GNTC students place at 2023 FBLA national competition

Two Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) students were finalists in their competitions at the recent Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate National Leadership Conference in Atlanta.

Nancy Johnson, a resident of Tunnel Hill and student at GNTC’s Catoosa County Campus, placed third in Management Concepts and placed third in Small Business Management Plan categories at the competition, which took place June 22-25; Brandon Wishon, a Dalton resident and student at GNTC’s Whitfield Murray Campus, placed 10th in the Organizational Behavior & Leadership category.

“Our students competing at the FBLA Collegiate National Leadership Conference last week represented Georgia Northwestern Technical College very well,” said Dr. Heidi Popham, GNTC president. “The awards they received reflect their skills and knowledge and recognize the commitment made by each student, as well as their advisors, in preparing for the competition. I am proud of their accomplishments and congratulate them on their success.”

At the state competition, March 31 through April 2, Johnson placed first in Management Concepts and first in Small Business Management Plan while Wishon placed second in Organizational Behavior & Leadership and fifth in Public Speaking. All entries at the state competition who had placed first, second or third qualified for competition at the National Leadership Conference.

“I am so proud of Brandon and Nancy for their efforts and their successes at the FBLA National Conference,” said Mark Upton, GNTC’s Marketing Management program director and FBLA coordinator. “GNTC had two students that qualified for Nationals in three events, and they were finalists in all three events. They put in the hard work and it showed.”

“We are so proud of Nancy and Brandon and their hard work at the competition,” said Trish Wiggins, GNTC’s director of Student Engagement. “They competed against hundreds of students from all over the country and represented GNTC and the State of Georgia at the national level.”

According to FBLA, more than 14,000 students and teachers attended the 2023 conference; middle school, high school and college students gathered for the annual event. The Collegiate National Leadership Conference (NLC) was held June 22-25 at the Hilton Atlanta, while the Middle School and High School NLC took place June 27-30 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Future Business Leaders of America is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association helping more than 230,000 students to prepare for careers in business and business-related fields. FBLA is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and organized on local, state and national levels.