The results are in. Pleasant Valley High School’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter has won multiple awards at the 2022 State Leadership Conference in Hershey and will send eight students to the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Chicago in June.

“This is the first time the competitions could be held in three years, and it was electric being back in Hershey,” said Denise Hopely, the chapter adviser. “The students were truly excited and competitive.”

Among the winners is Katelyn Honadel, who placed first in the Help Desk category and is a state champion. Chapter presidents Zachary Dooner and Maria Saitta placed second in the Local Annual Chapter Business Report category, which Hopely said is a very prestigious event and very competitive among the schools.

“They were phenomenal,” she said.

Also placing in the competition and going to the national competition are:

• Second place: Izabela Baran, Journalism; and Jonathan Petzold, Help Desk;

• Third place: Maria Saitta, Advertising; Lillian Erhardt, Introduction to Public Speaking, and;

• Fifth place: Briana Palmieri, Introduction to Financial Math.

Overall, the chapter had 16 students who placed in the top 10 in their individual events. They include: Noah Dolan, sixth place, Introduction to Financial Math; Anthony Matera, sixth, Computer Problem Solving; Flip Jasionek, seventh, Gaming and Programing; Clark Po, eighth, Computer Problem Solving; Mira Giunta, eighth, Introduction to Event Planning; Michaela Clement St-Louis, ninth, Help Desk; and Tyler Hill, 10th, Introduction to Information Technology.

“PV FBLA indeed owned the stage with top 10 finishers in competitive and performance events on stage with multiple contenders in the same event from Pleasant Valley,” Hopely told the Pleasant Valley School Board at their meeting on April 21. “It was stellar.”

The chapter as a whole also won several awards. These include the Gold Seal Chapter award, national and state; Outstanding Chapter, national and state; National Champion Chapter Achievement Award; first place, PA State Charity Project - FEED PA; and third place per capita, FEED PA.

The PV FBLA was recognized as the top fundraiser in the state out of more than 250 chapters. The students raised more than $4,000 for the Feeding Pennsylvania charity, and they placed second in cumulative community service hours.

Chapter President Zachary Dooner thanked the school board and Superintendent James Konrad for their support.

“It was incredibly inspiring to see the efforts of our members be recognized on such a prominent stage. I am extremely grateful for the dedication and hard work of all members over this past year, and I am extremely happy to have seen their efforts culminate with this experience,” he said.

“Moving forward to nationals, this will be the first time any current student attends an in-person conference,” he said. “We will be competing on a national stage and will have the opportunity to network and learn from our world’s leading professionals. We look forward to representing Pleasant Valley this summer and to beginning another successful year.”