WVHS DECA participants (first row from left) Lexi Fairbank, Kate Bynum, Kelsey French, Colby Denton, Casey Ferrer, Tiffani Moses, Makayla Jenkins, Tara Brum and Ashley Wright. Second row from left, are Ali Turner, Kasey Lawson, Joseph Sanger, Taryn Wilson, Tyler Hall, Zoe Ross, Jaimee Moreland, Sarah Tarver, Cody Garner and Carly Moore. Third row from left, Blake Kitterman, Sierra Arnold, Miranda Cartwright, Hannah Ratcliff, Kyler Moore, Dillon Koenig, Dillan Edwards, Ashlyn Williams and Bobby Chaffin. Fourth row from left, are Brandon Breland, C.J. Jones, Molly Green, Loren Chiles, Justin Spak, Mark McFadden, Garrett Cantrell and Chase Denny.
DECA is the club for students taking marketing classes. Walker Valley students competed in 26 specific categories.
Students Advancing to State Competition:
1. Mark McFadden, Tennessee DECA Secretary Officer Candidate
2. Casey Ferrer, WVHS Tennessee DECA Secretary Officer Campaign Manager
3. Molly Green, WVHS Tennessee DECA Secretary Officer Campaign Worker
4. Kylor Moore, WVHS DECA Officer Voting Delegate
5. Taryn Wilson, WVHS DECA Officer Voting Delegate
6. Steven Lawhorn and Brody Hambright, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Promotion Plan
7. Caitlin Tharp and Caitlyn Gobble, Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan
8. Joseph Sanger and Loren Chiles, Financial Analysis team role play
9. Garrett Cantrell and Chase Denny, Business Law and Ethics team role play
10. Jaimee Moreland and Dillon Koenig, Sports and Entertainment team role play
11. Christian Jones, Business Finance role play
12. Sarah Tarver, Principles of Finance role play
13. Ali Turner, Food Marketing role play
14. Makayla Jenkins, Restaurant and Food role play
15. Colby Denton, Hotel and Lodging Management role play
16. Tyler Hall, Retail Merchandising role play
17. Kasey Lawson, Sports and Entertainment role play
18. Kelsey French, Business Services role play
19. Zoe Ross and Ashlyn Williams, Buying and Merchandising team role play
At competition, the students are given real-world scenarios requiring them to resolve business-type situations. Competition fosters leadership, communication, interviewing skills and confidence. It also provides an outlet for the students to utilize classroom learning.
The marketing classes revolve around hands-on learning. These classes take the academics the students have accumulated from math, history and English and apply this knowledge to help solve business situations within the community. The marketing classes are applicable to help prepare students for practically any occupation. This information is being circulated as the marketing program is becoming prominent within the school.
Also, this year Mark McFadden is campaigning to be Tennessee DECA Secretary. Casey Ferrer is his campaign manager and Molly Green is the campaign worker. This is a major endeavor for the students. They will create a platform for McFadden about how he plans to improve the Tennessee DECA program. The students will create his speech to be given at State Competition as well as promotional giveaway items and a theme to catch the attention of those DECA members voting.
In addition, Caitlin Tharp, Caitlyn Gobble, Brody Hambright and Steven Lawhorn spent all fall writing an 11-page paper creating a fictional promotion plan for the Miami Heat. Currently, they are creating visuals to be professionally printed, speeches and a PowerPoint presentation to present their ideas at State Competition to judges with expertise in this area.
This is the fourth year of the marketing program at Walker Valley, and it has been a year of growth for the program. Nearly twice as many members are competing at state competition this year than last.
The Walker Valley DECA chapter took 36 students to competition with 25 students advancing to State Competition March 15-17 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville.
