04/14/2022

JONESBORO – Students from Arkansas State University claimed 28 top five finishes at the state-wide Phi Beta Lambda Leadership Conference recently in Little Rock. In addition, the group is eligible to represent the state of Arkansas in 23 competitive events at the 2022 PBL National Leadership Conference, scheduled in June in Chicago.

A-State recorded 19 first place Awards of Excellence finishes, seven in second place and two came in at third. A-State was represented by 24 students and two advisers, associate professor of finance Dr. Philip Tew, and first-year success coordinator Kerry Tew.

“The students are thrilled to be getting back to in-person conferences and competitions after two years of virtual competitions,” said Philip Tew. “They truly excelled this year, and the college and university are very proud of their accomplishments. We have students competing in that range from freshmen to doctoral students, and have majors from throughout campus – not just in the Neil Griffin College of Business. I have 100 percent confidence that these students will represent A-State and the State of Arkansas well at the national competition in June.”

Winners in their competitive events include:

First-place — Business Ethics – Jordan Vines of El Dorado; Kristina Garlington of Benton; and Kassidy Walker of Malden, Mo.; Business Law – Abby Avery of Jonesboro; Business Presentation – Chris Sanders of Sherwood; Business Sustainability – Haley Brazel of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Desktop Publishing – Melanie Ricker of Corning; Lex Leonard of Corning; Emerging Business Issues – Rachel Washam of  Jonesboro; Tyrell Andrews of Marked Tree; Kristina Garlington of Benton; Entrepreneurship –  Mandelyn Smeltzer of Mountain Home; Financial Services – Alex Holifield of Blytheville; Gabrielle Holifield of Blytheville; Future Business Executive –  Nick Sides of Newport; Insurance Concepts – Hailey Hawkins of Cabot; Integrated Marketing Campaign – Austin Murray of Jonesboro;  Lex Leonard of Corning; Baylor McElhaney of Benton; Programming Concepts –  Melanie Ricker of Corning; Retail Management – Olivia Wham of Mountain Home; Sales Presentation – Maxwell Richter of South Bend, Wash.; Social Media Marketing – Kassidy Walker of Malden, Mo.; Austin Shultz of Paragould; Strategic Analysis and Decision-Making – Rachel Washam of Jonesboro; Tyrell Andrews of Marked Tree; and Website Design – Roxana Flores of Jonesboro.

Second-place — Business Ethics – Megan Gray of North Little Rock; Client Service – Baylor McElhaney of Benton; Financial Analysis and Decision-Making – Alex Holifield of Blytheville and Gabrielle Holifield of Blytheville; Future Business Educator – Hailey Hawkins of Cabot; Macroeconomics – Abby Avery of Jonesboro; Management Concepts – Mandelyn Smeltzer of Mountain Home; Marketing Concepts —Roxana Flores of Jonesboro.

Third-place — Information Management – Juliana Alcantara of Jacksonville; Networking Concepts —Nick Sides of Newport.

Arkansas State achieved Gold Chapter status and Murray was named the outstanding Phi Beta Lambda member. Tew also acknowledged that Andrews was voted in as president and Washam was selected as executive vice president.

A-State was recognized as the largest chapter in the state of Arkansas with 109 members and is one of the largest chapters in the nation. Tew said since the PBL chapter at Arkansas State was re-started Sept. 17, 2008, the president of PBL for the state of Arkansas has been an A-State student nine times.

PBL is the collegiate division of Future Business Leaders of America, whose goal is to develop leadership, communication and team skills. It is also an organization for students to meet and network with others at the local, state or national levels. The PBL academic competitions provide students with what it takes to be successful by covering technology, public speaking, business, finance and management.

Original article source: http://www.astate.edu/news/phi-beta-lambda-chapter-continues-success-at-state-wide-conference | Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council