100-Plus from Smithtown Headed to State DECA Championships

More than 100 students from Smithtown High School East and Smithtown High School West DECA either placed or received honorable mention at the recent Suffolk County Regional DECA Competition held at Suffolk County Community College in Selden.

As a result, these students qualified to advance to the New York State DECA championship competition to be held this March in Rochester, New York. DECA is an international business/marketing club opened to high school students enrolled in business courses.

Awards were presented to students for categories including accounting, apparel and accessories marketing, automotive services marketing, business management and administration, business law and ethics, business services marketing, financial services, food marketing, hospitality, hotel and lodging management, human resources, marketing communications, marketing management, personal finance, public speaking, quick serve restaurant management, and sports and entertainment marketing. Some worked in teams, while others worked individually.

Smithtown students are also very active in Regional DECA; Ryan Micozzi, Jacki Keegan, Victoria Tiranno, Danielle Laurenti and Justina Tenaglia are all Regional Officers who work with the other DECA chapters in Suffolk County.

In addition to the Smithtown students who placed at regionals, other DECA members from both HSE and HSW will make the trip to Rochester to compete in the manual competition. Students create manuals that range from 10 to 30 pages, covering various business and marketing topics. Manuals were submitted to the state in late January and now the students are preparing for their 15-minute oral presentations they will give in Rochester.

Students who place in the performance and written events in Rochester will qualify to compete at the International DECA Competition in Orlando, Florida in April.

Photo courtesy of the Smithtown Central School District: HSE students Taylor Dachel (left) and Brielle Albert are two of 100 Smithtown students advancing to the NYS DECA competition in Rochester, NY. Taylor and Brielle teamed to win a regional trophy for their presentation on Business Law and Ethics.