Future Business Leaders of America
Briar Woods Chapter
Upcoming Events
National Leadership Conference
June 29 - July 2 | Orlando, FL
First Day for Students for 2024-25
August 22
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BW FBLA News & Notes
Briar Woods FBLA Members Headed to NLC
(June 20) - Eight members of the Briar Woods Future Business Leaders of America chapter will compete at the National Leadership Conference to held in Orlando, Florida, from June 29 to July 2.
Abhinav Alluri and Karthik Indukuri (2nd at Virginia FBLA State Leadership Conference) will compete in Banking and Financial Systems. Siri Chatradi and Suhaani Singh (1st at Virginia FBLA SLC) will compete in Graphic Design. Sania Desai (1st at Virginia FBLA SLC) will compete in Human Resource Management. Anushka Nimbekar, Samhita Gupta and Aditeya Banerjee (1st at FBLA Virginia SLC ) will compete in Website Design. Thank you to Mrs. Oak for chaperoning. Best of luck to our amazing FBLA members!
Briar Woods Earns Service Season Award
(Jan. 29) - The Briar Woods Future Business Leaders of America chapter earned the FBLA Champion Chapter Service Season Award, presented January 20.
Briar Woods accumulated over double (1,400) the required 600 points by performing selected activities from November 9 to January 10. Some activities were: celebrating American Enterprise Day; tying blankets and collecting gift cards that were donated to Project ASK (a non-profit organization that helps research cancer treatments and gives aid to children diagnosed with cancer); visiting a local Dave & Buster's to learn about the entertainment and restaurant business; holding a workshop to help prepare FBLA members for the upcoming regional competition, and presenting a workshop to a Eagle Ridge Middle School about FBLA and the importance of servant leadership in business.
Briar Woods Earns "Champion Plus" Badge
The Briar Woods FBLA chapter earned the "Champion Plus" badge, which focuses on national programs and conferences, sponsors and partners, and recruitment. Briar Woods had multiple members complete at least one level of the BAA, had a national officer virtually attend a chapter meeting, and ran an activity (fundraiser) for the March of Dimes. Additionally, Briar Woods will be sending 10 members to the National Leadership Conference set for June 27-30 in Atlanta, Georgia. With the Champion Plus badge, Briar Woods has now earned all five possible Champion Chapter badges for the 2022-2023 school year.
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Briar Woods Earns Additional Badges
The Briar Woods FBLA chapter recently earned three badges -- Shaping Success, Service Season and CTE Celebration.
"Shaping Success" focused on member recruitment and retention, and tasks involved promoting membership benefits and hosting special events and a guest speaker.
As part of earning the "Service Season" badge, Briar Woods hosted its annual blanket-tying and gift-card collection event to help support Project ASK, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children who are being treated for cancer.
For "CTE Celebration," Briar Woods hosted FBLA Week. Officers read morning announcements to inform students about the benefits of CTE and FBLA; members were treated to a donut breakfast social; and a FBLA collegiate member served as a guest speaker at the monthly BW FBLA chapter meeting.
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Briar Woods Has Impressive Showing at Region Competition
The Briar Woods FBLA chapter had an impressive showing at the Shenandoah
Region Spring Leadership and Awards Conference held Saturday, February 25 at Shenandoah University. Briar Woods placed in the top three in 15 events, winning seven events, taking second in six events, and finishing third in two events. Congratulations to our top-three finishers, and a sincere thank you to all of our competitors for your hard work and willingness to challenge yourself by
competing in a region event. We are proud of all of you.
First Place:
Abhinav Alluri - Business Calculations
Lizzie Ryan - Introduction to FBLA
Nicole Summerfield - Job Interview
Johan Sy - Public Speaking
Siri Chatradi, Sneha Nandakumar & Suhaani Singh - Publication Design
Dianne Barahona-Bonilla & Pal Bhatt - Social Media Strategies
Krish Sharma - UX Design
Second Place:
Annika Sonntag - Accounting I
Kavya Lalith & Suhaa Veeramachaneni - International Business
Samanvi Thrinugar - Introduction to Information Technology
Amber Gutu - Introduction to Public Speaking
Bomi Ayandipo & Madison Gentilcore - Sales Presentation
Samantha Owens - Spreadsheet Applications
Third Place:
Spoorthi Koppula - Human Resource Management
Karishma Suresh - Introduction to Event Planning
Top 10 Business Ethics Finalist (State Only):
Melissa Thomas
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Briar Woods FBLA Welcomes Guest Speaker
Briar Woods FBLA welcomed Chris Friberg as a guest speaker at its December chapter meeting. Friberg offered his own story of how he transitioned from the engineering field to the business field. He shared with our chapter ways that FBLA members can explore the business field while in high school and how it is very possible to switch career paths during your working career. Mr. Friberg stressed the importance of collaborating with others and effective communication, and how businesses give back to their communities. He encouraged students to develop and practice their problem-solving, professional writing and public speaking skills. Thank you, Mr. Friberg, for sharing your knowledge, experience, and advice!
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Briar Woods FBLA Collects Gift Cards, Ties Blankets to Support Project ASK
Briar Woods FBLA recently collected gift cards and tied blankets to support the ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization located in Richmond that provides support services for children with cancer and their families. Briar Woods FBLA collected nearly $300 in gift cards and tied 20 blankets that will benefit children undergoing treatments. Thank you to all members who contributed to this great cause!
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Briar Woods FBLA Earns Summer Starter
Congratulations to the Briar Woods FBLA chapter for earning the "Summer Starter" award. The chapter earned 1400 points for completing various activities in the first quarter of the school year.
The Falcons are aiming to earn additional badges as the year progresses.
2022-23 Briar Woods FBLA Officer Team Announced
Congratulations to the following Briar Woods FBLA chapter members who have earned officer positions for the 2022-23 school year:
President - Melissa Thomas
Vice President - Madison Gentilcore
Secretary - Madison Gaskins
Treasurer - Suhaa Veeramachaneni
Community Service Director - Akillesh Suresh
Chapter Engagement Director - Nicole Summerfield
Social Media Coordinator - Delainy Prosper
Reporter - Dianne Barahona
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Briar Woods FBLA Represented at NLC in Chicago; Lalith Places 10th in the Nation!
Four Briar Woods FBLA chapter members, as well as advisor Mrs. Oak, represented the Falcons at the FBLA National Leadership Conference (NLC) held June 29 - July 2 in Chicago.
Kavya Lalith placed 10th in the nation (woo hoo!) in entrepreneurship, which involved an objective test and a role play event. Madison Gentilcore (Public Speaking), Madison Gaskins (Business Law Objective test), and Kavin Janarthanan (Mobile App Development) also performed well against students from all over the country.
Briar Woods is very proud of each of you. Great job in representing yourselves, your chapter, and your school!
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Briar Woods FBLA Has Three State Winners, Six Others Place Top Five
Briar Woods FBLA was well-represented at the State Leadership Conference held April 1 & 2 in Reston, with three state champions and six other top-five finishers. Congratulations to the following chapter members:
Nikhita Varala & Shabbir Naqvi - 1st place, Graphic Design
Kavin Janarthanan - 1st place, Mobile App Development
Kavya Lalith - 2nd place, Entrepreneurship
Madison Gentilcore - 2nd place, Health Care Administration
Bomi Ayandipo - 3rd place, Advertising
Madison Gaskins - 3rd place, Business Law
Madison Gentilcore - 4th place, Public Speaking
Sania Desai - 5th place, Introduction to Business Communication
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Briar Woods' Lalith Voted Region President for 2022-23
Congratulations to Kavya Lalith, who was voted Shenandoah Region President for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. Kavya served as the Briar Woods FBLA Chapter President for 2021-22 and wowed the crowd at the regional competition with her amazing campaign speech. Great job, Kavya. We know you will represent Briar Woods and the Shenandoah Region well in 2022-23!
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