WHAT'S NEW?
December Chapter of the Month Winner
Marshall High School
Marshall High School has participated in many activities that the Business Professionals of America has to offer such as Marketing and Public Relations, Community Action Award, Supporting Special Olympics, and involved in the WeSeed Social Circle Challenge. Marshall has been a Business Professionals of America Chapter for 32 years now and our continuing to strive for the best. Marshall has 37 active members in Business Professionals of America and is currently trying to obtain members for the future.
They also meet biweekly to stay up to date with their contest, fundraisers, and other information that needs to be passed along. Marshall High School has also done numerous of fundraisers for programs such as Special Olympics and believes that they can personally help the cause and they have. Some of these include running their schools store, helping Jostens sell merchandise in their school, and much more. Again on behalf of Business Professionals of America the state officer team would like to congratulate Marshall High School for their work in and out of organization! Keep up the extraordinary work!
Chapter News from
Tartan High School
 One of the fun things that the Tartan BPA Chapter does is celebrate
student success by giving each other Rock Stars. We have a box in our
classroom where you can write a note to a student when you see them
do something good. Then once a month at our chapter meeting, the officers
present these “Rock Star” notes to the students. We have
a board in our classroom where we keep them posted until the next month.
It is a great way to build relationships in our BPA chapter!
2009-2010 EXECUTIVE TEAM
Congratulations to the new officer team which was elected at the Fall
Leadership Conference on October 11-12 at the Sheraton South in Bloomington.
E-mail them with your suggestions for a great BPA year!
President: Viroopa Volla
Vice President: Paige Borst
Secretary: Shawn Vue
Treasurer: Richard Lu
Historian: Dylan Gronlund
Parliamentarian: Daniel Wagner
Outgoing
2008-09 State Executive Officers: Cindy Yang, Ashley Escher, Logan Kramlich,
Sean Hayes and Brett Johnson at the opening session of MN FLC on October
11, 2009.
Meet
our State BPA Director
 State
BPA Director, Jackie Schiller
Contact Jackie at jackie@tekstar.com
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STATE
OFFICER PAIGE BORST REPRESENTS MINNESOTA IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
 This past year I was selected to participate in Youth Tour’s
expense paid trip to Washington D.C. While in D.C. I was also elected
as the Minnesota representative to the National Rural Electrics Cooperative
Association’s National Youth Leadership Council. With this came
many more responsibilities and a few more trips. I flew back to D.C.
a month later to discuss the upcoming Annual Meeting.
During the week of February 12 to the 17 I had the opportunity to travel
to Atlanta,
Georgia for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Annual
meeting. I was able to enjoy this all expense paid trip because of my partnership
with NRECA. While in Atlanta I was able to meet and greet managers, CEOs, and
employees of co-ops from around the country.
During that week I had many responsibilities and privileges. I was able
to attend the Ceremonial Luncheon to represent Minnesota and be there
while they received
their national award for the work they have done throughout the year. The National
Rural Electric Cooperative Association awarded Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric
Association the Association’s National Community Service Award for Energy
Efficiency. The co-op received the award for their innovation of “My Meter.” This
allows their consumers to have daily access to their energy usage and much more.
I was also able to present the Minnesota flag in the famous Flag Ceremony. As
Youth Council Delegates we had the challenge of sending 1,700 emails to employee’s
state representatives about how they felt about the energy bills that are in
debate in Washington.
It was such an honor and amazing experience to represent Minnesota
at this meeting. I learned so much about my local, state, national
co-ops and have made so many
lifelong friends. My experiences with NRECA will be cherished and remembered
for ever and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge
and also make a difference in our world just by contributing my time.
CHAPTER NEWS FROM CANNON FALLS
 The
Cannon Falls Chapter of Business Professionals of America held a school-wide
drive from November 9-12 (during the week
of Veteran’s Day) to collect items for the troops serving in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Over six large boxes of items such as baby wipes,
Kleenex,
Chapstick, hard candy, and toiletries were collected, boxed, and mailed
to several different staff sergeants. One of the men receiving the
packages is a BPA alumnus of Cannon Falls. The students felt that the
drive was
a big success!
Wadena-Deer Creek BPA Completes Fall Projects
 During the past few weeks, the members of Business Professionals of
America have been collecting toys at the elementary school for the Wadena
Empty Stocking and items for our soldiers at the high school for our
Support the Troops project.
 Both events proved very successful. This
year we collected close to 600 toys for the Empty Stocking and 700 items
to be shipped overseas to our service men and women. Heading each of
the committees were Molly Barrett (toys) and Nikki Miller (troops). They
along with their committee members put in many hours of organizing, collecting,
sorting, and delivering these items. Mr. Gallant’s class (6th grade)
and Mrs. Finnern’s class (3rd grade) were the winners of the Toys
for Tots drive, receiving cookies and milk from the BPA members. At the
high school, Mrs. Bain’s class was 3rd, Mrs. Bound’s class
was 2nd, and Mrs. Koll’s class was 1st place in collecting items
for Support the Troops.
Business
Executive of the Year for 2009
 Jill
Blashack Strahan, Tastefully Simple Founder& CEO, is a top female
entrepreneur and an inspiration to women across the nation. Blashack
Strahan grew up on her family’s farm in rural Minnesota during
the 1960s, where she was inspired by her father’s work ethic
and entrepreneurial spirit. Following her high school graduation, Blashack
Strahan set off to college, but after an unsettled year at the University
of Minnesota-Morris, she moved back home and enrolled at Alexandria
Technical College (ATC), uncertain of her career and life direction.
However, this would soon change. As an ATC project, Blashack Strahan
developed a state award-winning business plan, leading her to discover
her passion: business – more specifically, entrepreneurship.
After graduating from
ATC in 1979, Blashack Strahan began managing her father’s local café and
in 1989 opened her first entrepreneurial effort: a retail gift basket shop.
In 1993, she liquidated her retail business but continued to sell gift baskets
to corporate and direct-mail clients. Blashack Strahan then got an opportunity
to promote these baskets in a holiday crafters’ home tour. She set out
samples of gourmet food items and experienced remarkable sales. then the same
results occurred later, she realized the power of sampling and the idea for
Tastefully Simple was born. In 1995, Tastefully Simple became the original
national taste-testing party company offering convenient gourmet foods. It
wasn’t a simple start. Blashack Strahan and her young family had no money
to risk on such a venture. Determined, she bootstrapped the business with personal
savings, a $20,000 Small Business Administration loan and an investment from
acquaintance Joani Nielson, who became Blashack Strahan’s silent partner.
Just three years into developing the company, Blashack Strahan and Nielson
were beginning to see the potential of Tastefully Simple. However, that same
year, Blashack Strahan was rocked by tragedy. Her brother was killed in a fall
and only a few months later, her husband died suddenly. Blashack Strahan was
faced with raising her 5-year-old son and the decision of whether (and how)
to continue a business that engulfed most of her time, energy and resources.
She chose to
persevere; using the deaths of those she loved as inspiration to live her dreams.
Today Tastefully Simple is a multiple award-winning $144 million company with
more than 350 employees and some 28,000 independent consultants. Blashack Strahan
is recognized as an exceptional CEO, having won numerous awards for her achievements
and unique
philosophies of positivity and abundance. Blashack Strahan recently published
a book about her life lessons and inspirational journey with Tastefully Simple
called Simply Shine: Stories That Stirred the Fire. Blashack Strahan is an
inspiration to thousands of women across the country and is taking her stories
and lessons on the road as a professional speaker in 2009. Her down-to-earth
nature and charismatic approach make her someone
women believe in, and most importantly — someone who enables them to
believe in themselves.
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