Future Business Leaders of America Students at Braden River High School Go to State Conference

BRADENTON – Braden River High School’s (BRHS) Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) sent 26 members to the State Leadership Conference at the Rosen Hotel, on April 5, in Orlando. The amount sent was more than any other high school in Manatee County.

The school, also, ended up with more awards than any other high school in Manatee County.

There were two 2nd Place awards and two 4th Place awards in competition against over 3,200 students who placed in the FBLA District competitions across the state.

Additionally, BRHS has been the District-18 Champion in the Electronic Career Portfolio - eFOLIO - competition since this event was launched four years ago.

Samantha Schneider is the latest champion, who will lead our Pirates who had the most 1st Place winners (11) at the recent District-18 Leadership Conference held in February, at Woodland Community Church, in Manatee County.

William Gaynor, advisor, was a pioneer of eFOLIOs one year before the District launched its pilot program in 2006. His expertise in this area has trained BRHS students to excel in this career enhancing event, and last year Katy Kopstad was 3rd in the state and in the top ten at Nationals in Anaheim, CA.

Samantha Schneider modeled her expertise in Electronic Career Portfolios. She now has placed 4th in the state and hopes to qualify to attend the National Conference in July, in Nashville, TN. The eFOLIO event focuses on digital presentation of your media, but to win, you have to answer the question: ”What have you accomplished in high school?“

Schneider is a Golden Herald Award nominee from BRHS and has over 363 volunteer hours in community service activities. You can view her eFOLIO at: click here.

FBLA State Conference Award Winners from BRHS:

Business Law BRHS, Steven Evens, 2^nd Place

Global Business Team BRHS, Jon Ely and Michael Karmen, 4^th Place

Electronic Career Portfolio BRHS, Samantha Schneider, 4^th Place

Public Speaking BRHS, Maddison Hebenstreit, 2^nd Place

Four Year FBLA Members & Graduating Seniors:

Caleb Parker, Business Ethics (repeat District Champion)

Samantha Schneider, Electronic Career Portfolio

William Paterson, Web Design (repeat District Champion)

Preston Tam, Business Calculations

Frank Bianco, Entrepreneurship

Michael Karmen, Global Business (repeat District Champion)

Stephanie MacConnell, Desktop Publishing (repeat District Champion)

Jessica Petrat, Desktop Publishing (repeat District Champion)

Morgan Croft, Business Ethics