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By CHRIS COLLINS Baker City Herald Mallory Bailey and Tori Wirth will share their enthusiasm for the Future Business Leaders of America organization with students from throughout the region when they welcome them to a Chapter Leadership Tour at Baker High School Monday. As the organization’s state president, Bailey will greet about 150 students expected to attend the session and outline the events planned for the day, beginning at 9 a.m. The first round of training sessions, which will follow one track for experienced FBLA members and a second for newcomers, is scheduled from 9:20 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. There will be a “communication activity for everyone” from 10:20 a.m. to 10:40 am., leading into a second round of trainings that will continue until the lunch break at 11:40 a.m. The last session, which will begin at 12:40 p.m., will include closing remarks by region vice presidents, including Wirth, the Baker chapter president who also serves on the state leadership team as Blue Mountain regional vice president. Bailey filled that position last year before taking over the top seat at the state level. Bailey also serves the Baker chapter as executive vice president this year. In addition to FBLA members, participants in Monday’s training will include non-members who would like to gain more leadership training, the two young women said. “There is no other place you can go that targets leadership like this,” Wirth said. The BHS event is the first of three sessions scheduled to kick off the Oregon FBLA’s 60th year. The Sunridge Inn has donated rooms to house the eight members of the Oregon FBLA State Leadership Team and their chaperones during their stay in the community. The young leaders will leave Baker City Monday afternoon and travel west en route to a Tuesday session at Canby before heading south to Grants Pass where they will conclude their tour on Wednesday. Bailey and Wirth, who both have been selected for the BHS Homecoming Court, will fly home from Medford in time for Pep Night, which begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Adviser Toni Zikmund also is looking forward to Monday’s training, which is convening at BHS for the second time. An earlier Chapter Leadership Training met in Baker City about five years ago. “We are excited to host CLT this year, as it gives us a chance to show BHS students what FBLA is all about,” Zikmund said. “The whole club is so proud of Mallory and Tori for being elected to state office,” she added. “It is a rewarding but sleepless job. They are both very passionate about FBLA and their enthusiasm is contagious.” Thirty-four BHS students attended the first Baker chapter meeting as school got under way this fall and Bailey and Wirth hope to double that number before the year is out. Zikmund gives the young women credit for helping generate interest in the organization whose goal is to promote personal development and leadership skills aimed at helping students succeed in the business world. “Our club continues to grow, and I like to think it is because of the enthusiasm of the officer teams we have had the past few years,” Zikmund said. “Mallory and Tori have great ideas and are constantly pushing our club members to be bigger and better in FBLA so that the Baker chapter becomes a well-known competitor in the state.” Bailey and Wirth have dedicated themselves to getting the word out not only about the fun times that come with membership, but the training and experience it provides. They have been running announcements in the school bulletin almost daily and advertise their activities on two FBLA bulletin boards at the school to keep students informed. FBLA activities also are posted on Facebook and Twitter sites and a promotional video is used to entice new members. “We love FBLA and we’d like to see more people involved,” Bailey says. She recalls her first Chapter Leadership Training her freshmen year. “You learn a lot about yourself at each CLT,” Bailey said. “I walked in so timid (that first year) and I walked out a better leader.” Monday’s training will center around team building, communication and leadership, Wirth said. There are 17 chapters in the Blue Mountain region: Baker, Imbler, La Grande, Union, Condon, Pendleton, Wallowa, Heppner, Nyssa, Ontario, Helix, Enterprise, Stanfield, Vale, John Day, Burnt River and Elgin. Bailey and Wirth met with the other six members of the state FBLA leadership team several times throughout the summer to develop the lessons that will be taught at Monday’s training sessions. “Our job is to represent the organization, plan trainings and assist (chapters) with whatever they need to become better leaders and members,” Bailey said. The state officers were elected in April and will end their terms this spring during the 2010 State Leadership Conference in Portland. After graduation, the two 17-year-olds have their sites set on college. Wirth plans to attend Eastern Washington University at Cheney with her eye on a career as a reporter. Bailey will attend Oregon State University at Corvallis to study accounting and finance with a goal of working as a corporate energy attorney. |
