Being a part of this year’s Central RegionLeadership Conference was one of the best ex-periences of my life. I have never felt more proudto represent DECA’s Central Region.

I want to thank Mrs. Nicole Coffey and Mrs.Tracy Curtis for putting together a “wildly” suc-cessful conference. These two spent years work-ing on this event, and all of their efforts certainlypaid dividends.

A huge thanks also goes out to all of theincredible volunteers who worked tirelessly be-hind the scenes. These people were amazing.

I also want to recognize the NebraskaDECA State Officer Team. These six officerspoured themselves into this conference and werean absolute pleasure to work with.

Cybis Production Company also deservesa “wild” round of applause for helping us pull offtwo cutting-edge general sessions.

Most importantly, I want to thank all of theDECA members who attended this conference.The Central Region is fortunate to have so manyamazing and dedicated members. You are whotruly made this conference a “wild” success.

Serving each of you is an honor, and I lookforward to the remainder of my time working forour outstanding organization.

DECA Wishes,

Micah MellingCentral Region Vice President

A Word from Your CRVP, Micah Melling

“Wild About DECA” in Omaha, Nebraska

CRLC Conference Activities

Wild About DECA, Dec. 2-4

Over 1,700 DECA members and advisors arrived in Omaha, Nebraska on Fri-day, December 2nd to get "Wild About DECA." During their first few hours in Omaha, membersexplored the city, attended a state meeting, and participated in two workshops of their choice.

A cutting-edge opening session was the highlight of the first day. The sessionfeatured “wild” special affects provided by Cybis Production Company. Bill Cordes served as thekeynote speaker and shared an extremely motivational message.

After the opening session, members attended a DECA Dance that featured a mir-acle minute for MDA. Hundreds of students attended the dance and discovered how much fun agroup of DECA members can have!

On the second day of the conference (Saturday), members attended workshops inthe morning and early afternoon. There were four workshop tracks: Marketing, Finance, Hospi-tality and Tourism, Business Management and Administration, and the "Wild Card." Workshoppresenters included successful leaders from some of Omaha’s largest businesses as well as facili-tators from TRI Leadership Resources.

State officers attended a special session led by Tyler Gassaway, an up-and-coming speaker and leadership coach. The state officers participated in dynamic activitiesthat honed vital leadership skills, and they also developed a mission statement for their officerteam. After this session, state officers attended a luncheon and shared their team's goals and ac-complishments.

This was the DECA event of the season! The Leadership Safari, held inOmaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, took place on Saturday afternoon. Teams participated in a widevariety of leadership activities inside the nation’s second-rated zoo. All of these activities helpedthem to discover what the “secret” animal was.

This “wild” event was held on Saturday evening. Memberslistened to live music, climbed a "rock" wall, donated money to MDA, watched the Big 10 Cham-pionship game, and participated in many other exciting activities.

The closing session was held on Sunday morning and featured hilarious key-note speaker Kevin Wanzer. Additionally, at the closing session, a check was presented to MDAfor $2,500, all of which was raised in two days during the conference.

The conference was totally wild! From theLeadership Safari to the DECA Dance to theFinish Line Entertainment Night, it was thehighlight of my school year!

“CRLC taught me new ways to be a leader, notonly in DECA but in all aspects of my life. Itwas an awesome experience I’ll never forget!”

“CRLC was such an amazing conference.It really showed new DECA members whywe are so excited about this amazingorganization!”

“I had such a great experience! Getting a chanceto network, learn new leadership skills, and shareideas with the other state officers were highlights ofmy trip.”

“CRLC was not only a fantastic experiencefor me, but it opened my eyes and my peer’seyes to the fact that everyone can become atrue leader. It was a life-changing experi-ence.”

“I had a blast at CRLC! I lovedthe Leadership Safari. What anexperience!”

“CRLC allowed me to exceed my outer limits! I was ableto stretch my comfort zone and meet new people. I wasalso able to engage in sessions that helped me to improveas a leader and that offered an environment that was entic-ing and exciting. Not only did I learn to get “wild aboutDECA,” but I learned how to share my passion with oth-ers.”