonesboro, chapter annual business report; Lindsey Steele of Bradford, organizational behavior and leadership; Sarah Thompson of Armorel and Madison Blancaflor, social-media campaign; and Kenneth Riddle, statistical analysis.
Third-Place — Brittany Fuller of Tillar and Kristen Vaughn of Jonesboro, business law; Samantha Risi of Jonesboro, business presentation; Garrett Smith of Cave City, entrepreneurship concepts; Sarah Robertson, financial concepts; Connor Shannon, macroeconomics; Ethan Barnes of Jonesboro, management concepts; Sarah Thompson, marketing concepts; Tristan Sweatt of Floral, microeconomics; and Joseph Stark, personal finance.
Fourth-Place — Holly Johnson of Paragould, accounting principles; Jerri Mathis, computer applications; John Connor McClellan of Searcy, entrepreneurship concepts; Corey Fuhrman of DeWitt, financial concepts; Ethan Barnes, information management; Kristen Vaughn, international business; Julie Albers of Collierville, Tenn., judicial administration; and Ayana Trezvant of Morrilton, management concepts.
Fifth-Place — Zachary Corbitt, personal finance; and Rachel Washam of Jonesboro, public speaking.
Phi Beta Lambda’s national awards program recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. Through state-based competition at the spring Arkansas leadership conferences, students compete in events testing their business knowledge and skills. Top state winners are eligible to compete for honors at the National Leadership Conference each summer.
A-State will represent the state of Arkansas in 25 events at the national conference and competition, June 23-24, in Atlanta, Ga. Those representatives are Chen, Shannon, Blancaflor, Corbitt, Hamacker, Garrett Smith, Adkins, Barnes, Daniel Smith, Robertson, Miller, Mathis, Thompson, Sweatt, Stark and Riddle.
