DECA went on their annual trip to the Lake of the Ozarks this past weekend on Sunday, Oct. 13. The seven members traveled with the DECA members from Francis Howell Central as well, meeting up at Central’s campus at 10:30 Sunday morning, and leaving at 11.

The bus arrived to the Four Seasons Lodge in which the club would be staying at around 2:30, allowing the crew to settle into their hotel rooms before a general session dinner, followed by more down time to allow the North DECA members to practice role playing.

“It was really good for the beginners because they’d never really done anything like that before,” senior Anna Domitrz said. ” I learned a lot about how an average role play goes, so when January and February district competitions come around, I won’t be completely shocked at what happens.”

The conference ended on Monday, Oct 13. The students went to a general meeting that morning, where a motivational speaker came in and spoke to the entire conference. Following the meeting, the students were allowed to attend two workshops, both offering a variety of classes to choose from. After lunch, the day was concluded with another general meeting where the candidates for State President and Vice President gave their speeches before allowing all of the DECA members to vote on who they chose. No members from North won the titles, however, Sean Earl, a member of Central’s DECA chapter won the title of the State’s Vice President.

The members of DECA returned to Central at around 5 that evening, each taking something valuable from the trip.

“I learned how to improve our DECA chapter’s social media pages, and polls to use to make sure our social media is used effectively,” DECA President Joe Henke said.

Through all the learning and the fast-pace environment of the weekend, the DECA members could agree that their favorite part of the trip involved the much-needed socializing that plays a large role in the DECA club.

“In-between sessions we got to meet a lot of different people,” Domitrz said. “We got to talk and network and make better friends with the people that already go to our school.”