Phi Beta Lambda Wins 12 Awards at Virtual National Leadership Conference
07/02/2021
ONESBORO — Students representing Arkansas State University’s Phi Beta Lambda chapter won 12 awards at the 2021 Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Leadership Conference held virtually last weekend. Because of the pandemic, it marked the second consecutive year for registrants to convene online.
“Our numbers were down a little this year with the conference being virtual again,” said Dr. Philip Tew, adviser for A-State’s PBL chapter, state adviser of the Arkansas chapter, and associate professor of finance. “Even with what is a ‘down’ year by A-State’s PBL’s previous standards, the students did an incredible job and finished with 12 national awards.”
It is also the fourth consecutive year that Arkansas State has the largest chapter in the country.
Winners include Rachel Washam, a graduate student from Jonesboro, who won the national championship in supply chain management, and finished third in website design. She also compiled the A-State chapter’s annual business report and captured third. Additionally, Washam teamed with Alex Young, a May graduate, to take third in business presentation.
Megan Gray, a sophomore economics and business administration double major from North Little Rock, won second place in business law.
Melanie Ricker and Alexus Leonard, both of Corning, who graduated in May and are currently enrolled in graduate school at Arkansas State, earned second place in the community service project. Leonard also placed ninth in retail management.
The business law team of Tyrell Andrews, a May graduate and current graduate student from Marked Tree; Kristina Garlington, a junior from Bryant; and Hailey Hawkins, a senior from Cabot, grabbed fifth place. Andrews and Garlington came in eighth in business ethics.
Meghan Cantara, a 2021 graduate from Jonesboro, came in sixth in marketing analysis and decision-making.
Ricker, who served as A-State chapter president for the 2020-21 academic year, represented the state on the Who’s Who in Phi Beta Lambda list.
Tew’s term as state adviser ends and Cantara will step up to become the new state adviser for Arkansas.
“Like in all previous years, the success of the Arkansas State chapter is 100 percent due to the work of the students and the officers,” added Tew.
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.
The 2022 national leadership conference is scheduled to be in Chicago, June 27-July 3.
