The Lake Orion High School DECA club set a new record by qualifying 22 students for the State Conference earlier this month.
The District 6 Conference, featuring teams from across Oakland County, was held on Jan. 6 at Waterford Kettering High School.
A total of 29 students will be attending the State Conference March 16-18 at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency Hotel.
From there, club members will attempt to qualify for the International Career Development Conference, to be held in late April in Orlando.
The club, advised by Julia Dalrymple, has a record 87 members, making them one of the largest groups in all of Oakland County.
With the growing numbers comes the added number of state qualifiers.
‘We’re really excited and proud of the kids,? Dalrymple said.
Michigan DECA is an association for students planning careers in marketing, management and entrepreneurship.
‘DECA is one of the most elite clubs for high school students,? said state qualifier Ryan Edwards. ‘It creates a positive and challenging learning environment and pushes student to do their best.?
Edwards won notoriety for his efforts in the role play portion of the conference.
‘My favorite part of DECA is standing on stage looking out into the audience and knowing I did my best,? he said.
Katie Garry qualified with Julie Alliston in Hospitality Marketing.
‘I thought that the district conference was very challenging,? she said. ‘I came in thinking it would be a lot easier than it was, and learned that you need to prepare in order to do well and that it is a very challenging, yet fun, experience.?
Even those that did not qualify for the state level still got a lot out of the district conference.
‘Even though we didn’t qualify for the State Conference, I still feel that DECA is such a rewarding experience and whether you win or lose, our Advisors are extremely talented and really strive to make LOHS DECA an incredible experience for any high school student,? Danielle Lawrence said.
Lawrence was one of several club members to work with a partner or team in her event, an experience Dalrymple said prepares the students for the real world. Student Chelsea Siver agreed.
‘With my personal role play being a teamwork one, my partner and I realized that putting our ideas together really helped us,? Siver said. ‘We ended up not winning, but altogether we thought that we did the best to our ability.?
‘Lake Orion DECA is a great group of students who are advised by a couple of great teachers here at LOHS and I would recommend any student interested in business join DECA.?
DECA previously stood for Distributive Education Clubs of America, but the acronym no longer applies and the DECA is now referred to as ‘an association of marketing students.?
More than 165 high schools across the state have DECA groups, spread into eight different district groupings.

District qualifiers…
Lake Orion High School will send 29 students to the DECA State Conference March 16-18 at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency Hotel. The following 22 students qualified based on their efforts at the recent District 6 Conference:
Apparel and Accessories
Lauren Bechard
Jamal Semaan
Olivia Gross
Tory Petrovic, occupational exam and role play winner
Business Services
Dave McDonald
Rob Lorts, proficiency exam winner
Food Marketing
Scott Johnson, proficiency exam winner
Caleb Fallon
Hotel and Lodging
Nicole Ellison
Marketing MGMT
Jordan Cohen
Quick Serve Restaurant
Jerry Mannino
Seth Kester
Alex Rocholl, occupational exam and role play winner
Full Serve Restaurant
Ryan Edwards, role play winner
Retail Merchandising
Kevin Latshaw, role play winner
Sports and Entertainment MKTG
Mike Wescott, proficiency exam winner
Dave Wurst & Travis Malstrom, role play winner
Matt Hood & Kyle Hagan
Hospitality MKTG
Katie Garry & Julie Alliston