FLORIDA FBLA
STATE ADVISER UPDATE
August 27, 2014
Welcome back!!! Another summer vacation is gone and our advisers and members are heading back to
class. We hope you are facing the new academic year with excitement and energy! If you know of
anyone who is a new adviser and needs to be added to our Adviser Update mail list, please send me a
note. District Directors, please remember that I need a list of your advisers and their emails by
September 15.
National Leadership Conferences. Both the FBLA and PBL National Conferences were quite
successful—thanks to all the members and advisers for making it so! We also congratulate Annika
Mulaney who was elected National Secretary for FBLA.
State Theme and Project for 2014-15. The Florida FBLA-PBL state officers have decided on the state
theme and state project for the year. This year’s state theme is: Florida FBLA-PBL—Journey to Success.
This year’s state project is the same as our national project: The March of Dimes.
Competitive Events. Don’t forget as your students are preparing for district and state
competitions, they need to be sure that they are using the most up-to-date state guidelines. The
Florida FBLA-PBL Chapter Management Handbook is attached. ML, FBLA, and PBL topics are
posted on our web site. The updated guidelines will be available on our web site
(www.floridafbla-pbl.com) by September 1.
2014-15 FBLA Event Changes
 Electronic Career Portfolio guidelines and rating sheets have been revised.
 Emerging Business Issues—teams present both sides, time increased to seven (7) minutes,
not sequestered
 Local Chapter Annual Business Report—reduced to fifteen (15) pages
 Each state may advance four (4) entries in events requiring only objective tests
 Desktop Publishing has a pre-judged portion so it has been moved on the Scaled Quota
System.
2014-15 FBLA New Events
 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)—Word and Excel
 Sales Presentation—individual event, includes presentation of product
 Securities & Investments—individual event, objective test
2014-15 PBL Event Changes
 Emerging Business Issues—teams present both sides, time increased to seven (7) minutes,
not sequestered
 Local Chapter Annual Business Report—reduced to fifteen (15) pages
 Strategic Analysis & Decision Making—topic given at beginning of year
2014-15 PBL New Event
 Forensic Accounting—team event, objective test at state
Florida FBLA-PBL Fall Conference. We are so excited to tell you that the Florida FBLA-PBL
Fall Conference will be held in Leesburg at the Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center. Mark
your calendars for October 24-26. The conference registration packet is attached and on our web
site (www.floridafbla-pbl.com). Here is the link to the online registration form: Florida FBLAPBL Conference Registration Form. Registration is only $150 per member ($100 for
advisers/chaperones) and includes: conference registration, two-nights lodging, five meals, and a
low-ropes course. This is sure to be the best Fall Conference ever! Registration is limited to the
first 500 paid registrations. Receipt deadline is October 4. Please note that registration will
close before that date if we have received 500 paid registrations.
FBLA-PBL Day at Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure. Mark your calendars for
Sunday, October 26! Join FBLA and PBL members and advisers from across the state at
Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure. An order form for discounted tickets is attached. All
orders must be received by October 4, 2014. If you are attending the Fall Conference, this will
be a perfect stop on your way home. This is always an exciting day…be sure to join us!
Membership. Membership registration is now open! New membership recruitment resources
have been added to the home page of the national Web site (www.fbla-pbl.org). Please register
and pay membership dues by October 20 to ensure that your members receive all their benefits.
Here are a few reminders:
 To enroll a returning member for the current membership year, look for the member
name from the list and select the student year from the drop down menu before you check
the box to enroll. Then move your mouse to check the box next to the student name.
 When enrolling new student members, make sure the first name is in the “First Name”
field and the last name is in the “Last Name” field. Use uppercase and lowercase letters.
 Try to include as many students as possible on one invoice.
 Send a copy of the invoice with payment.
 If a correction needs to be made to the spelling of a student name, e-mail to
membership@fbla.org.
National Fall Conferences. There are three 2014 NFLCs—Washington DC, New Orleans, and
Minneapolis, MN. To register, go to www.fbla-pbl.org then to Registration/Information. Also
on this page you will find the NFLC Guide, workshop presenter forms, hotel information,
exhibitor prospectus, and conference promotional video.
Please let Mrs. Jones know if your school will be attending one of the National Fall Conferences
and tell her how many will be attending. She needs this information by 9/5/14.
Parent Letter. As you are recruiting members, you may wish to personalize the attached letter
and give it to the parents of your students.
Florida FBLA-PBL Communicator. Are you interested in being published in the Florida
FBLA-PBL Communicator? If so, get your articles in by September 30. FBLA articles should
be submitted to jjones@floridafbla-pbl.com.