DECA held its Second Annual Onsite Marketing Mini-Conference on March 20, 2014.  Marketing professionals shared expertise to business and marketing students at Haywood High School. Josh McAfee, Marketing Manager at Leaders Credit Union, spoke to students about “Consumer Behavior in Marketing:  The Mind of a Shopper.”  Grant Hart, Regional Marketing Coordinator of Fast Pace Urgent Care Clinic, talked about “Brand Essence.”

Students attending the conference dressed professionally and enjoyed the interactive presentations. Afterward, lunch was provided and Kylan Brown, DECA Student CEO, presided over the DECA meeting. Julie Davis, one of the HHS Marketing Advisors, commented, “This is a great opportunity for students to plan and implement events that will benefit members in our student program. We had students at the doors welcoming participants to the conference, handing out programs, and people introducing our speakers, and Kylan just keeping it rolling.  I love seeing them take initiative and learning the different organizational parts of a professional event!”

About DECA

DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. Our attributes and values describe DECA’s priorities and standards. We value competence, innovation, integrity and teamwork. DECA Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit student organization with members in all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education and state and international departments of education authorize DECA’s programs.

Teachers and sponsors for DECA at HHS are Julie Davis and Phillip Warrick.