Pictured, from left to right, Avery Hauck. Lucas Filla, Alex Collier, Kyla Sauter, David Flandermeyer, Abdus Rehmani, and Preston YoungPhoto courtesy Batavia High School Satellite – Great Oaks, Business Management Program.
Officers for the Batavia High School chapter of Business Professionals of America (BPA) were recently selected for the 2023-2024 school year. They include Avery Hauck – President, Lucas Filla – Vice President, Alex Collier – Secretary, Kyla Sauter – Treasurer, David Flandermeyer – Historian, and Abdus Rehmani – Parliamentarian. In addition, Preston Young is the sophomore class representative.
The team recently presented at the October Business & Industry Council meeting. They updated business leaders, community members, and school administration about current data, planned activities, and 2023 competition results. They also asked for input for the business management program.
This year the team is organizing a mentoring program for BPA sophomores and juniors who have never competed before. Their goal is to increase the chapter’s state competition qualifiers. They are also collecting dress clothes for classmates in need of professional clothes for competition.
For the past several years, this group has been recognized with various national community service awards, U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service medals, and state and national competitive event awards. “I am honored to be re-elected to serve a second term as our chapter president. We had remarkable success last year. For the first time ever, we had students win first place in a national competition. We also received national chapter awards and donated over $6,000 to Ohio Special Olympics. These experiences have strengthened my leadership skills, and I had a lot of fun in the process. I believe that we have set a notable standard of excellence for our chapter and that we can set the bar even higher this year,” said chapter president Avery Hauck.
Another top priority is planning fundraisers to finance the chapter’s workplace skills competitive events. The chapter will need approximately $20,000 to compete at the regional, state, and national levels. This year, over ninety-two students will compete in over forty events including small business management, global marketing, human resource management, business law, and personal finance.
Batavia BPA chapter advisor Angie Kovacs said, “Raising the amount of money needed for a large chapter can be overwhelming but the result is worth it. There is a ripple effect when students can participate in competitions at the regional, state, and national level. They develop technical skills, soft skills, and sense of commitment through BPA which positively impacts the local workforce and community. They start making a significant impact before they leave high school.”
Business Professionals of America is the leading student organization for members pursuing careers in business, information technology and other related careers. Batavia BPA members are in the Great Oaks Business Management satellite program at Batavia High School.