WHAT IS FBLA-PBL?
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) is a nonprofit educational association of students interested in careers in business and business related fields. The association has four divisions:FBLA for high school students FBLA-Middle Level for junior high/intermediate students PBL for college/vocational students Professional Division for adults who support the goals of the association
The FBLA program was created by Dr. Hamden L. Forkner of Columbia University in 1937. By 1940 official sponsorship of the organization was accepted by the National Council for Business Education; on February 3, 1942. The first high school chapter was chartered in Johnson City, Tennessee in 1940 and the first Phi Beta Lambda chapter was chartered in 1958 in Iowa.
Today there are over 250,000 active members in over 13,000 chapters in the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, US Territories, Department of Defense Dependent Schools, and even in Canada. FBLA-PBL is funded through membership dues as well as corporate and foundation grants
WHAT DOES FBLA DO?
FBLA's goals are to promote business leadership, an understanding of business leadership, to determine career goals, to promote scholarships, encourage financial management, increase self-confidence, and to help in the crossover between work and school. FBLA holds many conferences, seminars, competitive awards program, publishes national periodicals, and provides scholarships for its member to accomplish these goals. HOW DOES FBLA BENEFIT SCHOOLS? FBLA gives education a tie to the business world. The business department program is enriched by this co-curricular activity. Due to the fact that there are so many FBLA sponsored events, it creates positive publicity for the school due to it's involvement with FBLA. HOW DOES FBLA BENEFIT STUDENTS? FBLA benefits students by giving them an opportunity to learn more about business, to learn about correct financial projects, to establish their goals, to get to have interaction with business people, and to gain many experiences that may have otherwise not been possible without FBLA. HOW DOES FBLA BENEFIT TEACHERS? FBLA allows teachers who serve as advisers, to receive information about FBLA events that can be used to motivate students, and to keep the teacher informed about the modern business world. It also allows teachers to obtain professional development via interaction with other educators at FBLA functions, to increase the quality of education available for the students, to network with members of the business community, and to help have the school recognized for positive activities. HOW IS THE FBLA ORGANIZED? FBLA National Headquarters is located in Reston, Virginia and members belong to local, state, and national chapters. The local chapters are formed after being granted a charter from National, and each chapter has its own constitution and decides on what activities it will participate in. Membership dues for all three levels are collected by each chapter. Local chapters are led by student officers and by a member of the school's business department. The state chapter is made up of all the state's local chapters. Each state chapter operates under a charter granted from the national level. State chapters have their own constitution and acticities, and are led by student officers and by a state committee. Each active state chapter holds a competition in the spring to qualify members for the national competition. The states are then broken up into five regions (Eastern, Southern, North Central, Mountain Plains, and Western) and each region holds a Fall Leadership Conference in the fall to inform members about national programs. The national organization is made up of a board of directors made up of educators, local and state advisers and supervisors, business representatives, and the presidents of FBLA, PBL and Professional Division. The National Dues amount is decided on by the board and voted on by the members present at the National Leadership Conference. The board appoints a chief executive officer who directs the National Center staff at Reston, Virginia. HOW CAN I START AN FBLA CHAPTER AT MY SCHOOL?
This FAQ was written from information obtained from the Official FBLA Web Page and from the FBLA EVIT Chapter Web Page
