Meet a BPA Member!

Here’s our first profile of a Michigan BPA member who’s attending the 2008 SLC!

Brian Beach is a senior from Van Buren Technical Center’s PM chapter. This is his second year in BPA, and he’s already accomplished quite a bit! Last year, he was the state champion in Microsoft Network Administration, and received 6th Place at the National Leadership Conference in New York City in the same competition! He’s competing in the same event this year, and we wish him the best of luck!

Brian said that his favorite part of  the State Leadership Conference is meeting a bunch of new people, as well as winning competitions, of course! He’s also looking forward to attending a performance of the Grand Rapids Symphony while he’s in town! Brian has experienced the benefits of BPA first-hand, and said that the organization has helped bring him out of his shell, and made him feel much more comfortable speaking to groups of people. He even bought his first suit because of BPA!

Brian’s advice for other students considering joining BPA is to join, and make the most of their experiences with the organization. He says that even if you don’t win, it’s a wonderful experience!

State Executive Council Interviews

Just a quick note to let you know about one of the behind-the-scenes events going on today that very few people get a chance to experience. All day today the Michigan BPA student officer team, collectively the State Executive Council or SEC, have been conducting interviews for those students who applied to be on the 2008-2009 Council.

Over the course of this conference, candidates are interviewed by the current SEC and select Michigan BPA staff members, tonight they’ll each give a speech in front of EVERYONE at the SLC (over 2,000 people!), and they’ll also meet with BPA members from across Michigan during a campaign rally. Good luck to all the candidates!

All About Legacy Launchers!

Legacy Launchers are what we call dynamic, interactive leadership development workshops geared especially for our Michigan BPA high school student members. The first ones just started, and they are packed with students participating and enjoying the speakers.

 Right now, CharMaine Hines, Development Coordinator for Michigan BPA is presenting an interactive workshop on college preparation and planning, and students are really enjoying her presentation. Next door, Kristin Mazaitis from Flagstar Bank and Nathan Cradit from Central Michigan University are presenting on the other side of college…what happens once you’re there! Their high-energy session has students exploring new ideas for how to be successful once they hit the college campus of their choice this fall, and how to make the most out of this important and exciting time in a student’s life.

 Later today, Alison Vaughn from Jackets for Jobs, Inc. will be presenting on first impressions and professional dress, and Diane White-Stengel from Michigan BPA chapter GASC Technology Center will be showing her tried-and-true tips and tricks for getting the most out of BPA’s Torch Awards Program. Later this afternoon, Lacy Otteman from Central Michigan University will be speaking on how to begin the college search process, and what to do after you’ve chosen your dream school. Concurrently, past state officers of Michigan BPA will be hosting a panel discussion on time management skills, exploring different techniques students can use for managing their time.

Hanging Out at the Open Events

The open events are going on right now, and tons of students are competing in these competitions in DeVos Place’s beautiful ballroom, so we thought we should take a second to let you know what this special group of competitive events is all about. For most competitions at this SLC, students who are competing have already placed as top finalists in earlier contests in their local regions, qualifying them to compete this weekend on the state level. The open events are a group of tests students can take on a wide range of business topics  that are open to all students at the conference. Top students in these events will qualify to represent Michigan at the National Leadership Conference in Reno, Nevada in May.  Events in this category include everything from Medical and Legal Office Procedures, to Financial Math & Analysis, to Information Technology Concepts and more.

Open events go on from 9:00 to 3:00 today in DeVos Place Ballroom A. The last student will be admitted to compete at 2:00 p.m.

Good Friday Morning!

It’s Friday, March 14, 2008 and the 2008 State Leadership Conference is underway! As we speak students from across the state of Michigan are putting the finishing touches on their presentations, studying their accounting procedures, double-checking their computer and technology equipment, and doing anything else needed for their Friday competitions.

Up ahead for today, we’ll have posts covering a few of the competitive events going on, the Legacy Launcher dynamic workshop series, as well as coverage of this evening’s Annual Business Meeting, and the Opening Session of the conference. We’re also going to post our first student profile, giving you an inside look at what Michigan BPA is all about…the students.

Good luck to those students with competitions today, and have a happy Friday!

ThinkFast!

Think of it as a high-energy game show, with real prizes…live, in person! Right now delegates at the SLC are in the Ambassador Ballroom of the Amway Grand Plaza playing ThinkFast!, a trivia game show sponsored by Davenport University. This game show, complete with lights, buzzers, and a host tests their knowledge of current events and trivia from the worlds of business, news and popular culture. Those who do well win real prizes, and for everyone, it’s a great way to spend the first evening in Grand Rapids for the SLC.

Tomorrow the first competitions of the Workplace Skills Assessment Program begin, and the conference is officially underway!

Don’t forget that for pictures from tonight’s ThinkFast! event, you can visit our Web site at www.michiganbpa.org/slc for daily photo updates. They’ll be posted later this evening. A new feature this year, our daily photo updates will keep you connected to all the action. At the end of each day of the SLC, all the photos taken by the conference photographer of that day’s events will be posted to our site. We’re really excited about this new feature, and hope you enjoy it!

Arrival

The Courtesy Corps (registration/conference information desk) has officially opened, and there are a ton of schools arriving as we speak. The lobby here at the Amway Grand Plaza is filling up, and it’s exciting to see everyone! Conference registration desks are also open this evening until 9:00 at the other hotels housing students for the 2008 SLC.

Welcome to Grand Rapids!

It’s Thursday morning, March 13, and we are set and ready for everyone’s arrival at the 2008 SLC! Michigan BPA staff are meeting right now with Grand Rapids staff to go over final preparations and details, and registration packets are being prepared to be distributed, and having final quality control checks done before the chapters pick them up this evening.

While we’re waiting for everyone to get here, we thought we’d take a second to let you know what to expect from this blog in the coming days. Our goal in creating this blog is that it will allow parents and community members back home to keep up on what’s going on in Grand Rapids, and to really get a feel for what the SLC experience is like. At the same time, we hope those of you joining us at the conference will visit this blog often, share your experiences by commenting, and enjoy catching a glimpse behind the scenes of all the work that goes into the SLC.

This truly is a live blog, meaning that we’ll be discussing events as they happen. You’ll want to check back frequently, as there will be multiple posts throughout each day of the conference. Each morning, we’ll begin the day with a morning post outlining some of the exciting events in store for the day ahead, and giving you a chance to comment early in the day. This is our first year doing this, so we hope you’ll let us know how we’re doing in the comments.

The Calm Before the Storm

It’s late Wednesday night, the night before the SLC begins! The State Executive Council and most Michigan BPA staff members have been in Grand Rapids all day getting set for tomorrow, when more than 2,000 high school business students, advisors, parents and special guests will be arriving to kick off the 2008 SLC. We’re really excited to see everyone tomorrow, but we thought that for now, it might be fun to take a look at what our conference facility looks like before all of our Michigan BPA friends arrive.

(Click photos for full-size images)

Here’s the Pantlind Lobby, a historic lobby in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

The Ambassador Ballroom, where our Legacy Launcher dynamic leadership workshop series will be taking place.

Looking from the second floor over the Grand Foyer towards the first floor.

And here it is…the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, our home for the next five days!

See you tomorrow!

Welcome!

Welcome to our new Live Blog for the State Leadership Conference! The SLC is scheduled for March 13-16, 2008, and we invite you to check back to this blog during the conference for an inside look at everything that goes on at the SLC. Michigan BPA staff, alumni, and student members will be using this space to share their experiences of the conference, give you a behind the scenes look at the work that goes into making the SLC happen, and help you stay connected to all the action. You’ll want to check back to this blog often during the SLC, as it will be updated live as things happen!

Students: Are you interested in being a guest blogger during the SLC? Let us know! We’re looking for student members of Michigan BPA to write about their memories of past State Leadership Conferences, and share their experiences from this year’s conference. If you’d like to be a published writer, we want to know! Send an email to Nathan Cradit, and be sure to put “SLC Live Blogger” in the subject line. Please include your name, year in school, chapter, and events in which you’ll be participating at the conference.

Alumni: We want your insights as well! Email Nate using the link above, so we can share your stories with parents and community members. Your input will be a valuable part of this new live blog!