Six FHS students compete in nationals

Six Flathead High School students will compete in May at a national business leadership competition.

Jacob Byrne, Evan Lerum, Gabriel Meyer, Taylor Moss, Laura Johnson and Miles Sorlie will compete with more than 5,000 other high school students at Business Professionals of America’s National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif., May 4 through 9.

Business Professionals of America is a national student organization that models professionalism and business practices. To qualify for nationals, students had to place in the top two in team events, in the top four in individual events or in the top three in individual judged events at the state competition.

Byrne will compete at the national level in Presentation Management. In this event, students create a presentation for a local business owner who wants to send his Generation Y employees on a 10-day incentive vacation instead of paying cash bonuses.

Lerum is competing in Entrepreneurship, which involves developing an operating plan and business structure for a small start-up business. This is a presentation an entrepreneur would make to potential investors at a bank to secure financing.

Meyer, Moss and Sorlie are competing in PC Servicing and Troubleshoooting. This individual event includes a written component similar to A+ certification exams and a hands-on section in which students demonstrate their knowledge of computer configuration, maintenance and management.

Meyer also is competing in Computer Security, in which he must demonstrate knowledge of fundamental security management tasks in Windows and Linux networking environments.

Sorlie is competing in Computer Network Technology. In this event, students demonstrate knowledge in fundamental networking concepts such as network architecture, standards and security.

Moss and Johnson are competing as a team in the Economic Research Project. They will discuss how the recent recession has impacted the four main generations alive today.

Johnson is also competing in Basic Office Systems and Procedures, an event that requires students to evaluate fundamental skills in office procedures, records and file management.

The students have been raising money for their trip to Anaheim. It will cost about $1,000 apiece.

Those who want to help may send tax-deductible donations to Flathead High School, with a memo for BPA, 644 Fourth Ave. W., or call Sue Cheff at 751-3486 for further information.