From left: Jeremy Grady, Patrick Hennessy, Damon Gray, Sloane Harker and Brittany Hamilton. Montgomery County Community College Future Business Leaders of America Club took some of the top prizes at FBLA’s 54th annual Collegiate Chapter Conference in Harrisburg March 27 and 28. Photo by Damon Gray
Four Montgomery County Community College students in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Club are celebrating, after taking home top prizes in a statewide competition.
Students Sloane Harker, Brittany Hamilton, Patrick Hennessy and Jeremy Grady each took home awards for their individual competitions during the 54th annual FBLA Collegiate Chapter Conference in Harrisburg March 27 and 28.
Harker, MCCC’s FBLA Club president, took first place in the Foundations of Accounting
competition and fourth place in the Accounting Case competition. Hamilton placed first
in the Business Law competition. Hennessy landed fourth in the Foundations of Economics
competition. Grady placed fourth in the Foundations of Digital Design competition.
As a result, each student qualified for FBLA’s Collegiate National Leadership Conference
competitions in Las Vegas June 6-8.
Following this year’s statewide conference, MCCC’s FBLA team has now earned a combined 104 state and national conference wins in the last seven years, said FBLA Club advisor and Management Assistant Professor Damon Gray.
“I could not be happier with what our students continue to accomplish,” he said. “Through this process they sharpen their leadership, professional and business skills through academic competition, service and career development. It’s always rewarding to watch students take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it on a competitive stage.”
In addition to thanking the College’s leadership for its continued support of FBLA, Gray credited Harker for much of the team’s success this year. As the only student to have performed at last year’s state and national competitions, she helped prepare the new members for what to expect.
“This was an opportunity for Sloane to shine,” he said. “She assembled and coached the team, leading them to two first-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes.”
Harker, 25, of Harleysville, a Business Administration major (AS), said while they worked together to prepare, her teammates’ individual successes came from their own hard work.
“I would say while I was able to give them my experience, my knowledge and recommendations to prepare for the events, that was all on the members and them working and studying for tests or preparing presentations,” she said. “I don’t want to take credit for that. It didn’t feel like leadership; it was something I loved to do. It was let’s do it together and all of us are working toward the same goal.”
That said, she was very proud of all they had accomplished so far, she said.
“Obviously, we always go in with an effort to try to place and have success,” she said, “but we also go to enjoy ourselves and experience the conference. To have everyone place in their competitions and go forward to nationals is really exciting.”