“I solemnly promise to uphold the aims and responsibilities.….” said the newly inducted members of the Monroe-Woodbury FBLA program at their induction ceremony.

The ceremony was held on Thursday, December 13th at the Monroe-Woodbury High school auditorium at 6 p.m.

New and old members of the club were “inducted” into the club, and friends and families of the students were allowed to attend. Newly inducted officers lit different colored candles to show their commitment and agreed to follow their duties.

Mrs. Palkaunieks, the club advisor said the members are “Very engaged. Very interested in wanting to participate in the activities and events we have.”

Future business leaders of America (FBLA) began in New York State in 1946. Dobbs Ferry High School was the first to start in the state. Eighteen years later in 1964, New York was the thirty-fifth state association of the Future Business Leaders of America.

FBLA has been in Monroe-Woodbury since the 1970s. According to Mrs. Palkaunieks, it had over 150 members when it first began, and then lost some for a while, but now they are back to having many members.  

Their meetings begin by members reading the state officer updates and then discuss upcoming events and activities. Students partake in fundraisers and community events to show their leadership abilities. Mrs. Palkaunieks stated, “It is a national organization which not only is at the high school level but now also in the middle school level and carries on through adult life in the college and professional level.”

This year, students volunteered in a blood drive at the school and at the school play. They also participated in a Gertrude Hawk Chocolate fundraiser to raise money for FBLA. Some students also went to North Carolina for the Fall District Meeting.

Claire Donnelly, a new member of the club, said, “ I joined FBLA to get more leadership, public speaking, presentation, and business skills.”

In February, members have the option to attend the Spring District Meeting (SDM) where they will participate in different events in the topics of business and math. Some events are writing tests while others are presentations and long term projects.

The officers this year are as follows, Victoria Lee as President, Tiffany Yang as Executive Vice President, Anusha Dawson as Vice President of the Program of Work, Katelynn Mangual as the reporter, Kate Yoon as treasurer, Kyle Nematz as secretary, and Omar Jainul and Charles Liu are the Vice Presidents of Scrapbook.

Victoria Lee, the president said, “FBLA is one of the best opportunities to connect with students outside of our community, learn about the business world, and overall, develop strong leadership qualities that will be beneficial everywhere.”