DECA, a program that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs, traveled to Saginaw Valley State University on Thursday, Dec. 17, to compete in district competition.

Thirteen of the 36 DECA competitors qualified for the state conference in March.

“There were 666 members in attendance Thursday that I accounted for,” senior Santino Guerra, DECA Vice President of chapter development, said. “It was awesome to see so many kids competing.”

This year, District One holds 917 members, stretching from Holly to Cheboygan.

Those who qualified include: sophomore Barbara Hawes; juniors Erin Davis, Emily Taunton, and Nick Niles; and seniors Jordan Gohs, Diane Bond, James Logie, Brian Sams, Gabe Carnes, Lance Blight, Jacob Moore, Noah Jankowski, and Jonathon McKay.

“Overall, we did very well this year,” Mrs. Kim Guest, DECA adviser, said. “About one third of our students qualified at districts.”

Guest said that there are other members competing in events that do not need to compete at the district level.

Blight admits that he was nervous about the district conference.

“This was my first year,” Blight said, “so I was pretty nervous. But I guess the judge thought I did well.”

Blight then continued to explain his regret for not participating sooner.

“After the day was done,” Blight said, “I instantly regretted not participating in DECA before my senior year. It was a lot of fun.”