Southeast Missouri State University Collegiate DECA students won high honors in the 2018 Collegiate DECA State Career Development Conference and Competition Feb. 22-23 in Lake Ozark, Missouri.

Lydia Corneal, of Herscher, Illinois, won first place in the Accounting case competition, and Corneal and Carlos Pacha, of Quito, Ecuador, won first place in the Sports and Entertainment marketing case competition. Madison Francis, of Farmington, Missouri, won third place in the Hotel and Lodging case study, and Francis and Hannah Gordon, of Englewood, Colorado, won first place in the Event Planning case competition. Hannah Gordon also won third place in the Restaurant and Food case competition. In addition, Blake Henson, of Oran, Missouri, won third place in the Marketing Communications case competition.

In addition, several of the Southeast Collegiate DECA competitors were proficiency winners in their events, for superior performance in their case studies and marketing exam.

This years proficiency winners include: Gordon, Restaurant and Food competition; Francis and Gordon, Event Planning; Corneal and Pacha, Sports and Entertainment Marketing; Corneal, Accounting; Francis, Hotel and Lodging; Laci Zeidler, of Pinckneyville, Illinois, Sales Management Meeting; Abby Gordon of Englewood, Colorado, Travel and Tourism; and Hannah Gordon, Restaurant and Food Management case competition. This years outstanding Collegiate DECA team was accompanied Nancy LeGrand, instructor of management, and Dr. James Youn, assistant professor of management and marketing.

As part of its commitment to experiential learning, the Department of Management and Marketing in the Harrison College of Business has sponsored Collegiate DECA for several years, and each year sends numerous participants to the state and international competitions. In the Spring 2018 semester, membership has remained steady with more than 20 members, once again making the Southeast Collegiate DECA chapter among the largest in Missouri.

For more information, visit web.semo.edu/stu/deca/.