Pictured from left to right: Patty Hart, GNTC director of Economic Development; Kellie Garland; Corey Hash; Mary Beth McNeese; Phil Gregory; Melissa White; Johnathan Creamer; Terran Carlisle; Cho Miller; Autumn Brown; Ronald Brown; Ronda Rape, GNTC assistant director of Financial Aid; and Brandy Rhodes, GNTC assistant of Student Affairs. Not Pictured: Jocelyn Ridley.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College students took home honors in the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) state competition. The competition was recently held in conjunction with the 2011 Georgia PBL State Leadership Conference at the The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North in Atlanta, Georgia.

Phi Beta Lambda, a division of Future Business Leaders of America, hosts annual state and national competitions that recognize and reward excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. Through state-based competition at the spring State Leadership Conferences, students compete in events testing their business knowledge and skills. Top state winners then are eligible to compete for honors at the National Leadership Conference each summer.

The Georgia PBL State Leadership Conference showcased students competing in business related leadership events including impromptu speaking, future business executive, job interviewing, public speaking, and sales presentations. Other competition areas covered topics consisting of principles of accounting for professionals, computer applications, business communication, business decision making, financial services, hospitality management, human resource management, and network design.

Students from Georgia Northwestern Technical College placing in the competition included:

Johnathan Creamer, Floyd County Campus – 1st Place – Client Service & Public Speaking

Jocelyn Ridley, Walker County Campus- 1st Place – Word Processing

Philip Gregory, Walker County Campus – 1st Place – Web Site Design; 4th Place – Computer Applications

Ronald Brown, Walker County Campus – 2nd Place – Future Business Executive

Autumn Brown, Walker County Campus – 3rd Place – Future Business Executive

Cho Miller, Walker County Campus – 3rd Place – Impromptu Speaking; 4th Place – Public Speaking

Melissa White, Walker County Campus – 3rd Place – Job Interview; 4th Place – Financial Analysis

Terran Carlisle, Walker County Campus – 4th Place – Financial Concepts

Kellie Garland, Walker County Campus – 4th Place – Project Management

Corey Hash, Walker County Campus – 4th Place – Accounting Principles & Accounting Analysis and Decision Making

Four of GNTC’s winners will go on to compete in the PBL National Competition in Orlando, Florida in June including Creamer, Ridley, Gregory, and Ronald Brown.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. The association has four divisions:

  1. Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) for high school students;
  2. FBLA-Middle Level for junior high, middle, and intermediate school students;
  3. Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) for postsecondary students; and
  4. Professional Division for business people, FBLA-PBL alumni, educators, and parents who support the goals of the association.

FBLA-PBL is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and organized on local, state, and national levels. Business teachers, advisers, and advisory councils (including school officials, businesspeople, and community representatives) guide local chapters. State advisers and committee members coordinate chapter activities for the national organization.