Una Business Students Collect National Awards

Jul. 17, 2012

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@caiyo.net, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - Nine business students from the University of North Alabama brought home a collective 11 awards from the Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas, recently. Twelve from UNA were eligible to attend the conference and national competition after placing first or second at the state level in April. In total, more than 2,000 collegiate competitors attended this year - one of the highest attendance rates in the conference's history - representing several hundred chapters from across the nation. This was UNA's 25th consecutive year attending the national conference. This year's awards were highly contested, with as many as 30-50 competitors in each category. "It was so exciting to hear the University of North Alabama name called to the stage eleven times during the awards ceremony," said Donna Yancey, a marketing instructor in the College of Business. Yancey has attended these conferences as an instructor since UNA's PBL chapter first competed in 1987 with just three students. "National awards like these are not easy to achieve," she said."It takes hard work, dedication and preparation." The UNA PBL Chapter as a whole was awarded National Outstanding Chapter and Gold Seal Award of Merit. The winners from the UNA Phi Beta Lambda chapter were: Mark Miles, of Haleyville - First place in Entrepreneurship Open Event, fourth placeinFinancial Analysis and Decision Making and seventh place in Statistical Analysis Loic Dimithe, of Florence - Second place in Macroeconomics and third place in Business Law Josh Butler, of Athens - Second place in Hospitality Management Ryan Goode, ofFlorence - Fourth place in Database Design and Applications Elizabeth Strickland, of Muscle Shoals - Fourth place in Accounting Principles LeAnne Vogel, of Iuka, Miss. - Fifth place in Emerging Business Issues team competition Heath McCullough, of Tuscumbia - Fifth place in Emerging Business Issues teamcompetition Jennifer Staggs, of Lexington - Seventh place in Database Design and Applications Jessica Warren, of Athens - Tenth place in Business Communication Also representing UNA at the national conference were top state winners Steven Steffel, of Florence; Andrew Ceci, of Florence; and Daniel McNutt, of Athens. Phi Beta Lambda is the college division of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million student members, more than any other student business organization in the world. FBLA-PBA exists to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs.