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Your 2008-2009 Virginia DECA State Action Team!

Officer Bio's

Newsletter

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NEWSLETTER DEADLINES: E-mail your entries by the following dates for consideration.
Dec. 1, 2008
Feb. 21, 2009
April 30, 2009

Want to know more about your State Action Team? Check out the bios, photos, and contact information below.

Welcome Letter
page 1

page 2

State Officer
Practice Test

State Officer Due Process

POW 2008-2009

Planning
Mtg Sept. 08

Planning
Mtg Dec. 08

State Officer
Packet

Membership Tracking Comparison Report

VA DECA Officer responsibilities and code of conduct

Contact Information
printable version

AARON VAN ALLEN
   President

   Tunstall High School
   Grade: 12th
   deca_aaron@yahoo.com

   Advisor:
   Lisa Baynes
   Tunstall High School
   100 Trojan Circle

Dry Fork, VA 24549
(434) 724- 6070 (office)

I have truly been blessed to have a wonderful family; they have been my largest support system throughout my life. I am the oldest of four children. I have two younger brothers, Tyler (14) and Garrett (9), and have a younger sister, Lauren (7). I have the best parents in the world, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Van Allen who have been happily married for 20 years. My two favorite hobbies are baseball and being involved in my church. I have been a member of the varsity baseball team for the past two years and look forward to my senior year in playing for such an honorable team. I am a member of College Park Baptist Church and love to help and become involved in everything that I can. Chinese food is probably favorite type of food, even though I will eat anything! I listen to every genre of music except country, which is weird because I am from the country. I am currently going into my fourth year in DECA and my third year as a State Officer. My freshman year I was elected Western Area Vice President; then during my sophomore and junior years I was elected Virginia DECA President. I enjoy meeting new people, traveling, and spending time with all of my friends.

   BRANDEN JAMES SANDERS
   Eastern Area Vice President

   Atlee High School
   Grade: 12th

   Advisor:
   Jean Draper
   CTE Department Chair
   Atlee High School
   9414 Atlee Station Rd.
   Mechanicsville, VA 23116
   (804)-723-2100 (school)
   (804)-723-2131 (fax)

My name is Branden James Sanders. I was originally born in Laurel, Maryland on September 22, 1991 and currently live in Mechanicsville, VA. I play football for our high school and am an active member of our FCA chapter. I work at Papa John’s Pizza in Glen Allen, VA. Some of my hobbies outside of school are playing guitar, running, hanging out with friends, and anything to do with food. I first became interested in DECA when my brother Matt (18) came home with his first district medal. Since then I have been hooked. I am a very technologically minded person so most and electronic problem a can fix in some way or the other. I am not what most people would call an excellent student but when anybody ever tells me that I remember one quote said by one of the smartest men in the world. “I never let schooling interfere with my education” –Albert Einstein

   BEN BURKART
   Executive Vice President

    Clarke County High School
    Grade: 11^th    ben.burkart@yahoo.com

    Advisor:
    Robin Eddy
    Clarke County High School
    240 West Wood Road
    Berryville, VA 22611
    (540) 955-6130 (school)
    (540) 955-6139 (fax)

My name is Benjamin Thomas Burkart, and I usually go by Ben. I was born in Gaithersburg, Maryland on January 24th, 1991. In the seventeen years that have come since then, I have been lucky enough to be blessed with a family in which both parents have stayed together, and my sister and I always seem to agree. My family moved to Berryville, Virginia in 2000, and I haven't missed the city for a second. As more and more time passes, I find that I am growing into a deeper relationship with God through the church that welcomes me back as often as I can come. Any chance that I get, I like to be outside somewhere where the air doesn't smell like it came from something electronic. For as long as I can remember, I've been active in martial arts on some level or another, and I recently rejoined a swim team to get back into the routine of being in the water. I also think the quote "Life without music, I can't cope," was spoken with me in mind. I'd like to be a physician when the time comes, and until then I look forward to going in the direction that my life is headed.

   LAUREN CURRY
    Secretary

    Landstown High School
    Grade: 12th
    curry_lauren@cox.net

    Advisor:
    Vernon King
    Landstown High School
    2001 Concert Drive
    Virginia Beach, VA 23456
    E-mail: vwking@vbschools.com
   (757) 468-3800 (school)

My name is Lauren Curry. I am a senior at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. I play on the field hockey team, as the goalie. I also enjoy tennis, swimming, and tons more. In school my favorite subject is marketing. My greatest moment was when I was announced as the Virginia DECA Secretary. My favorite interest is talking. I also enjoy hanging out with friends, acting goofy and creating memories. An interesting fact about me is that, I can say all the states in alphabetical order. It may sound silly but it helped in World Geography. My favorite quote is “Don’t Limit Yourself in Life because Life is Limitless”. My mom said this quote to me when I made the decision to run for a Virginia DECA Officer. It helped me make the decision to run and it can help anyone who has a dream in life.

   JAMES RUSSELL
    Northern Area Vice-President

    Broad Run High School
    Grade: 11^th    Jaydogg35@aol.com

    Advisor:
    Cheryl Daley
    Marketing Coordinator/DECA
    Broad Run High School
    21670 Ashburn Road
    Ashburn, VA 20147
    (571) 252-2300 (office)

Hi my name is James Russell and I was born on October 30, 1990, in Fairfax but raised in Ashburn, Virginia about 30 minutes out from D.C. I am 5’11, 215, black, and currently your 2008- 2009 Northern Area Vice President. I am senior at Broad Run High School graduating 09 and play both Football and Lacrosse at the varsity level. I have dreams of going to college here in the East Coast double majoring in Advertising and Marketing. Hopefully getting an internship right out of college, then eventually owning my own business. I have one younger brother whose 14 now and a lot of my free time go into him, DECA, school, and my job. I’ve worked at Harris Teeter, for about a year and a half, and would like to thank them for all of there help during the Pink Effect last year. Their supplies helped us raise over 5,731 dollars to help find a cure for Breast Cancer. Our goal this year is to try to get all the local high school together into one big Breast Cancer event. A personal quote of mine that my dad once told me that has helped me through High School “There is no such thing as failure, failure is a state of mind, for those who succeed turn failure into experience. From experience comes, good judgment, from good judgement comes success.” I am a Scorpio with a great sense of humor.

KELLY VOLTZ

    Reporter

    Stone Bridge High School
    Grade: 12^th    kelly@voltzgroup.com

    Advisor:
    Donna Celio
    Marketing Coordinator/DECA Advisor
    Stone Bridge High School
    43100 Hay Road
    Ashburn, VA 20147
    (571) 252- 2200 (office)
    (571) 252- 2201 (fax)

My name is Kelly Voltz. I was originally born in Reston, Virginia, and now reside in Ashburn, Virginia where I am a senior at Stone Bridge High School. I am an active participant in my school’s lacrosse, swimming, and cross country teams, as well as a member of the National Honor Society, Awareness Club, and of course, DECA. This year I will represent the Stone Bridge chapter as DECA president in addition to serving as the Virginia DECA State Action Team Reporter. My proudest achievement is the establishment of the Taylor Werner Scholarship Fund, which serves to provide high school students with traumatic brain injuries financial aid. With the support of my DECA chapter, I believe this is, by far, my greatest success.

   Kenzie McDermott
    Historian

    Fairfax High School
    Grade:  11^th    KenzieMcDermott@hotmail.com

    Advisor:
    Susan Louis (Loizou), Marketing Chairperson
    Fairfax High School
    3501 Rebel Run
    Fairfax, VA 22030
    Susan.Loizou@fcps.edu
    703-219-2252 (office)
    703-406-7076 (fax)

COMING SOON

The New State Action Team Newsletter has the following release dates:
December 5th,2008
February 5th, 2009
April 5th, 2009 (ICDC Special Edition)