A Year In My Life As
A DECA Officer
June
C.O.W. and P.O.W. - Development of a Chapter Strategic Plan
Our chapter’s officer team consists of 3 school store managers and 7 officers all of whom attend our annual retreat or COW (Chapter Officer Workshop). Here we work to prepare for the following year. This can include business partnerships, bonding, and shirt design. Although our main goal is to create a detailed calendar including dates for meetings, fundraising events, and activities, as well as assign officers to take the lead for certain events. This results in the following calendar which is referred to regularly throughout the year.
Membership Videos
Each year at our Chapter Officer Workshop the team is also tasked with creating a new membership video encouraging students to get involved. My sophomore year we decided to base our video on the iconic ESPN Top 10. We then generated our top 10 reasons to be in DECA and then assigned an officer or SBE manager to each. These are the different reasons that we came up with: Merchandise, Social Events, Confidence, Opportunities, Competition, Try Something New, Community Service, Meet New People, Our Advisors, Donuts. My junior year we attempted to recreate the Outer Banks intro. We tweaked the script to highlight our favorite parts of DECA and shortly after designed our membership shirts to match the theme.
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Both years we recorded each clip separately and then saved them to drive. After returning home from the retreat, I used WeVideo to edit the clips together. After adjusting them, and adding transitions, music, and pictures the videos were finally finished. We then released the videos through social media so that all members could watch them. Though it was also played in all business and marketing classes as well as at our first member meeting. We are proud of these videos and they are great ways to share our passion for DECA with students who have never heard the name.
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July
Recruiting Business Partners
When it comes to our chapter’s business partners each officer is responsible for securing two new partnerships. The new partners in addition to our returning partners results in a solid amount of funding for the year. I personally reached out to eight different businesses in the community my sophomore year, although only secured two. For each business, I first emailed information to my connection describing the opportunity and requesting a more appropriate contact if there was one. Most of the time I was sent to an alternate employee and from there set up an in-person meeting. In some circumstances, I never got the chance to meet in person, but when I did the meeting went well. Unfortunately, in some circumstances, we were turned down, yet I did secure gold-level partnerships with local businesses Roastar and Bone & Joint. My junior year I mainly reached out to returning business, however I did secure one additional Gold level partnership with Ghidorzi Construction.
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Partners are recognized in a variety of ways throughout the year. The first is through social media with our stock-holder Sunday posts introducing new and returning partners. Additionally, partners are recognized year-round on the back of our members' shirts, which are worn daily.
August
Membership Development
The best way for our chapter to attract freshmen is at Wausau West's Warrior Welcome Night. A day in August students get the chance to tour the high school, meet their teachers, and most importantly take a look at all of the sports and clubs that Wausau West has to offer. As the largest club in our school, DECA gets a prime spot in the center of it all. I personally was tasked with creating a tri-fold to highlight the different aspects of DECA. After printing and arranging many pictures it was only a matter of time before my beautiful poster was finished. Officers arrived early to set up the booth and ensure everything was ready before students began to arrive.
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The rest of the night I met many freshmen. Each time I began by describing the three parts of DECA... social events, community service, and competition. I shared my personal experience and many new skills it has given me. For instance, my freshman year I would have been too scared to walk up and talk to the officers working the DECA booth at Warrior Welcome Night. Now as a sophomore/junior, I was working the booth myself. I encouraged students to sign up and attend our two August events, DECA Deck Party (Pool Party) and our DECA Bonfire. I am proud to say that our freshmen involvement is great, especially at Districts this year!
September
Membership Development
Freshman Games is a new event our team started this year to welcome new freshmen to Wausau West DECA on their first day of high school. At Wausau West, the first day of school is used as an orientation for all freshmen and transfer students to tour the school, learn about our schedule, and hear from upperclassmen about how they can get involved. However, the up to two hour lunch break depending on the number of conflicts a students has can get lengthy.To help fill their extended lunch break, we decided to provide a number of ‘minute to win it’ type games including “Face the Cookie,” a “Spin to Win” game, and more. We also set up a variety of yard games outside so students could enjoy the beautiful weather while socializing. Lots of freshmen came to participate and win prizes from candy to Wausau West and Wausau West DECA merchandise. Through this event, freshmen were also able to ask questions, learn about DECA, and meet some of the upperclassmen and officers that consistently participate in our events. This opportunity led to lots of new freshmen DECA members.
Involvement In Chapter Meetings
Wausau West DECA holds an all-chapter meeting on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Each month a different officer is assigned the job of creating a slideshow highlighting past and upcoming events. This is an opportunity to not only inform members but also give them a chance to sign-up for events such as Districts in January.
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In order to motivate members to attend our meeting we provide a couple of different incentives, the first being free donuts. It can be hard to wake up and get to school early, but a donut can make that just a little better. We place our large order with one of our strongest business partners the day before and then an officer picks them up the morning of, prior to arriving at school. Another reward members receive when arriving at the meeting is money for the school store. Each student receives a DECA dollar worth $0.50. These are designed, printed, and cut out before the meeting and then passed out as members arrive. This year for rewards we developed a loyalty program. Members receive a sticker each time they attend a meeting or event. Once they have filled their card with 5 stickers it can be cashed in for credit in the school store.
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Rather than just presenting to Members, we constantly look for ways to get them involved in our monthly meetings. This may take form in many ways, one of our most popular being Kahoots. An officer will prepare one in advance relating either to DECA or a current holiday such as Christmas. Then 1st through 3rd place winners will receive a prize. Another way to get members involved with less prep is a simple drawing. Students grab a raffle ticket as they enter and then officers will draw some winners near the end of the meeting. A new activity we tried this year was DECA Bingo. Officers prepared a variety of matching phrases and terms which were printed off using a bingo card generator. Members then used markers to keep track of said words and the first 3 winners received prizes.
October
John Muir DECA
A unique classroom opportunity that our chapter offers does not exist in our high school but rather in our middle school through John Muir DECA. We host four meetings throughout the year with the goal of exposing them to and increasing our local eighth graders' interest in DECA.
Our first meeting was in October. Prior to this meeting, we communicated with the head business teacher who reserved us a date, a room and promoted the event with her students. Additionally, we had promotional posters hung around the school. Once officers arrive we went to the commons and rallied many eighth graders to join us. I’m pleased to say we had great attendance, ranging anywhere from 50 - 60 students. Throughout the slide deck, we discussed what DECA was, the benefits, and many events our chapter had been doing recently. We ended the meeting with a fun logo game and a variety of prizes.
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Our second meeting was held in December. Fortunately, we still had decent attendance despite the test we were taking that day in order to satisfy our main goal regarding John Muir DECA, exposing students to competition. After reviewing the basics and benefits of competition, students took a 20-question test made up of past questions which were later graded by officers.
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Our third meeting was and will be held in March this coming year. At this meeting students attempt their first role-play judged by current Wausau West DECA members. We offer roleplays from each of the four principle events since those are the events the students will be competing in the following year. After judging occurs their scores are added and finally at our fourth meeting awards get distributed. Our hope is that by the end of the year, students are convinced to not only sign up for DECA but to get involved and fill their class load with the many business and marketing classes available at our school.
Organizing Social Events - Pumpkin Carving 2023
An event that I have helped to organize the past two years is our yearly pumpkin carving event. For this I am able use my networking skills to minimize the overall costs of the event, specially by obtaining 30 pumpkins free of charge from a long-time friend. Aside from pumpkins the team is responsible for booking the venue at a local park, picking up the key, buying tablecloths and pumpkin carving tools, set-up and especially after this activity, cleanup.
Community Service - Trick Or Can
Our biggest fundraiser every year is our annual Trick-Or-Can event in October. Trick-or-Can in a nutshell is a city-wide food drive for the Women's Community each Halloween. This event has a lot of moving parts and takes preparation to be successful.
Before doing anything else officers had to split the city into many different routes to ensure that each house was visited only once. After preparing the sign-up, the event was introduced at our October Member Meeting, as well as promoted through Social Media and physical posters.
As officers, we reached outside of our club and to the PAES Lab, a class for special education students to practice basic skills. These students were a huge help in packing over 2000 bags with informational posters before our members delivered them to houses. Members picked up the bags at our group leader meeting on the 26th, five days before the event itself. At this meeting, we instructed students on how to deliver the bags and other needed information. Teams then had the next two to three days to deliver the bags.
The final piece that occurs prior to the event is our T-shirt design and order. All 76 members who volunteered got a T-shirt in return, which was handed out before collecting the food. On the day of the event, members met immediately after school to review routes and other instructions. We then took a group picture before everyone left to collect the donations.
After returning to the school members counted up all of the collected donations for a total of 6,626 items my sophomore year and over 10,000 items this past fall. A smaller group of volunteers then drove them over to the Women's Community and helped to unload. The final piece to the puzzle was a recap video that I edited and put together using pictures ad videos captured by our members.
This event impacts Wausau in a huge way considering it makes up the shelter's food supply for about 6 months.I personally am beyond grateful to be involved in the community in this way and look forward to leading many more service events in the future.
November
Diamond Dash
My first year as an officer the Diamond Dash was completely new to all of Wisconsin since the state officers just created it. Each chapter selected one representative as a diamond miner who would work to submit all tasks and assignments for points. For Wausau West, that representative was me. I was already new to the officer team but now I was forced to navigate this competition as well. Though I can now say I am a two year diamond minor and I now know what I'm doing.
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To keep up with the workload, I would usually try to work on tasks every other day or so. At weekly officer meeting I would outline where we currently were and what tasks needed to be focused on. Other officers were more than willing to help with certain tasks and this often did make the entire process a lot easier. Both years our chapter has earned the diamond level ending with 900 and then 1300 points.
DECA Week
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's DECA Week takes place at the perfect time, before competition season. At this point, some new members are still unsure of the club and it can be just the push they need to get involved. For this reason, we as a chapter try our best to come up with fun activities every day.
Monday: To kick off DECA week our officer team printed and hid DECA diamonds around the school. Not only did the diamond have facts about the organization for members to read, but they were also worth $1.00 in our school store.
Wednesday: One way we involved more than just DECA members during DECA week was through our Spin-The-Wheel Trivia Challenge in the commons during lunch mods. Students spun for a category and then had a chance to answer a question and, if they got it right, win a prize!!
Thursday: After school on Thursday afternoon we hosted an ice cream social in the commons. This gave members a chance to socialize and enjoy a sweet treat after a long day of school. This same morning we held a schoolwide Miracle Minute and raised roughly $300 for MDA.
Friday: To finish off DECA week we asked both students and staff to wear any DECA merch they had. We saw shirts spanning from conferences many years ago all the way to our most recent shirts, which we delivered just weeks ago.
December
Organizing Social Events - Christmas Cookies 2022
An event I held a large leadership position in was our Christmas Cookie Decorating. This was entirely new to us meaning we had to draw up a plan from scratch, just like our cookies. Luckily I had much experience in this area being a skilled baker myself. For this reason, I was in charge of the ingredients, supplies, and space all of which I had. After selecting a location and date I put together a post in order to promote the event and sent it to a fellow officer. I also spread the word to friends throughout the school day and luckily we had a nearly full sign-up sheet for this event.
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In the days leading up to the event, I went grocery shopping to collect all the essential ingredients. The night before the event a group of fellow officers and I worked to bake all of the sugar and gingerbread cookies needed for the event. On the day of, I made the frosting and packaged all other materials before heading to the venue. Throughout the 30 minutes reserved for set-up officers organized different stations, bowls of colored frosting, etc. ensuring we were ready for members. I would call this event a huge success and was excited to have brought it back this year!
District Prep Nights
After discussing competition at our member meetings many are still confused about what competition really is. For this reason, we host a number of District prep nights where competitors receive their performance indicators, practice tests, and an overview of the aspects of competition. After reviewing the different parts of a role play, one is acted out for all of the competitors to watch. My sophomore year I prepared a series of graphics and performed a role-play with my fellow officer who judged. Students then evaluated the roleplay and officers went over more tips. The biggest thing we stress at these meetings is the importance of testing and researching your performance indicators before competition, since the more knowledge you have the better you will do.
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However, I still noticed that competitors weren't fully prepared going into districts. So this year we gave the option to do a practice role play judged by an officer on the team. Mainly first-time competitors took us up on this offer in order to better grasp what they would be doing in the coming weeks.
2023 Districts
2024 Districts
January
Districts
Each year our chapter's attendance is steadily increasing at districts. My sophomore year we brought 80 members, and just this month we had over 90 competitors across all events. This increased participation is our goal but it also requires increased preparation. Prior to winter break our officers put together a folder for each member including a practice test, performance indicators, tips and tricks, and other important information. Officers must also be available to answer any and all questions members may have leading up to the event. On the day of I was responsible for taking attendance at the school, on the bus, and when we arrived. Officers also handed out testing tickets and instructed members on how the morning would go. Finally I was responsible for taking as many pictures as I could throughout the event and of course competing to the best of my ability.
Polar Plunge
February
Due to the Covid Pandemic participation in Polar Plunge has drastically decreased at our school. For a period of two to three years Wausau West DECA did not jump at all. I was determined to change this because I thought the event was an effective and creative way to fundraise for charity. Last year our chapter was only able to convince the officer team plus 3 or 4 friends. I was confused by this considering our other fundraising events, like Trick-Or-Can do so well with members. I decided this event was lacking incentives and a competitive element. This year we have added a costume competition with a $50 gift card reward and two other prizes of the same value for the members who raise the most money. I am hoping when we promote this at our upcoming member meeting we will have at least double, maybe triple the amount of members signed up compared to last year.
DECA State
I vividly remember my freshman year at SCDC. It was here I first learned about the Wisconsin State Officer Team and I immediately knew that one day I wanted to be on it. I wanted to be the one handing out awards, but of course still receiving them as that is one of my favorite parts. Although I might like actually competing more than the awards. The excitement before the role play and relief once you're done is something I will never get over. When not competing I loved going to seminars with friends, the DECA dance, and of course relaxing in the hot tub! Even though State is just a stepping stone to ICDC it is an experience that inspired me as a freshman and one that I've noticed can motivate others as well to get even more involved in DECA.
March
Highway Clean-Up
HIghway clean-up is an event where the Wausau West DECA chapter works with Adopt-A-Highway to clean up trash along the side of the road. Our chapter has a 2 mile stretch of highway that is assigned to us. Three times a year we clean and pick up trash along the side of the road, once in the spring, once in the summer, and once in the fall. We did our first Highway Clean up of the 2023-2024 school year on August 7th this summer. The group consisted of our chapters 2023-2024 leadership team, and together, we picked up about 3 bags of trash. For the ones throughout the school year, our members will participate as well.
April
ICDC
Freshman year may have been my first year competing in DECA but this one year was the reason I decided to apply, and ultimately became an officer. Starting with districts I was beyond nervous and wasn’t totally sure I wanted to be there. In fact I didn’t sign up until just before the deadline, yet I’m so happy I did. At that conference I placed first overall and went on to state to place third. Despite these conferences sparking my new love for competing in DECA, the most impactful was likely ICDC 2022 and for many reasons. First off it was a new place with somewhat new people. I was the only freshman traveling to Atlanta with a couple juniors, but mainly seniors. This was very intimidating as I didn’t know any of them all that well. Regardless I went with a positive mindset and left closer to all of them. Additionally I got the chance to learn so much about competition, what I was doing wrong and what I was doing right. I am now a strong believer in studying for the test as it is a great way to place above others. I also learned I wasn’t quite as prepared as I thought for the role play and therefore worked to improve my skills before the following spring. Last, but certainly not least, I had fun! I got to go to six flags, the aquarium, world of coke, and so much more.
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Sophomore year was just as much if not more fun than the year before because this time I got to travel with many close friends who had qualified as well and to the happiest place on earth! I have so many fond memories of exploring Disney Springs, Hollywood Studios, and Universal. To be honest, this one week each school year might be the one I look forward to the most.
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May
End Of The Year Banquet
To finish off each DECA year our members and their parents are invited to an End of Year Banquet. After mailing out invites to all our members families, the officer team is then tasked with writing up a script for the event. This script highlights the chapters accomplishments, individual members feats, and also includes a speech form each of the officers in which they thank their peers and advisors. Finally at the end of the event our new officer team is installed. This past year it was sad to see half of my team leave for college, but this school year has been just as successful and I couldn't be more grateful for my fellow officers.
2022-23 Officer Team
2023-24 Officer Team
