Invest in the next generation by volunteering as a judge for the DECA District competition
From the Heart of a DECA Mom
I’m biased, I’ll admit. I’ve been volunteering as a DECA judge since my youngest daughter started competing during her freshman year of high school, made it to Nationals, then went on to be a co-president her senior year. When I attended my first DECA competition, I was expecting to see a hundred or so high school students in suits pretending to make marketing presentations. What I experienced at The Broadmoor that year blew me away – over 1,000 students, teachers, and parents filled the ballroom showcasing their talent and professionalism in various marketing categories.
DECA is an international organization for high school and college students with a mission to prepare leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. Students can compete in two types of competitions; role plays (impromptu presentations based on a prompt they receive the same day) and written events (full-blown business/marketing plans with presentations prepared in advance). DECA students learn lifelong skills including confidence, creativity, how to think on their feet, professionalism, and presentation skills.
Students compete in categories such as sales, promotion, project management, sports & entertainment marketing, distribution, marketing research, pricing, product service management, and hospitality management.
The judges are all volunteers, many from the business community. Some judges are former parents (like me) who are so impressed with the organization that they can’t help but volunteer. When I started my job here at the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC in membership services, I vowed to do my best to recruit members to join me in judging these incredible local DECA competitions.
Serving as a DECA Competition Judge
Judging is easy! You will listen to the presentation and score them based on how well they answered the Performance Indicators compared to others in your section. You will judge two events; each will have between 4-7 participant presentations. You will turn in your judging forms after your events and you can leave then, but I like to stay for the award ceremony to watch these students celebrate their hard-earned awards. Students who place in the top of their section will go on to compete at the state level at the end of February at The Broadmoor Hotel with 3,000 other students from across Colorado! Judges drive from all over the state to participate.
The DECA District competition will be held Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at the Double Tree World Arena from 7 a.m. to noon. DECA will provide breakfast as you learn the basics of being a judge, you will choose your events and then settle in for the competition. The competitors file in one or two at a time (for team competitions) and you have just a few minutes to write down your scores and prepare for the next presentation. You will be done around noon.
If you are interested in volunteering to be a judge at our DECA District 12 Conference, please complete this survey. You’ll get a follow-up email with final details and information. If you have questions, please email Lindsay.edy@asd20.org or a school advisor (if you are already connected through your local school).
Several of us on the Chamber & EDC team are volunteering and we would love for you to join us. Feel free to reach out to me if you need first-hand testimony. It’s amazing to watch the next generation of talent in action. This half-day sacrifice is an investment in the next generation and a gift to you!
Blog post courtesy of Donna Carlson, Vice President of Member Services.
