Stillman Valley students attend business retreat

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STILLMAN VALLEY – Stillman Valley’s Future Business Leaders of America attended the Illinois FBLA Fall Retreat on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Bloomington.

Members who participated in the Retreat were: Jesus Arias, Amanda King, Richie Sutfliff, Martin Martinez, Genesis Myers, Natalia Contizano, Logan Apsey, Aidan Taylor, Tyler Kubiszewski and Doga Ozkaya.

The agenda for the retreat was comprehensive and kept the members very busy. On Friday., Nov. 1, FBLA departed Stillman for Bloomington. Their first stop was at Illinois Wesleyan University. Upon arrival at the University, students were given a tour of the facilities. The tour was arranged by Mr. Ed Liegl, who heads up the Career and Counseling Center at the High School. Special thanks to Mr. Liegl for making the arrangements. The members had a great time and the tour ended with the students having their picture taken with the school bear.

Following the tour, students headed to their hotel. After checking in, members had dinner, took a swim in the pool and then spent the night playing games and getting to know each other better. On Saturday morning, the members checked into the retreat and participated in many events. The keynote speaker, Mr. Jim Sharpe, presented the theme for the Retreat. He talked about “overcoming fear” by taking a three-step action approach. Through storytelling, he provided the group with excellent examples of how others have learned to overcome their fears. When asked about her experiences of the day, Contizano said, “I had fun learning and working with other FBLA groups!”

Members had the opportunity to participate in the “Iron Coyote” challenge, which took up a large portion of their time. They also participated in business workshops that focused on job interviews and what to do after you get the job.

“It was fun meeting new people and seeing what the workshops are like,” Arias said.  

Members were encouraged and challenged to actively participate in the workshops. Stillman’s Amanda King and Richie Sutliff took on the challenge.

After a healthy and filling meal, the evening ended with members learning about all of the competitive events for FBLA’s Regional, State and National competitions. “It was a great introduction to the group and I loved feeling like I was a part of something bigger than myself,” King said when asked about her weekend experience.

After the retreat ended, Stillman’s FBLA headed back to the Iron Coyote to take another shot at all of the activities. Members were fired up and ready to take on the obstacles that they missed during the morning session.

When asked about the overall FBLA retreat experience, Richie Sutliff, FBLA President, commented, “I truly believe that it was a retreat I had a blast! 5-stars!”

For more information on how you can become a part of FBLA, please contact Ryan Read, Cathie Murphy or Tammy Pierson, or any FBLA officer or member at Stillman Valley High School.