April 30, 2002

Whitworth College Phi Beta Lambda Chapter Excels at State Competition
of Future Business Leaders

The Whitworth College chapter of Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda won 33 out of 76 awards at the Washington State Competitive Events Conference held April 19 and 20 at Walla Walla Community College-Clarkston. Twelve of the 14 Whitworth students who took part in the competition placed in the top three of at least one event and 10 students qualified for the national competition.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit education association of students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. Each spring state-based competitions are held to test students' business knowledge and skills. Top state winners are eligible to compete for awards at the National Leadership Conference held each summer.

At the Walla Walla competition, 10 Whitworth students won first- or second-place honors in categories including business law, economics, accounting principles, and finance to qualify to attend the National Leadership Conference June 22-26 in Nashville, Tenn. Several Whitworth competitors won top honors in multiple events, including senior Nina Sidneva of Visaginas, Lithuania, who won four first-place awards, and junior Kathy Goligoski of Spokane, who won two first-place awards and a third-place award.

Elizabeth Peterson, assistant professor of business and economics at Whitworth and chapter advisor, attended the competition with the Phi Beta Lambda team.

"Our students did tremendously well this year," Peterson says. "Both the state and national competitions provide a great opportunity for the students to test their knowledge and expertise in a wide variety of topics related to business and technology. Not only did Whitworth's team demonstrate they could compete on a state-wide level, but two of our students were elected as state officers of Phi Beta Lambda and one is running for national office."

Steven Shaw, a sophomore business-management major from Spokane, was elected president of the Washington State Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda for 2002-03 during the competition in Walla Walla. Shaw will run for the position of western-region vice president this summer at the national competition in Nashville. As a student at Central Valley High School in Spokane, Shaw served as the Washington state north-eastern region vice president of Future Business Leaders of America, which is the high-school counterpart of Phi Beta Lambda.

"Steven has brought a great deal of enthusiasm and experience to Whitworth's chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, which is only in its third year of existence," Peterson says. "He has worked hard to help solidify our foundation and expand our membership."

Following is a list of Whitworth Phi Beta Lambda students who participated in the competition, their class standings, majors and hometowns, and the competition categories in which they placed.

Lezlie Aano
Senior business management major
Ewa Beach, Hawaii
1st Accounting for Professionals
2nd Business Decision Making
2nd Business Law 2nd Economics
3rd Marketing

Joshua Case
Sophomore business management major
Pasco, Washington
3rd Accounting Principles
3rd Computer Applications
3rd Economics
2nd Quantitative Methods

Carla De Priest
Freshman political studies major
Aloha, Oregon
3rd Desktop Publishing
2nd Impromptu Speaking

Chari Evans
Freshman accounting and economics double major
Spokane, Washington
1st Accounting Principles
2nd Business Decision Making

David Fevergeon
Sophomore business management major
Ellensburg, Washington
3rd Business Principles 3
3 rd Public Speaking

Kathy Goligoski
Junior economics major
Spokane, Washington
1st Hospitality Management
1st Human Resource Management
3rd Information Management

Jayleen Hille (Whitworth Phi Beta Lambda chapter president elect)
Freshman vocal performance major
Quincy, Washington
3rd Desktop Publishing

Chantel Lindquist (Whitworth Phi Beta Lambda chapter president)
Junior business management major Portland, Oregon
1st Business Law
2nd Management
2nd Marketing
1st Quantitative Methods

Megon Morris (Vice-president elect of Washington State Phi Beta Lambda)
Sophomore business management and economics double major
Spokane, Washington
2nd Business Decision Making
2nd Finance
2nd Hospitality Management

Steven Shaw (President elect of Washington State Phi Beta Lambda)
Sophomore business management major
Spokane, Washington
1st Computer Concepts
3rd International Business
Nina Sidneva
Senior economics and international business double major
Visaginas, Lithuania
1st Economics
1st Finance
1st International Business
1st Marketing

John Whitelatch
Freshman business management major
Pasco, Washington
1st Networking Concepts
2nd Computer Concepts
2nd Information Management
3rd Word Processing

Contacts:

Elizabeth Peterson, assistant professor of business and economics, Whitworth College, (509) 777-4675 or ehagen@whitworth.edu.

Chantel Lindquist, Whitworth Phi Beta Lambda chapter president, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3809 or clindquist@mail2.whitworth.edu.

Julie Riddle, public information specialist, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3729 or jriddle@whitworth.edu.