Nate's August Blog

2010-08-06

Wow, July has been a full-packed and fun-filled month for me. It all started with National Officer Training in Reston, VA. There, Team 65 came together for the first time since we had been elected. It was so great being together as a team again. We bonded so fast and got along so well, I know it will be a great year with my new family. While we were together, we accomplished so much as a team. We started off our training meeting the wonderful staff at national DECA headquarters in Reston. They were all so nice and welcoming to our team as headquarters became our home for the week. After that, our first part of training came with lobbying on Capitol Hill for DECA. There, team 65 talked to our own state’s senators and congressmen to help rally interest in DECA, Perkins, and CTSOs. It was a great opportunity to have DECA’s voice heard, lobbying, and see what Congress does on a day-to-day bases. Next, we developed our Program of Work for the 2010-2011 DECA year. The process was complicated and long but, in the end, we felt we did a great job with it. After our POW, the team worked on speeches, greetings, and workshops we will be using throughout the year. After that was completed, it was time to move to D.C.

Following national officer training, we attended the first conference together at the Summer Officer Leadership Training in Washington D.C. There we moved into George Washington University and got the experience interacting with chapter and state officers from around the country. During the three-day conference, we helped Amy Gallimore of Tri-Leadership teach and implement a leadership learning curriculum to the officers. We were taught many things from Amy that our team used as well. One of the nights, the entire SOLT conference went on an amazing night tour of Washington D.C. We saw many of the awesome monuments and memorials that the city has to offer. One of the nights, Kurtis and I tagged along with PA DECA and toured Georgetown and the university, which was pretty breathe-taking. After the conference finished up, we headed back to DECA HQ and said our goodbyes to the staff and to each other. A funny thing happened when I was boarding my plane. They actually put me on the wrong plane and I almost flew to Maine! Luckily, they caught the mistake in time so I ended up making my flight.

After my experience in D.C. and Reston, DECA didn’t end there. I was invited to attend the PA DECA State Officer Training at Penn State University. There, I got to help train the 14 new state officer of Pennsylvania and assist them the best I could. I helped them learn leadership, develop their POW, and help them bond as a team. It was really great being back with the PA team but nostalgic to the times when I served on the PA state officer team.

With that, DECA ended for the moment and I finally got to go on a vacation I really needed. I headed to Delaware with my best friend for a week at the beach. It was a good way to end an exciting 3 weeks of traveling.

As summer comes to an end, I hope you all enjoy what time you have left. With school coming up, I also hope you prepare for another exciting academic and DECA-filled year. I hope to hear form you guys very soon.

Stay safe, have fun and be well.

Nate
NARVP