Cloie Sandlin

News Reporter

 

Mesa State College Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) brought home 72 awards from the 2010 Colorado PBL State Leadership Conference (April 9-10) at Johnson & Wales University in Denver. 

PBL is the collegiate version of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and MSC has the largest chapter in the state with 55 members. Twenty-four members competed. They all qualified to attend the 2010 National Leadership Conference held July 9-12 in Nashville, Tenn.

PBL Vice President, Nicolle McCown said that the national conference is like the Superbowl for business majors. 

“The great thing about nationals is that we are competing against top schools and we bring home more trophies,” McCown said. “They recognize us, not only the chapter but Mesa State in general. They realize that the education we get here is just as good, but is often overlooked.” 

At the state conference, the PBL students competed in both testing and live events. Testing events challenge the students’ knowledge of fundamental business principles in subjects such as accounting, management, marketing, human resources and others. Live events consist of competitions that require impromptu speaking and activities such as business case analyses, where the judges identify a problem and students must provide solutions. The conference also allowed students to network with other chapters and attend workshops and seminars that pertain to business. 

MSC took 20 first-place awards, 21 second-place awards and 18 third-place awards. The team placed within the top five in the state. 

Two chapter officers, current Director of Membership, Molly Roth, and current chapter President, Justin Kawcak, were selected to serve on the state officer team.

“The best part of PBL is getting out and being involved,” Roth said. “PBL has been a huge help, not only with making contacts but I’ve become a better speaker and more socially active than I was. It gets you out and you learn these crucial skills you will need in the business world.”

PBL works closely with the community in participating in fundraisers and helping out other non-profit organizations. It has helped with organizations such as Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado and the March of Dimes. 

In order to compete in competitions, each PBL member is required to accumulate a minimum of 20 service hours by helping fellow organizations, participating in fundraisers or other chapter-organized events. 

“We operate as a non-profit organization and like many non-profits, it’s difficult to do things in the state of this economy,” Kawcak said. “It’s a privilege to compete for PBL and it’s something our members earn. Being non-profit forces us to become more creative and more active. It forces us to bond more as a group.”

Using these skills, the MSC PBL chapter prepares to compete at the 2010 National Leadership Conference in July. According to Kawcak, it is exactly like the state conference, but on a national level. 

“I think the MSC business students have done a tremendous job of representing Mesa State and the Grand Junction community and they will do a great job representing Colorado at nationals this summer,” said Deborah Parman, PBL advisor.

 The MSC PBL chapter brought home 14 national awards last year, the fifth most of any school in the nation.