FBLA District Competitions By Stephen Rehagen   To a normal spectator, the morning was a crisp but otherwise regular February morning.  But in reality, this day meant much more: it was the day of the Future Business Leaders of America district competitions. Competitors came from far and wide to Lincoln University for District II of Missouri FBLA on February 8, 2008.  For many Helias High School students, that meant arising early in the morning to meet at Helias at 7:15 a.m. before traveling to the Lincoln campus.  Helias students, led by Helias teacher Mrs. Kathy Jarman, were poised to do well.  Each of the members of the team had studied and practiced for their separate competitions, which included a wide variety of business related activities.  The future business leaders dressed in typical professional clothes including shirts, ties and dress slacks for men and business suits or dresses for women.  At 8:00, the competitions began and they lasted until 1:00.  Students who were not competing at the time attended workshops such as team building and stress management.  At 1:00 the award ceremony commenced at Richardson Auditorium.  By the time of the award presentation, there was a mixed feeling among the competitors.  Many students were tired after a grueling five hours of business, but other students were nervous or excited to hear the winners. So after weeks of preparation, the competition came down to the simple announcing of five names per competition.  The top two students of each category would receive a plaque and move on to state competition in Columbia, Missouri, while the third through fifth place students would receive a medal to commemorate their achievements.  After the awards were announced, eleven different Helias students and the Helias Parliamentary Procedure team had placed in district.  Six of those individuals will move on to state competition, quite an impressive showing. All in all, it was a great day.  Everyone came out of the auditorium proud of their accomplishments and glad that they had partaken in such a great team event.  For every person, there was another reason that FBLA was so fulfilling.  For Brad Gerling, a Helias student who competed in Introduction to Business, the best part of FBLA was learning new useful business skills.  Mrs. Jarman summed everything up best by saying, “FBLA is a good opportunity for students for the business experience, a chance to interact with people from different schools, and an opportunity to do Christian service.”