Florida DECA has had a star studded history, and was for a long time counted as one of the largest states in DECA. However, our membership growth hasn't kept pace with other major states recently. This is a concerning trend when considering the fact that ICDC competition allotments are given out proportionally to a states size. I want to see our state reach the highest number of ICDC qualifier spots ever, an achievement that would let more members like you experience the wonders of international competition.
To grow our membership, I hope to encourage chapters to host membership recruitment events and activities. Including efforts like these as tasks in our annual business plans would directly encourage hundreds of chapters to grow their membership, and would encourage the continued growth of DECA. I also hope to work with the board of advisors to find other ways to grow our membership, including evaluating a reduction of fees that the state takes when registering members. There is also a major advantage in partnering with community organizations to provide support and professional DECA members. By implementing these strategies at Buchholz DECA over the past year, I was able to double it's membership. This truly speaks to the power of community engagement in seeing our organization thrive.