This is the February edition of the Central Region DECA Newsletter.

1. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
FEBRUARY, 2012
Central Region DECA
DECA Prepares Emerging Leaders and Entrepreneurs in Marketing,
Management, Hospitality, and Finance.
A Word from Your CRVP
Special Points of Interest ing. The MO DECA with legislators and
State Action team is discuss the importance
 National Officer an impressive group, of Career and Techni-
Team 66 had an in- and they have cal Education.
credible time at their crafted an incredible
Mid-Year Conference State CDC. During Febru-
in Salt Lake City. ary, I will also be
From January preparing for the
 National DECA is en- 25-29, I attended the State CDCs I will at-
couraging chapters to DECA National Offi- tend in March. As of
promote their efforts cer Mid-Year Meet- now, I have been in-
during CTE Month. ing. Seeing my fel- vited to attend state
Dear DECA Members, low National Officers conferences in Indi-
 Central Region DECA For many peo- was a great pleasure. ana, Wisconsin, and
is all over the web. ple, January and For more details on Missouri.
Be sure to check it February are dull, this event, go to page
out! 2. Please contact
uneventful months. me if I can assist your
But if you’re a DECA As earlier chapter or state asso-
member, these months mentioned, February ciation. I can be
Inside This Issue: are anything but dull will be a busy month reached at decavpmi-
and uneventful. If for me, as well. cah@gmail.com.
you’re a DECA mem-
National Officer Mid-Year 2 ber, you have compe- On February DECA Wishes,
Conference 8th, I will attend the
tition on your mind
CTE Month 3 during January and Missouri DECA District
February. 4 CDC. I competed
DECA.org Blogs 3 at this competition for
Although I am 4 years and am ex-
no longer competing, cited to once again
The Movement to Introduce 3 January was a busy be a part of this Micah Melling
Website month for me, and event. Central Region VP
State Officer Spotlight 4 February will cer- DECA, Inc.
tainly be busy, too. On February 2011-2012
15, I will attend the
Central Region Online 4 On January 21 Missouri ACTE Legis-
Updates -22, I attended the lative Day. Along
A Letter from the National 4 Missouri DECA State with other CTSO
President CDC Planning Meet- members, I will meet

2. Page 2 CENTRAL REGION DECA
National Officer Mid-Year Conference
From January Officers also reviewed It wasn’t all
25-29, the National their Program of work and no fun in Salt
Officers met in Salt Work. They are proud Lake City, however.
Lake City, Utah for to report that most of
their Mid-Year Confer- their goals have al- Both National
ence. ready been accom- Officer Teams at-
plished. Throughout tended a Utah Jazz
Without a the rest of their terms, basketball game at
Team 66 poses for a doubt, the National all of the officers will Energy Solutions
group picture after Officers had an ex- continue to provide Arena. This stunning
meeting with the
Collegiate DECA Na-
tremely productive resources for DECA arena will be the
tional Officers. meeting in Salt Lake members to use. venue for the general
City. sessions at ICDC!
Additionally,
They worked the National Officers Overall, the
with PDC Productions, of the high school divi- National Officer Team
the company that pro- sion met with the Na- had an amazing time
duces the general ses- tional Officers of the in Salt Lake City. They
sions at ICDC. Without collegiate division. can’t wait to return in
question, the sessions at Together, they devel- April with 15,000
“Mid-Year was a complete ICDC will be unforget- oped formal recom- DECA members!
table! mendations for the
success for Team 66. We were
The National DECA staff.
able to Leave Salt Lake with a
sharper focus and new goals. I
could not be happier!” - Claire
Coker, National DECA
President
Top: Team 66 with Mrs. Mar-
sha Bock, member of the DECA
Board of Directors.
Bottom: Team 66 posing in
front of the beautiful moun-
tains.

3. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6 Page 3
Career and Technical Education Month “By celebrating CTE
Month, you are cele-
February is Ca- audiences: students, leg- - PowerPoint: Obtaining brating the founda-
reer and Technical Edu- islators, and the local Legislators’ Support.
cation (CTE) Month. community. For more tion of DECA and the
Since DECA is a Career information on this advo- - Document: DECA and foundation of your
and Technical Student cacy campaign, please Politics future success.
Organization, DECA visit http://www.deca. - Document: Political Spread the word
members have plenty of org/events/33/. Outreach Kit about CTE by prov-
reasons to celebrate CTE ing how profes-
Month. Helpful resources If you need as-
for CTE Month can be sional and success-
sistance with implement- ful it has made
National DECA is found on DECA’s Slide- ing activities for CTE
asking chapters to par- Share account (www. Month, please contact you!” - Kendra
ticipate in an advocacy slideshare.net/DECAInc). Central Region Vice Wrightson, Southern
campaign for CTE Here is a list of poten- President Micah Melling. Region VP
Month. The advocacy tially helpful resources. His email address is de-
campaign asks chapters cavpmicah@gmail.com.
to sponsor activities fo- - PowerPoint: Promoting
cused on three target Your DECA Chapter.
DECA.org Features Informative Officer Blogs
Have you visited DECA National Officers On deca.org, “I love connecting to members in a
deca.org lately? If not, also submit blogs. you can read more way other than keynotes and
you’ve probably missed Reading these blogs will about your competitive workshops. In my blog, I can
some exciting blogs from give you an insight into event, learn about
the National Officer the exciting world of DECA’s National Advi- provide inspiration and
Team. Collegiate DECA! sory Board, and get encouragement that can be applied
more information about to any aspect of life, not just
Each National The latest blogs National DECA initia-
Officer submits a blog at are found on the home- tives. There is also an DECA.” - Jennifer Harrington,
least once a month, page of deca.org. They extensive “chapter re- North Atlantic Region Vice
sometimes more often. are located in the lower sources” section. This
These blogs cover an left-hand corner. President
portion of the website
array of topics: upcom- provides many excellent
ing DECA events, Na- After you’ve
read the most recent resources for your chap-
tional Officer initiatives, ter.
and information about blogs, take a look at the
marketing trends. other facets of the web- So, what are you
site. waiting for? Visit
The Collegiate deca.org!
“The Movement” to Introduce Website
The Movement is $1,000,000 for MDA in The National
one of the most ambi- one year (next school Officer Team strongly
tious projects ever year). encourages you to visit
launched by a student this website and learn
organization. The Movement more about this ambi- The Movement is a
will soon launch a web- tious project. fundraising effort for
The goal of The site to provide the DECA MDA in which all of
Movement is to “raise community with more After you visit DECA can participate.
the bar” in terms of what information about this The Movement’s website,
the world thinks students project. Once com- feel free to contact a
can accomplish. DECA is pleted, the website can National Officer to re-
going to accomplish this be accessed at www.our ceive even more infor-
goal by having chapters mvmt.com. mation about this en-
collectively raise deavor.

4. State Officer Spotlight
“Richardson. Michael Richardson.” The previous phrase was the
campaign theme of current Missouri DECA State President Michael
Richardson, but his friends just call him “Big Mike.”
Mike describes his current position with MO DECA as his “most
proud accomplishment.” Throughout his involvement with the organiza-
tion, Mike has created some unforgettable memories.
“By far, my favorite DECA memory is when our CRVP Micah Melling
walked into our hotel after he was elected. I open-field tackled him
in the lobby...It was an accident, but it brought our friendship closer and was hilari-
ous for all who witnessed,” says Mike.
In addition to leading one of DECA‟s largest state associations, Mike is the cap-
tain of the police cadet corps in his county.
“I get to learn hard-to-hand combat and small-arms fire,” explains Mike. “I‟ve
actually gotten to fire several weapons that are in the videogame „Call of Duty.‟”
Mike also has a job that he describes as a “sweet gig.”
“When I‟m not fighting crime, I work at a dry cleaning store. While this may not
sound fun, I get everything cleaned for free,” says Mike.
Missouri DECA is fortunate to have Mike as their leader. He is certainly an asset
to the members in his state and to the entire Central Region of DECA.
A Letter from Your National President Central Region DECA:
tions! Online Updates
You get the
most out of DECA Have you checked out Cen-
when you put in as tral Region DECA’s online
much effort as pos- resources? The following
sible, so manage is a list of the region’s
your time wisely online outlets…
during this busy
season.  Facebook
I had a lot
on my plate last  Twitter (@DECA_CR)
Dear Central Re- spring, but by stay-
gion DECA, ing determined  Website (www.crdeca.
“DECA and focused, I was org)
Primetime” is here, able to succeed. I
and we all should hope every one of
you succeeds in the  Wikipedia (this article
be gearing up for will be coming soon!)
competition! Prac- goals you all have
tice your role plays set!
and finish up those By frequently visiting
Best Wishes, these online outlets, you
written events so
that you are Claire Coker will always be “up to
poised to walk on National President date” on the most recent
stage at your local DECA, Inc. DECA news.
and state competi- 2011-2012