Pleasant Valley High School’s Future Business Leaders of America Chapter placed third internationally at the 2023 National Leadership Conference.

PV-FBLA was awarded third place in FBLA National Champion Chapter Gold Level. The gold level is the highest of three levels that also include silver and bronze. There are 10 chapters awarded in each level, said Denise Hopely, the chapter’s adviser and a business teacher at PVHS.

The international status is because chapters from China, Haiti, Hungary and Tanzania also compete at the national competition, which was held the last week of June in Atlanta, Georgia.

The award places PV-FBLA in the top 1% of all high school FBLA chapters and the only one on the Eastern Seaboard to reach this level, Hopely said.

“It’s phenomenal,” she said about the win. “They’re just stellar students.”

FBLA is divided into five regions. PV-FBLA is a member of the Eastern Region, which includes 13 states, plus the U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Europe, and China, Haiti, Hungary and Tanzania. The other regions include Mountain Plains, North Central, Southern and Western, and are comprised only of states in the U.S.

PV-FBLA had eight students who qualified at the state competition in Hershey in April to go on to nationals. Six were able to attend: Mira Giunta, Lillian Erhardt, Briana Palmieri, Julius Perez, Jonathan Petzold and John Onubogu. Aaron Bien and Annalisa Lanigan had scheduling conflicts.

“I give credit to President Mira Giunta for ensuring the National Champion Chapter was completed,” Hopely said. “She organized teams for the five sections and was the chairman for National Champion Chapter.”

A junior next school year, Giunta said she was “a nervous wreck” going into the competition, but is happy with how everything turned out.

“It was just an amazing experience overall,” she said.

Chapter Vice President Lillian Erhardt, who is also a junior, said she is “extremely honored” by the win.

“I would be lying if I said no nerves came along with competing. The anticipation to see how you did, what the judges will think, and if you’re gonna make it to the Top 10, it would make anyone feel uneasy,” she said. “Preparation, on the other hand, is what allowed us to remain calm and succeed. As our adviser always says, we just knew we had to ‘own the stage.’”

In addition to the chapter win, Jonathan Petzold and John Onobogu won 10th place in the international business competition.

“It was a surreal experience,” Onobogu said.

Petzold said he’s proud of them for placing in competition.

“Obviously a higher placement would’ve been more ideal, but I was pleased with how we did nonetheless,” he said.

It was enough though to be one of Petzold’s best memories.

“I would have to say getting to go up on the stage to receive our award, however the whole trip was a great time, filled with plenty of memories,” he said.

Onobogu already has his sights set on next year.

“I plan on getting first at States next year, and getting back to Nationals so I can get a higher place than 10th,” he said.

So is Erhardt.

“I’m beyond proud to be a part of our PV-FBLA team and can’t wait to see what we do this coming year to get us on that national stage for even more,” she said.

Hopely also gave a special thank you to her co-advisers Craig and Donna Morris, and to Christopher Barrett, the president and CEO of Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau. Barrett was instrumental in making a $10,000 donation to the chapter to help cover the costs of the trip to Georgia. The PV-FBLA Chapter also contributed to the cost of the trip.

Hopely said, “I’m just so proud of these kids and how committed they are to excellence. They qualified to go and earned a right to go. They are an investment in our future.”