Chapter Connections

Dear Maryland FBLA Members and Advisors,

Hope everyone is enjoying the start of the school year! We have an exciting year ahead of us, so I’m thrilled to continue working with all of you to make this another great year for Maryland FBLA.

I want to start off by encouraging everyone to take advantage of all of the experiences and opportunities that Maryland FBLA is offering. This includes our virtual Fall Leadership Conference, where we will be offering motivational keynote speakers, a wide selection of interactive workshops, and insight into competitive events. I highly recommend everyone to sign up as you will most definitely leave this conference with newfound knowledge and wisdom!

This past month, the State Officer team has also been working hard to achieve our goals to improve your experience in our organization. We will be releasing many resources, such as competitive event study resources and a financial literacy education program, so be sure to consistently check out the member center at mdfbla.org.

Another opportunity to take advantage of is chapter visits by state officers for those chapters interested. We will be presenting interactive workshops on a variety of topics, talking about our own FBLA experience, and answer any questions from the members. This is a great way to add excitement to your chapter meeting!

Lastly, I know that many uncertainties still lie ahead of us, but I hope that everyone is staying flexible and optimistic. As always, feel free to contact me at kathy.yao@mdfbla.org if you ever have any questions or concerns, as I’d love to help!

Wishing you all the best!

Kathy Yao

Maryland FBLA State President

Conferences​

• MDFBLA Dues Deadline for Registering for the RLC (November 20)

• RLC 2021 Registration Deadline (November 20)

• State Fall Leadership Conference Registration Deadline (November 9 @5pm)

• State Fall Leadership Conference​ 2020 (November 11)

• ​RLC 2021 Testing Window Opens (Nov 30)​

Events

• Prematurity Awareness Month (November)​

• Non-Stop November (November 1 - December 10)

• MDFBLA Media Madness Chapter Challenge (November 4 - November 24)

• American Enterprise Day (November 15)

• MDFBLA Spirit Week (November 16 - November 20)

• March of Dimes World Prematurity Day (November 17) ​​​

• Tomorrow’s Business Leader—Winter issue copy deadline (November 30)

Maryland FBLA is excited to present the 2020 Virtual Fall Leadership Conference on November 11, 2020. This one-day event will be highly interactive and includes:

• A live motivational keynote speaker and other guest speakers;

• Messages from the state officer team;

• Interactive workshop breakout sessions;

• A Competitive Events panel discussion and Q&A with state and national competitive event judges;

• Local Chapter Officer Spotlights; and

• Much more!

Led and facilitated by world-renowned motivational speaker Patty Hendrickson, this virtual conference is one you and your students won’t want to miss. Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean it won’t be fun, engaging, and motivating! It will be all these things and more. We’ve worked with Patty for many years now and she always gives 110%. She is super excited about bringing a high-quality production and amazing content to you and your students.

Schedule and format The event will run live on Wednesday, November 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There are short breaks scheduled during the event as well as a lunch break.

Registration fee - The cost for students and guests to attend is $10.

How to register? - There are two ways to register: individually or as a chapter.

Aspire to have the utmost spirit with Maryland FBLA’s Media Madness this month. Every day there is a new challenge that you and your chapter can start participating in. MDFBLA Instagram will post the challenge of the day as well as the description of what you should accomplish for each challenge. With each challenge there is a hashtag of the week that should be incorporated onto your post. You can start participating by using your chapters Instagram in a minimum of 10 daily challenges. You must use #MDFBLAmediamadness and the hashtag of the week. All participating chapters will receive ribbons at the State Leadership Conference.

In the middle of the month, be sure to check out the spirit days of the week. November 16 - 20 is created to engulf our members into the aspects of FBLA spirit with American Enterprise Day, March of Dimes - Prematurity day, an FBLA Celebration, Member Appreciation, and Teacher/Advisor Appreciation Day.

The first spirit day is on Monday, November 16, American Enterprise Day allows you to showcase your virtual event that represents ideas of free economy, economics and entrepreneurship. The following day, Tuesday, November 17, is Prematurity Awareness Day where you can organize your own virtual activity to educate about raising awareness or fundraise for March of Dimes. Then, on November 18, there will be an FBLA celebration which includes showcasing posters, chapter achievements, wearing your FBLA t-shirts etc. on your chapters Instagram. On Thursday, November 19 is Member Appreciation Day, have your chapter Instagram give shoutouts to your members. To end the week, MDFBLA will be hosting an Adviser/Teacher Appreciation where you can send a thoughtful email, generate an appreciation video and/or call your adviser/teacher to tell them how thankful you are for them.

• Fundraising

• World's Finest Chocolate fundraiser (can be sold online/ no contact) - Buy cases of World’s Finest chocolate bars and sell for $1 or $2 depending on which bars you pick

• Sell custom Pura Vida bracelets - Buy custom Pura Vida bracelets (FBLA colors or your school’s colors) in bulk and resell them

• Community Service

• Pack Backpacks - Pack backpacks with school supplies and donate them to a school in need

• Sponsor an Angel Tree - Help sponsor kids in need in your community this holiday season

• Books

• The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham - This book has been called “the greatest book on investing ever written”. Graham coaches the investor how to develop a plan to buy stocks and bonds.

• Business Adventures - John Brooks - This book consists of twelve stories from the business world and Wall Street, with each story having critical moments in American industry.

• Podcasts

• Ted Talks Daily - How to Be Your Best Self In Times of Crisis - Susan David - In this podcast, psychologist Susan David talks about how to build resilience, courage, and joy during the Coronavirus pandemic.

• Simple Steps To Take Now To Make Your Pandemic Winter Easier - Life Kit with Rachel Miller from Vice - In this podcast, Rachel Miller talks about ways we can prepare to make the coming months a little easier.

• Tips

• If you’re feeling stressed just stop, breathe, think and continue.

• Use a planner (paper or online) to keep track of everything that you need to do.

This year Maryland FBLA is piloting an all new Financial Literacy Education initiative that consists of monthly modules across the months of October to January. In the first year of the program, a wide range of topics concerning financial literacy will be covered in order to enhance member’s knowledge about the financial world they will soon be stepping into. Each month will focus on a different aspect of financial literacy: October stresses State and Federal Taxes; November teaches members about the FAFSA; December centers on Credit and Loans; and January spotlights Insurance. For each topic, there will be an accompanying competition termed the MDFBLA Financial Literacy Challenge which will be in the format of a 20-25 question multiple choice test concerning that month’s topic. The three members with the highest scores on the objective test-style competition each month will be recognized at the 2021 State Leadership Conference and will receive certificates and/or ribbons. Competencies and resources will be posted prior to the competition each month on the Maryland FBLA Member Center as well as the Maryland FBLA Instagram page. Moreover, each month, one to two social media campaigns will be launched in accordance with the then-current financial literacy topic which will seek to educate members on relevant vocabulary, fun facts, and applicable tips and tricks. This monthly focus on different modules will enhance members knowledge of that which is applicable to them as both students and future business leaders.

October Financial Literacy Challenge is due November 14!

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Email: president@mdfbla.org
Website: mdfbla.org
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Twitter: @mdfbla