The Largest Student Business Organization In Kansas Comes To Topeka For The 72nd Kansas FBLA State Leadership Conference

On April 4 through 5, 2024, over 1,600 high school and middle school students will converge at the Stormont Vail Events Center and the Hotel Topeka at City Center to compete in the state’s largest business student competitions—The Kansas Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference. FBLA members from 99 different chapters from across the state will vie for a chance to compete at this summer’s Future Business Leaders of American National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida on June 29 through July 2, 2024.

Along with the competitions, Kansas members will also elect the 2024-2025 new Kansas FBLA State Officer Team. The officer team, behind the leadership of Kansas FBLA State Adviser Connie Lindell, develops next year’s program of work for the state, makes by-law policy recommendations, and represents FBLA at many organizational events throughout the year. Some of these organizations include the Kansas State Board of Education, Kansas legislative members, professional organizations, and much more.

The Kansas FBLA officer team also works to obtain a $150 corporate sponsorship for each first-place winner in every event to help defray the financial cost of competing at the National FBLA Leadership Conference. At this time, they have secured 58 of the 78 needed. This is an important duty for each Kansas FBLA state officer, as they work to financially assist the best FBLA members to compete at nationals.

With 78 business and technology events, the top four winners in every event have the opportunity to move on to compete against some of the best business students in the nation and around the world. Whether it be competing in objective tests, interviews, public speaking events, presentations or problem-solving scenarios, the Kansas FBLA State Leadership Conference brings excitement and energy to the participants and their advisers. Many students have been spending months preparing for their particular events.

Over 120 career professionals from around the state will be judging and evaluating the competitors to not only decide on who qualifies to represent Kansas at nationals, but to help better the students who are competing in events.

With this year’s national FBLA theme being “TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE”, there is no better representation of this theme than through the efforts all of the FBLA advisers across the State of Kansas. The Kansas FBLA State Leadership Conference is solely run by the volunteer efforts of every Kansas FBLA adviser and a small group of Kansas FBLA Conference Committee members.