Do you know DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi members who have started their own business? If so, let us know. DECA Inc. recognizes current and former members who make a significant contribution to society through entrepreneurship. To nominate a current or former member click Who’s Who Nomination Form.
Tyler Altrup & Dan
Vo (Delta Epsilon Chi Member)
Chapter
University of Missouri–Columbia 2003–
Present
Tyler Altrup and Daniel
Vo, two members of Delta Epsilon Chi at the
University of Missouri–Columbia, own and operate
Genius Apparel Products. This venture, also
found online at www.geniusapparel.com, has
grossed more than $100,000 in less than one
full year of operation. This young business
produces custom screen–printed and embroidered
apparel for campus organizations, small businesses,
high schools, and other groups.
Tyler and Dan have applied
lessons learned from DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi
involvement to maximize the potential of their
entrepreneurial upstart. As they prepare for
graduation, the two young partners are looking
forward to future opportunities for their
business. Soon they will open their first
franchise at another campus and envision this
program as a huge leap for their sales and
success. Both partners have enjoyed their
time in DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi and look forward
to giving back this year by offering a scholarship
to Missouri DECA high school students for
the first time.
Since 1997, Randy founded
a design and marketing company "Inkorporated,
Inc." that has 3 divisions: Inkorporated Design
Associates for Real Estate Marketing, Design
and Print, Red Zebra Marketing for Corporate
and Small Business Marketing, Branding and
Interior Design, and www.NationalGreetings.com
is an online company that can create real
greeting cards on the internet that are sent
like traditional greeting cards to US post
mail box recipients, not e–cards. In
2007 their newest venture, BudgetColor.com,
an online printing company will launch.
DECA Accomplishments
Randy Bragdon served as the state secretary
from 1994–1995. He also placed 1st at
state that year in finance marketing.
Malcom Chakery (DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi Alumnus)
Chapter
Monmouth Regional High School 1996–1997/Johnson & Wales University 1998–1999
Founder and President of Chakery Design, Malcom Chakery has extensive knowledge and experience in the workings of a web based business operation. Possessing great amounts of expertise in regard to marketing, web design and development, Malcom is extremely comfortable handling all details regarding the day-to-day operations as well as the sales and support of his many high profile clients. With a clear plan in place regarding operational procedures, all aspects of web design, marketing and promotional activities are managed and overseen by Malcom before they are completed. As a stickler for detail, Malcom believes in providing greater than expected support, superior customer servic
e, and innovative programs, making sure to go above and beyond customer expectations.
Previous to his experience as President of Chakery Design, Malcom was employed as an Account Executive for several Fortune 500 companies including Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI, Nordstrom Department Store, Sprint PCS Business/Government and IKON Office Solutions Business and Government. With an eye on the future, it was clear to Malcom that his expertise could be more fully utilized by developing his own web-based company, which he has successfully achieved. Initially, Malcom started out almost exclusively as a print-media and website development agency. Today, his thriving company has grown to include everything from database development, e-commerce, web marketing, sales promotion, market research, public relations, new media and corporate identity. As the Internet continues to grow, Malcom’s role as a web related consultant continues to grow and expand as well.
Malcom attended Johnson & Wales University where he served as Freshman Class Senator. Malcom operates his business with his wife Lisa. They reside in the State of Texas
DECA Accomplishments
Malcom Chakery served as chapter president in 1996 & 1997. Malcolm placed 1st in Quick Serve Restaurant Management in 1998 at the Delta Epsilon Chi International Career Development Conference.
Eric Chester (DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi
Alumnus)
Chapter
Jefferson High School / University of Northern
Colorado
At the University of Northern
Colorado, Eric majored and was certified in
Marketing Education. For five years, he was
a Marketing Education teacher/coordinator
in Arizona and Colorado. He was also an Assistant
State DECA Supervisor in Arizona. In the mid
80s, Eric became a professional motivational
speaker and over the next 15 years, his programs
were enjoyed at more than 1,500 high schools
and colleges, and also at 21 state DECA conferences,
three regional DECA conferences, and one national
DECA conference. He is the author of 10 books
and was inducted into the International Professional
Speakers Hall of Fame. Eric is the founder
and president of Generation Why, Inc. (www.GenerationWhy.com),
a training and consulting company that helps
leading companies and organizations better
understand today's youth. Generation Why,
Inc. educates his clients on how to recruit,
train, employ, and manage employees ages 16–24.
DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi
Accomplishments
Eric Chester served as chapter president and
was a First Place State Award Winner twice.
He was an active member of Jr. College DECA
now known as Delta Epsilon Chi in Northeastern
Junior College in Sterling, Colorado. In 1975–1976,
Eric served as State President and received
First Place at State CDC twice.
Delvin Franklin (DECA
Alumnus)
Chapter
Bryan High School 1994–1997
Location
Bryan, TX
Company
Wondaland Productions
Delvin Franklin graduated from Morehouse
University in 2002 with a major in Business
Management. Participation in DECA further
developed his interest in marketing, networking
and leadership, and speaking skills along
with confidence to do anything he chose.
Delvin started an investment holding company
with two business partners, Nathaniel Irvin,
III and Charles Joseph, called 1954, Inc–its
name being a reference to the transformational
and empowering decision of Brown vs. The Board
of Education. Its primary purpose is investment
and ownership of businesses specializing in
intellectual property. 1954, Inc currently
has 3 businesses and a non profit organization
respectively called Wondaland Productions,
1Autumn, Blak Milk, and The Dark Tower Project.
Wondaland Productions is a music production
company that has produced for their signed
artist Janelle Monae (www.janellemonae.com),
who will release 4 albums in 2007. They are
currently executive producers of Big Boi and
Outkast's solo project scheduled for release
later this year and have released several
records for the Big Boi presents: Got Purp
Vol. II album and the Idlewild album and movie.
1 Autumn is in the final stages of developing
the "iPod of social networking", a site that
is beautiful and easy to use. Testing of the
prototype has begun. Blak Milk is a video
production company that is in the nascent
stages of development. The Dark Tower Project
was formed on the campus of Morehouse College
by business partner, Charles Joseph, and friend
Mikael Moore – with Delvin having a
supporting role in its development. Its seeks
to facilitate the development and promotion
of the arts within college campuses. The Dark
Tower Project currently has chapters on Morehouse
College, Spelman College and Emory University
with plans to expand to Harvard, Columbia,
Stanford and other universities.
DECA Accomplishments
District President 1995–1996; Texas DECA
State President 1996–1997; National DECA
President 1997–1998
David Gass (DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi
Alumnus )
Chapter
Newport High School 1986–1987
Bellevue Community College 1988–1992
Location
Washington State
Company
Business Credit Services, Inc.
David Gass has taken the skills and opportunities
he received as a DECA and Delta Epsilon Chi
member to achieve success as an entrepreneur,
focusing on serving small business owners.
David started his first company, Business
Credit Services™, Inc. in 2000. He is the
President and CEO of Business Credit Services.
In 2002 Business Credit Services moved into
a new office building, now occupying 6,100
square feet in Las Vegas, Nevada with over
20 employees. In 2004 David branched out and
started another company, Business Marketing
Services. InFront Finance and Success Steps,
Inc. were also founded in 2006. As Business
Credit Services continues to grow, and as
Gass continues to start new companies the
focus has remained the same; working to serve
their target market of small business owners.
All companies under Mr. Gass's umbrella offer
help to small business owners in a variety
of ways including, but not limited to: incorporation
services, business credit, small business
financing, web site design, marketing, and
small business consulting.
Gass and Business Credit Services were recognized
by the city of Las Vegas with the 2005 Las
Vegas Rising Star Award and as the 2006 Nevada
DECA Business Person of the Year. Mr. Gass
has contributed to Nevada DECA by sponsoring
student scholarships and volunteering his
staff as competitive event judges. David Gass
now sits on Nevada DECA's Board of Trustees
where he is able to share his wealth of knowledge
regarding both business and DECA. The business
community of Las Vegas as well as Nevada DECA
are grateful for the many contributions of
both resources and talent that David Gass
continues to share.
Delta Epsilon Chi Accomplishments
Washington Delta Epsilon Chi State President
and National Delta Epsilon Chi Western Region
Vice President
Michael Hahn is currently
the Chief Information Officer and co founder
of Verdict Systems (http://www.sanction.com).
Michael, along with co–founders Dan
Bowen and Andrew Carpenter, started Verdict
Systems in 1999 with the vision to change
an industry. Legal technology was expensive
and difficult to implement in 1999. They set
out to develop a software package that was
easy to use and affordable for any sized firm.
Their primary focus is the development of
Sanction, a legal presentation software package.
In its simplest form, Sanction allows attourneys
to organize and present their evidence from
a computer in a trial. Their software is used
nationally by the United States Attourneys
Office and internationally by the United Nations.
In addition, they are used by countless law
firms of all sizes in all types of litigation.
Currently, Verdict Systems has 15 employees
and continues to deliver quality litigation
software and services to an international
list of clients.
DECA Accomplishments
District II Vice President for Nebraska DECA
1987–1988; Central Region Vice President
from 1988–1989 for National DECA
Kerri Lee Johnson (Delta Epsilon Chi Alumnus)
Chapter
North Dakota State College, 2006
Location
North Dakota
Kerri Lee Johnson is a 2006 graduate of North Dakota State College of Science where she was Chapter President and also ND State President of Delta Epsilon Chi. After graduating from NDSCS, she attended and graduated in 2008 from Sister Rosalind Gefre School of Massage in Fargo, ND. She became licensed both in North Dakota and nationally in May of 2008 and has started her own massage business in Fargo, located within Great Plains Chiropractic. She provides therapeutic massage and bodywork for the enhancement of health and well–being of her clients. She is dedicated to provide her clients with treatments and continuing education to promote relaxation and self–healing. Her success is built on trust, expertise, professionalism, and a personal touch that always puts the health and well–being of her client first. Delta Epsilon Chi gave her the confidence as a leader and the understanding of business practice and entrepreneurship through competition. Kerri currently resides in Fargo with her husband.
Peter Justen (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Elyria High School 1974
Location
Elyria, Ohio
Company
Over 20 Businesses
Peter Justen is a serial
entrepreneur with a 25–year record of developing
companies from concept to profit, with a particular
focus on driving efficiencies to large and
inefficient markets. At Countrywide Funding,
Peter launched a new, in–house "start–up"
where he generated in excess of $1.8 billion
in new loan originations through the development
of proprietary channel partners in 18 months,
setting new industry standards. He later co–founded
a financial services firm based in Washington
D.C., where he created over 1,100 alliance
partners in 18 months, assisting with the
successful sale of the company to a publicly
traded financial services firm.
In all, Pete has started more than 20 businesses
in 30–years, spanning industries from
finance to construction and mortgage lending.
He is passionate about entrepreneurship, small
business and education for America's youth.
Pete is a member of the Association for Corporate
Growth, is the Chairman of the Advisory Board
of the Harry F. Byrd School of Entrepreneurship,
Shenandoah University, is the Chairman of
the Washington Symphony and supports community
causes for battered women and children at
risk. In 2006 he was selected by Smart CEO
Magazine as one of the 20 Leaders We Admire
in Washington, D.C.
Jordon Lakoduk (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Minot High School, 2006-2008
Location
Minot, North Dakota
Company
Dotcomr
Jordon Lakoduk is the owner of Dotcomr, a locally owned business in Minot, North Dakota. Dotcomr started in early 2004 when Jordon made the name change from VIP Interactive. With over 5 years in the website design business, Jordon uses past knowledge to determine the best solution to any problem that is brought to him. Using the web is increasingly cost effective compared to desktop application development, and at Dotcomr, Jordon takes that vision and applies it to all of his products. He is a former state officer for North Dakota DECA and the developer of the on–line registration system used by North Dakota DECA. He was a recipient of the McKelvey Scholarship of $40,000 due to his entrepreneurship experience. Jordon is planning to attend the University of Mary and continue his DECA experience as a member of Delta Epsilon Chi.
Eric Lee, partner and co-founder of Jiva Creative, is strong in both information technology and visual design. As a partner at Jiva Creative, Eric leads project teams to develop strategic and creative project specifications and architecture for web and application solutions, oversees and assists in programming, and manages creative and art direction. Eric has over 10 years of experience with graphic design across multiple media and has been both designing and programming websites since the pioneer days of the web.
In addition to extensive design agency experience, Eric also served as a LAN administrator for Arthur Andersen, LLP, where he was responsible for database development and maintenance as well as developing and maintaining system connectivity. Eric studied electronic arts at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and web application development at Capella University.
"My participation in DECA during my high school years has helped me greatly in almost every aspect of business. I started my business when I was 21 years old, and without DECA, I am not sure I could have navigated the business landscape as well as I have for the past 13 years. DECA provided me with business and marketing knowledge as well as the skills needed to interact with other businesspeople and form strong business relationships."
When not completely engrossed with client projects, Eric can either be found on the floor playing with Winnie The Pug, or hijacking the office music to play nothing but Counting Crows.
DECA Accomplishments
Chapter VP, as well as a State Vice President for the Northern California District. Eric competed in the State Quiz Bowl and won first with his chapter, as well as winning 2nd in the State Advertising and Merchandising category. He also placed first for his chapter in the Chapter Awards Promotion event.
Even in personal conversations,
it's clear that no one is more surprised about
the entrepreneurial journey called Sassy Tails
(www.sassytails.com), than Kim Madden. With
a background in not–for–profit
and corporate leadership, Kim was enjoying
the demands of a career and her young family.
The corporate experience had offered Kim the
opportunity to interact closely with the leadership
of Fortune 500 companies like Dell, Kodak,
BMW, and Target. But in the autumn of 2003,
all of that changed.
When faced with the personal challenge of
what to do with her daughter's hair, Kim and
Heather, her daughter, launched a business
quite by accident. Kim knew instinctively
that she and Heather needed a solution they
could BOTH agree on and it had to help them
actually make it to school and work on time!
Out of this quandary arose first the product
and then the company known as Sassy Tails.
Today Sassy Tails enjoys sales in more than
38 states and is branching out beyond the
borders of the US. Kim energetically heads
Sassy Tails while dedicating much effort and
enthusiasm to helping other women launch their
dreams into realistic business organizations.
Her staff, including 9 year old Vice President,
Heather Madden, consistently remark about
the speed at which Kim moves but they just
as faithfully share the enthusiasm that she
has instilled in them.
DECA Accomplishments
South Carolina State Reporter from 1985–1986;
Winner of the National American Spirit Award
in 1986; Attended national conferences in Atlanta,
GA and San Francisco, CA
Mike Marcil (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Fargo South High School 1988–1989
Location
North Dakota
Company
The Marcil Group
Chief Executive Officer – Mr. Marcil
co–founded The Marcil Group Inc. in 2004. During his tenure
the company has grown to include over 1,200 residential rental units
and over 500,000 Sq. Ft of commercial real estate valued in excess
of $40 million. The company has maintained positive cash flow each
quarter since inception and achieved asset and revenue growth of
over 800% in 2006. A visionary entrepreneur-business developer,
Mr. Marcil has more than 20 years of experience in building successful
organizations. Through his leadership, the company has expanded to
more than 22 employees in the Fargo headquarters and over 100
employees throughout North Dakota and Minnesota. The Marcil Group
Inc. is a private, self-advised real estate operating company
(REOC). We focus on acquisitions in stable, growing markets that have
unique potential for significant long-term returns for our investors.
The company has offices in North Dakota and California. We specialize
in acquiring, developing and managing multi-unit apartments and other
commercial real estate.
John Massey (Delta Epsilon Chi
Alumnus)
Location
Mississippi
Company
The Sign Lab
John Massey is a former
Delta Epsilon Chi Mississippi State President.
After his involvement in DEX, he was well
prepared to start his own business, The Sign
Lab. The Sign Lab prints T-Shirts, banners,
and signs along with shipping via Fed Ex and
UPS.
DECA Accomplishments
Mississippi State President
Dustin Metcalf (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Champlin Park High School DECA 2006-2008 Location
Champlin, Minnesota
Dustin started his first company in 2008, The Junk Boy Solution, LLC (www.thejunkboysolution.com) which is a residential clean out service. He is the founder and president of the company. He is also starting his second venture, Deem Media, LLC — a Web Development and Internet Marketing business.
DECA Accomplishments
Dustin has been affiliated with DECA from 2006-2008. In 06-07 he served as a school store manager and was a state qualifier. In 07-08 he served as chapter President, school store manager, and district 4 VP of Finances. He was also a state finalist in the Minnesota DECA Career Development Conference. Dustin received a Start Student Sward from the North Hennepin Area Chamber of Commerce in the category of employment.
Scott L. Nazarino (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Liberty High School 1981–1983 Location
Renton, WA
Company
Secure Financial, Inc.
Scott Nazarino, President of Secure Financial, Inc., has owned his own business since 1995. He has been in the financial services industry since 1992. In 1983, Scott attended and competed at the DECA National Career Development Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. His competitive event was Petroleum Marketing where he advanced to finals competition in his event. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20070811&slug=sammprimary11e.
Scott helps contribute to the success of young people in business by employing them throughout the year. Among several activities to give back to the community, Scott ran for the City Council of Sammamish, Washington in 2007. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20070811&slug=sammprimary11e.
Patti Peey (Delta Epsilon Chi
Alumnus)
Chapter
Des Moines Area Community College 2004–2006
Location
Ankeny, IA
Company
Fireside Camper Rental, LLC.
Patti Peery of Monroe Iowa
took a career setback and turned it into a
successful business. Laid off from Maytag,
Peery entered Des Moines Area Community College
as a Management Major at the same time as
her two oldest children. After winning a number
of honors, including first place in the Entrepreneurship
Event at the 2006 Delta Epsilon Chi International
Career Development Conference, she started
Fireside Camper Rental, LLC. She has found
much success and acclaim for her innovative
business model and outstanding customer service.
Along with her husband and son, they tow campers
to customer–reserved campsites at local
state parks and prepare them for the client.
After a nearly sold–out first season,
they plan to expand for the 2007 season.
Peey said her new career allows her to spend
more time with her family and gives other
families an opportunity to spend more time
together.
Delta Epsilon Chi Accomplishments
First place in the Entrepreneurship Event 2006
Phil and Victoria Price (DECA Alumni)
Chapter
Amarillo High School, Class of 1961 and Tascosa High School, Class of 1964
Phil used his experiences in DECA to secure full-time employment throughout high school and college. He graduated with a BBA in Advertising/Marketing while assuming 100% responsibility for his college expenses. After college he was drafted into the army where he was later awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his actions in combat. Following the army, Phil studied Mass Communications at Texas Tech University graduate school and started a magazine. Two years later he sold his interest in the magazine and began his own advertising agency. Vicki graduated with a BS degree in Interior Design. She later opened her own hair salon.
Vicki sold her salon and is now self-employed as an Interior Designer. Phil’s agency is one of the largest agencies in the region employing 28 people with capitalized annual billings of approximately $14,000,000.00. He received many honors, among them, Distinguished Alumnus of Texas Tech University, Outstanding Mass Comm Graduate, and induction in the Mass Communications Hall of Fame at Texas Tech University. Phil is most proud of induction into Amarillo High School’s Sandieland Hall of Fame. Phil and Vicki feel their "DE Coordinators", Raymond Wilson and Dean Bigham, would be proud of their accomplishments.
Delta Epsilon Chi Accomplishments
Phil was president of AHS DECA chapter and placed 3rd in Ad Layout and Copywriting in the state competitive events. Vicki was DE Sweetheart at THS and placed second in the state competitive events.
Cory Rogers (DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi
Alumnus)
Chapter
Middleboro High School 1989–1990
Johnson & Wales University 1990–1994
Cory Rogers is quite a
busy person! Not only is he a former DECA
member, but he is currently a DECA Advisor
and marketing teacher at Norton High School
in Massachusetts. He also owns "The Streetside
Café", which has been in business for over
two years. The web page is http://www.thestreetsidecafe.com.
He bought it in a partnership with his family
and is a 50% owner. He has been using the
family restaurant in his business classes
as a case study since then. His first two
employees were former DECA students as well!
How's that for keeping it in the DECA family!
DECA Accomplishments
First place in Advertising at national competition.
Gary Sealey (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Phoebus High School
Location
Hampton, VA
Company
Menchville High School Entrepreneur and Inventors
Club
Gary Sealey and Jerry
Scicchitano started the Menchville High School
Entrepreneur and Inventors Club in 2005. A
former DECA member in 1977, Gary was extremely
active and an officer in the DECA chapter
at Phoebus High School in Hampton, Virginia.
In 1995, Gary became a marketing education
teacher. He has been a DECA advisor for over
ten years. Because of their entrepreneurial
spirit, Gary and Jerry developed a local entrepreneur
club for students to learn how to start businesses.
Students are guided through creative entrepreneur
projects where students can obtain small loans
from their club to start their own business
making small interest free monthly payments,
apply for contracts to develop websites as
a small business, or partner with local businesses
for specific learning activities. One unique
business opportunity involved entrepreneur
club members partnering with a local real
estate broker to purchase a local home, renovate
it, and sell the property. As a result of
a $32,500 profit made from the partnership,
the broker provided scholarship checks to
each entrepreneur club member involved in
the project.
Gary Sealey and Jerry Scicchitano are dedicated
to providing great entrepreneurial learning
opportunities for a new generation of DECA
members as well as interested students.
Michael Simmons (DECA
Alumnus)
Company
Extreme Entrepreneurship Education
Author of, "The Student Success Manifesto"
and
"All or Nothing, Now or Never"
Using creative financing strategies, Sheena became
financially independent of her parents at
the age of 17 and has been able to completely
pat her way through NYU's $30,000+ yearly
tuition, excel in school, work full–time
at jobs she loves, co–found a business,
and write a book.
Michael co–founded
his first business, Princeton WebSolutions
(PWS), when he was sixteen years old. PWS
was later rated the #1 youth–run web
development company in the nation by Youngbiz
Magazine. In addition, Michael has been the
winners of three entrepreneur of the year
awards from the National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship, Fleet, and the National
Coalition for Empowering Youth Entrepreneurship.
Derek Tracy (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Sunrise Mtn. High School 2004–2006
Location
Peoria, AZ
Company
New Ends Skateboarding Co.
Derek Tracy, founder &
CEO of New Ends Skateboarding Co., started
New Ends in 1997, with the vision of creating
a company that would impact the skateboard
industry. His ambition and drive for success
has shown others his will and determination
to overcome obstacles with his high energy
and vivacious attitude towards business. Derek's
company works side by side with the music,
art and fashion industry to help market and
articulate the company's direction. With a
creative contracting team of artists and designers
the company is constantly working on new designs.
New Ends products are available at skateboard
shops as well as their website's online store
(http://www.newendsskateboarding.com).
Tyler Yoak (DECA Alumnus)
Chapter
Broken Arrow High School 2001–2003
Location
Broken Arrow, OK
Company
Flawless Golf
Tyler Yoak started Flawless
Golf in the summer of 2005 as a hobby venture.
A long–time golfer and avid hobbyist,
he decided to meld his many loves (Golf, hands–on
work, graphics, marketing, and web design)
into what was an all–too–obvious
creation for him: a golf company. As people
around the area found out what he did and
was capable of doing, they started asking
for small jobs – repairing, regripping,
or modifications to customize their stock
equipment. Soon he realized there was a need,
not only in his community, but on the web.
Most other companies (even on popular online
auction sites) that sell golf equipment set
their prices far too high for the average
"weekend warrior". With some research, he
developed relationships with manufacturers
overseas that would allow him to acquire top–notch
golf club components that could be sold for
far less than anyone around town...even on
the Internet. Since he works closely with
the manufacturer, from design to market research,
he can personally stand by the quality, design,
feel, and price of each club sold. His company
has grown into much more than just a hobby
– having a full–line catalog,
soon–to–be–launched web
site, and annual tournaments and demo days,
it has become one of the premier non–proline
custom golf businesses in the area (soon to
be on the Internet).
