Jeffrey Perry
District 13 February Newsletter
District 13 Fall Newsletter
Welcome Back Newsletter
March Update
It is hard to believe that our District 13 SDM is behind us, and so is February. The month was filled with SDM preparation, follow-up activities, and creating your February District 13 Dialects Newsletter. National FBLA Week brought chapters many opportunities to celebrate achievements, serve the community, and learn new things by participating in activities hosted by the National Association.
Beyond my State Vice President responsibilities, I have been busy preparing for the upcoming State Leadership Conference. As I write this, we are literally one week away from our SLC registration deadline!
Don’t forget to support our state charity – the Ronald McDonald House! Although the Program of Work deadline has passed, it is not too late to support our charity. We will have a charity table for the Rochester Ronald McDonald House at the SLC near the Basket Auction table for individual FBLA members who would like to help support the families that need to stay at the Rochester House! You can even earn a “State Charity Donor” name badge ribbon by bringing items to donate with you to the SLC. This is an individual opportunity, not a chapter activity. I have created flyers to promote this charity activity for our state Instagram account. You can also visit the Rochester location website to view their wish list.
Don’t forget to have your chapter bring a donation basket for the NYS FBLA Foundation to the SLC as well. This is a fundraising project that has helped thousands of FBLA members through travel grants to offset NLC expenses and provide Humanitarian Awards to help three students each year attend the SLC. Everyone at the SLC is welcome to purchase tickets for the basket auction! Baskets will be awarded to the winners on Thursday, April 16.
We are working to offer interesting workshops for you at the SLC as well. I have been promoting and recognizing the chapters who have participated in the National Champion Chapter Challenges this year & I will be submitting those results to recognize overall achievement in the SLC Program. Several chapters have already reached the silver level, before the March 7 CTE Challenge deadline. Also don’t forget that it is not too late to complete a level of the BAA (Business Achievement Awards) program. Don’t forget to study for your competitive events! The SLC will be here before you know it!
As you can sese, there is still a lot to do before we meet again at the SLC in Rochester. I can’t wait to see you on April 15 at the Riverside Convention Center!
February Update
Welcome, February: the month of love and FBLA Week! This is the month that all of our hard work pulls together to compete at our Spring District Meeting (February 7 at SUNY JCC) and to submit our NYS FBLA Program of Work Challenges (by February 15 on nysfbla.org). The last season of Champion Chapter Challenge is also underway, with the CTE Season submission deadline on March 4 to CONNECT on the National FBLA website. More details about the CTE Season Challenge can be found on the NYS FBLA and National FBLA websites.
Thank you to all the members who joined me at Peek ‘n Peak Ski Resort on January 4, where we braved the cold weather to enjoy a snow tubing adventure together. It was a great way to end our Christmas vacation together to do something fun before returning to school and having to buckle down to prepare for January Regents exams and SDM competitions. Hopefully everyone saw the January District 13 Dialects Newsletter that was shared with chapters on January 13 and registered for their SDM competitive events. We will have a Charity Table at the SDM again and will be holding a Coin Challenge and collecting Pop Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House at that time to support our WNY House.
National FBLA Week will take place from February 8-14. Our FBLA tradition is to celebrate our FBLA organization each day of the week with a focus on a different theme each day. There is a great FBLA Week resource posted on the national website. This is your chance to get the word out to the “outside” world about what great things we are learning and doing within our organization.
Believe it or not, plans are being finalized for our 2026 State Leadership Conference, which will be held at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center in April. I recently joined the State Officer Team in Rochester to attend our January Joint Meeting, where we worked to prepare workshops, select conference souvenirs, and social events to make this conference a memorable one for you. The registration deadline for the SLC is March 1, so be sure that you spend some time this month discussing the SLC with your chapter adviser. Also while in Rochester, our entire state officer team was able to visit the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester for a tour and to drop off our POW Helping Hands Challenge gift baskets. Yes, our entire team completed the Helping Hands Challenge! There is still time for you to complete the challenge too if you have not yet done so. The deadline for submitting your POW challenge submission is February 15; each RMH helps thousands of families each year by providing a “home-away-from-home” while they have a sick child receiving treatment at a major children’s hospital so that families can stay together close to their sick child who is in the hospital. Pop tabs help pay the utility bills, and by donating wish list items to a House, care carts can provide
support to families so that they can stay bedside, family rooms can be made available for families right inside the hospital, as well as all the lodging and meals that are provided to families who stay at one of the RMH locations. Every donation helps; no donation is too small. Thank you to Falconer FBLA for holding their supply drive and to Clymer FBLA for raising money at home basketball games this winter to support the Ronald McDonald House of WNY in Buffalo. Many members from Falconer, Clymer, and Randolph also participated in the Helping Hands Challenge by delivering their wish list gift baskets to Kelly Ann Campbell of the WNY House while attending the FDM at SUNY JCC in October. Together as members of the NYS FBLA Association, we have the power to make an enormous impact on these families by providing our regional Ronald McDonald Houses with items posted on their wish lists. If you live far away from the closest Ronald McDonald House, then you can understand just how far families within your community have to travel to get to the nearest specialty hospital for children! If you can’t take your donation to a RMH because of the distance, there are other ways that you can support our state charity. One way is to bring your donation to Rochester when you attend the SLC and we can get it to the local house there. Another way is to purchase items from their wish lists from Amazon and have it delivered directly to the Ronald McDonald House of your choice! Keep up the great work supporting our very worthy state charity, District 13 FBLA!
As many of you know, I have been a pioneer this year; the first state officer to explore using CONNECT to communicate with advisers and members within District 13. If you have logged into Connect recently, you have seen the Announcements banners that go across the top of the webpage. I hope that these Announcements that have been reminding you of upcoming deadlines have helped you. I also figured out how to post photo albums of our FDM and District Social event at the Peek. There are so many features within Connect to learn, but I am grateful that Mrs. Smothers and Mrs. Judge trusted me to try using it with all of you. If you have not logged in this year, you still have time! Let me know what you think.
This month is going to go even faster than January did – and I can’t wait to see everyone soon at the Spring District Meeting. Please reach out to me either by e-mail (svp13@nysfbla.org), or in GroupMe if you need anything.
January Update
Happy New Year FBLA! I hope that you all enjoyed the holidays and have a very successful 2026. Your state officer team is beginning the new year by gathering together for the first time since July to hold our January Joint Meeting (JJM) in Rochester. I am excited to see everyone and collaborate with them to finalize our plans for the 2026 NYS FBLA State Leadership Conference!
Our state officer team will be making a special visit to the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester while we are there to deliver our Helping Hands donations to our 2025-2026 State Charity. Have you made your donation yet? Our year is half over, and time is running out if you would like to submit your Helping Hands donations for our NYS FBLA Program of Work Challenge. By donating a bag of aluminum pop tabs, items from their wish lists, or volunteering your time at a local Ronald McDonald House, you are helping families be able to stay close by the hospital while their child is a patient. Staying close would not be possible for many of these families, who live hours away from these children’s hospitals if they had to pay for motel rooms for these lengthy stays. The Ronald McDonald House provides lodging and free meals for these families while they have to be far away from home. They also provide personal items and snack items in “care carts” within the hospital so that families don’t have to leave the bedside of their child to go find them. Together as members of the NYS FBLA Association, we have the power to make an enormous impact on these families by providing our regional Ronald McDonald Houses with items posted on their wish lists. If you live far away from the closest Ronald McDonald House, then you can understand just how far families within your community have to travel to get to the nearest specialty hospital for children! If you can’t take your donation to a RMH because of the distance, there are other ways that you can support our state charity. One way is to bring your donation to Rochester when you attend the SLC and we can get it to the local house there. Another way is to purchase items from their wish lists from Amazon and have it delivered directly to the Ronald McDonald House of your choice! Three families within our school district were hosted at Ronald McDonald Houses in 2025 – all ranging from 3-6 hours from our community. I have seen firsthand how much this charity has helped those three families (one being my own).
Plans are being finalized for our Spring District Meeting, which will be held at SUNY JCC on Saturday, February 7, 2026. Registration forms were sent to all chapter advisers before Christmas Vacation and the deadline to register in January 23. Remember that this is the first round of competition for many national competitions. Our district is fortunate to have advisers who are willing to write “local district level” exams for us to compete with at our SDM. This gives competitive opportunities to our members who can’t afford to attend our state conference as well as practice for our members to gain experience and confidence before competing at the state level. I hope to see everyone at our SDM next month!
December Update
The snow is falling and the holiday season is upon us. This school year is flying by so quickly. Important deadlines are also quickly approaching! Don’t forget to get your membership dues paid before the December 19th deadline in order to be eligible to compete at the Spring District Meeting on February 7, 2026, which feeds into our State Leadership Conference (April 15-17, 2026) for many state-elimination performance events. If you plan to directly enter competitive events at the SLC, your last chance dues deadline will be January 16, 2026. The state officer application deadline is also quickly approaching as well.
Plans are underway for a District 13 social activity at Peek ‘n Peak Ski Resort to spend a two-hour session tubing! District 13 members and advisers will be receiving information about this event very soon, but our tentative date is Sunday afternoon (later in the day) on January 4, 2026 to avoid sporting and religious conflicts.
Our state charity project to benefit the Ronald McDonald Houses throughout New York State is waiting for your support! If you have not yet done so, please consider gathering some items from their wish list, which are posted on their website www.rmhcwny.org and build a basket for them. Although there is never a good time of year to have to be far away from home with a sick child at Oshei Children’s Hospital, this is probably the worst time of year for those families, where children are missing the normal holiday traditions of home. Anything that we can do as chapter members to help those families will be greatly appreciated. Remember that if you want to earn a POW ribbon for this project, the deadline to do this is on February 15, 2026!
November Update
The year is flying by and our Fall District Meeting is now in the rearview mirror. It was great to meet many members and exchange ideas and plan for a successful year. We had a great meeting with Dr. Jennifer Forney, professor of hospitality and tourism as our keynote speaker, and special guest Ms. Kelly Ann Campbell of the Buffalo Ronald McDonald House.
Thank you to everyone who brought gift baskets to the FDM for the Ronald McDonald House charity table and to those of you who donated your spare change to the District Coin Challenge, which also benefited the Ronald McDonald House. We collected $55.55 in our Happy Meal boxes! If you did not bring a gift basket to the FDM and would still like to participate in the NYS POW Helping Hands Challenge, the wish list is published on their website (www.rmhcwny.org) and we will have a collection table again at the SDM in February. I hope that each chapter can begin brainstorming ways to make a difference for the families who rely on the Ronald McDonald House this year, whether it be collecting pop tabs, holding supply drives, or even volunteering at the House itself.
After participating in that incredibly fun Parliamentary Procedure workshop hosted by Falconer HS, we ended our meeting by bringing new business before the assembly. A motion was passed, designating a snow tubing social to take place this winter at Peek ‘n Peak Resort. Chapters will be working together to select a date that can accommodate as many FBLA members as possible and we are working with the Peek to get a group rate or special discounted price.
It is now time to begin selecting the competitive events that you would like to focus on for the year. Remember that the first level of competition takes place on February 7 at SUNY JCC for our Spring District Meeting. There are so many amazing events for individual, team, and chapters that range from objective exams to performance events and role plays. There is truly something for everyone, you just need to look through the guidelines to find your best fit. I look forward to seeing everyone in February!
October Update
I can’t believe that October is here already! The countdown is on for our Fall District Meeting, which will take place on October 23 at SUNY Jamestown. If you have not yet registered for our FDM, please see your adviser soon, as the deadline to register is October 10. Applications for District 13 officer positions have also been sent to your chapter advisers. There will be a charity table at the Fall District Meeting for you to donate your spare change to the District Coin Challenge for the Ronald McDonald House as well as donate items from the RMH wish list. Members can complete the Helping Hands Challenge of our NYS Program of Work by delivering your donation basket to our Ronald McDonald House representative at JCC. Their wish list is published on their website (www.rmhcwny.org).
Bring your fun ideas for district social events to our FDM. We will be planning one fall semester social and then another in the spring. We will be choosing these activities while we are at JCC on October 23 as well as taking chapter photos and collecting articles for our next edition of the District 13 Dialects Newsletter.
It is also now time to register your chapter dues. The Early Bird dues deadline is October 31. Chapters who meet this deadline will receive Early Bird ribbons to wear on their name badges at the State Leadership Conference.
I hope to meet all of you at SUNY JCC on October 23! Let’s all gather together to make new friends, learn more about FBLA programs and membership benefits, and prepare for our successful futures! I can’t wait to see you there!
September Update
Welcome Back to School, District 13 Members! Summer break certainly went by fast! I hope that everyone was able to enjoy some summer fun and rest up for the new year.
I am looking forward to meeting many of you at our Fall District Meeting next month, which will take place on October 23 at SUNY Jamestown. Your chapter adviser should have the meeting registration packet when you return for the new school year. Included in that packet is a copy of our District Newsletter, District 13 officer applications for this school year, as well as flyers that promote our state charity (the Ronald House of WNY in Buffalo), and the activities planned for our Fall District Meeting.
There are many ways that your chapter can support the Ronald McDonald House. One way that you can help them is by collecting items from their wish list that they have published on their website (www.rmhcwny.org). We will be gathering these items at our FDM and are hoping that a representative from our Buffalo House will join us that day so that we can present our gifts that day. If not, I will be personally delivering those items myself soon after our FDM.
Start brainstorming some fun ideas that you would like to do as district social events. One of my campaign goals was to plan a district social event in the fall semester and then another in the spring semester. Bring your ideas with you to the Fall District Meeting so that we can decide as a district what our Fall and Spring Semester Socials will be! Does tubing at Peek ‘n Peak sound like fun to you? Maybe a bowling or miniature golf outing in Lakewood? Bring your ideas to share with the rest of our district!
September always means a new school year – and new beginnings. I hope that each of you begin this month with as much hope and excitement to begin a new school year and FBLA year filled with opportunities to make new friends, learn, and prepare for a successful future.
August Update
Greetings, NYS FBLA & District 13 Members. State Officer Training was a very busy and exciting week, filled with team-building and collaboration to create a challenging Program of Work for the upcoming year. I am excited to be serving as the Director of the NYS Community Outreach and Engagement Committee, which will be supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charities within NYS that provide lodging and other services to families within pediatric specialty care hospitals throughout our state. The committee will also be increasing promotion of FBLA chapters within schools and communities as well as a challenge to promote local businesses within your communities that will help you – our members – increase your knowledge of business enterprise.
District 13 will be holding the Fall District Meeting at SUNY JCC on October 23 and the Spring District Meeting on February 7 also at SUNY JCC Jamestown campus. Everyone in District 13 can look forward to our first District Newsletter to arrive in August and promotion of our upcoming Fall District Meeting. I will be spending a great deal of time in August preparing for informative and interesting speakers and workshops for everyone to learn more about FBLA, our state Program of Work, as well as how to become more engaged in national programs such as the BAA and Champion Chapter Challenge.