West Bend, Wisconsin, 08/27/2015– More than 8,500 of America’s best and brightest high school students traveled to the Windy City to Step Up to the Challenge as they showcased their talents as future business leaders and vied for the opportunity to win more than $175,000 in cash awards.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL), held its FBLA National

Leadership Conference in Chicago on June 29 to July 2. Participants from across the United States attended this exciting conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks, and participate in more than 55 business and business-related competitive events.

Beth Williams from West Bend East High School, Maria Jasen from West Bend West High School, Adam Gergetz from West Bend East High School, and Dane Mauland from West Bend West High School in West Bend received national recognition at the FBLA Awards of Excellence Program on July 2. Williams, Jasen, and Gergetz competed in Entrepreneurship and brought home 7^th, seventh place. As a team, they took an online test and participated in a case study on how to deal with time management and employee motivation. Mauland competed in Business Calculations and brought home 2^nd, second place. He took an online test which consisted of various advanced math concepts.

“It was a great experience to compete on the national stage. It really opens your eyes up to the talent in the whole nation and what it takes to compete in today’s world,” said Dane Mauland, former Vice President of the West Bend chapter of FBLA.

The awards were part of a comprehensive national competitive events program sponsored by FBLA-PBL that recognizes and rewards excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas. For many students, the competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers. In addition to the competitions, students immersed themselves in educational workshops, visited an information-packed exhibit hall, and attended motivational keynotes on a broad range of business topics.

About FBLA-PBL, Inc.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc., the largest and oldest student business organization, is a nonprofit 501 ©(3) educational association with a quarter million members and advisers in over 6,500 active middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovation leadership and career development programs. The association is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. For more information visit fbla-pbl.org.