Dear New York State FBLA,  

My name is Addeleide Reynolds, and I am beyond thrilled to be serving as your State Secretary for the 2026–2027 school year! I am a rising sophomore at Clymer Central School, a small K–12 school located in the rural countryside. Although our school is small, and our FBLA chapters are even smaller, I am honored to represent them, and I could not be prouder of everything that our chapter has accomplished.   

FBLA is not just an organization to me; it is my second home. Ever since I joined in the 7th grade, my entire life has revolved around it—whether that means attending State Leadership Conferences, Fall and Spring District Meetings, and National Leadership Conferences, or simply spending hours on end in our school’s business room working on FBLA projects. My journey began at the end of my 6th-grade year when I was invited to a recruitment meeting held in our school’s business room. While there, I truly got a taste of what the rest of my high school career could look like. In 7th grade, I was officially inducted into our school’s chapter and installed as chapter secretary, a position I held for three years. In the 8th grade, I concurrently served as chapter secretary and the president of our Middle-Level chapter. Now, I am proud to be serving as our high school chapter president for the 2026–2027 year. 

During my time in State Office, I have many goals that I want to achieve by the end of my term. My biggest goal is to not only increase statewide membership, but to also empower smaller, rural chapters like mine to realize that their size does not limit their potential for leadership and impact. This will be done through “Chapter Starter Kits,” which will include pre-written meeting agendas, recruitment scripts, and a “Year-at-a-Glance” calendar to make starting a new FBLA chapter less intimidating. My other goals include accurately documenting every meeting, resolution, and vote with 100% precision so that every voice and idea is seen and heard; dedicating my time and efforts to helping improve NYS FBLA; and developing a digital news feed that provides direct updates on schedule changes, competitive event rooms, and finalist postings to decrease crowding and confusion during the State Leadership Conference. Furthermore, I aim to expedite executive reporting by committing to a 48-hour turnaround for distributing executive meeting summaries to the Board of Trustees and State Advisers, significantly beating the standard two-week deadline.