Johnston, SC – Strom Thurmond Career and Technology Center DECA was among 525 chapters that achieved THRIVE level recognition this year and will be commended at DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC) to be held April 22-25, 2023, in Orlando, FL.

 

Each fall, DECA offers four campaigns for chapters to complete as part of their program of leadership for the year. These campaigns are designed to grow membership engagement and build lasting partnerships within the school and local community. Chapters that achieve THRIVE level receive a commemorative pennant, flag, and plaque. The chapters also have an opportunity to participate in ICDC. In order to receive THRIVE level recognition, the chapter completed two out of three chapter campaigns including the community service campaign, ethical leadership campaign and promotional campaign. Alternatively, the chapter could have participated in the membership campaign which challenged the chapter to attain two of three goals: recruit 20 professional members, recruit 20 alumni members, or increase student membership by 20 more members from the previous school year.

 

The Strom Thurmond Career and Technology Center DECA member who contributed most to the THRIVE recognition is Kinsley Palma, with the assistance of her advisor, Mrs. Lisa Skinner.

 

To earn the Thrive level of the DECA Chapter Campaigns, Chapter Members were required to complete two of the three activities: Promotional, Community Service and Ethical Leadership. The Strom Thurmond Career Center DECA Chapter completed the promotional activities, which included three school outreach activities, three alumni success stories and three community outreach activities. For the Community Service activity, Strom Thurmond DECA is collecting “pop tabs” for the Ronald McDonald House.

 

Strom Thurmond DECA Advisor Mrs. Lisa Skinner stated, “I am extremely proud of the dedication and hard work Kinsley has put into DECA this year. I wish I could have had her in DECA the past three years as well. Kinsley is currently serving as the Strom Thurmond DECA President. She is a true asset to our organization.”