DUANE SHERRILLEditor

The city of Tullahoma recognized members of the FBLA that brought back the first national awards in the program’s history.

The local Future Business Leaders of America team brought the awards back from their competition at the National Leadership conference in Anaheim, California. Thomas Cunningham, Edward Henry and Jonah Rathjen Vallejos all placed in their respective competitions, bringing home the first awards from national since the program was founded. In total, Tullahoma had 11 high school students compete.

Henry and Rathjen Vallejos became the first THS students to place when they teamed to take fifth place in the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge. The rising juniors were one of 24 teams invited to nationals to compete in the event, testing students’ knowledge in personal finance, consumer rights, the environment, technology and workforce preparation and health and safety topics. Rathjen Vallejos and Henry were one of 12 teams who qualified for nationals in the fall of 2024, while an additional 12 teams qualified for the same event in the spring.

This is the third year that both Henry and Rathjen Vallejos have placed at nationals after previously doing so when they were middle school students. After this month’s performance, Henry and Rathjen Vallejos became the first Tennessee FBLA students to place nationally at both the middle and high school levels.

Thomas Cunningham also placed at the FBLA National Leadership Conference after he claimed ninth place in Electronic Career Portfolio. Cunningham qualified for nationals after he took first place at the Tennessee State Leadership Conference in April. In the Electronic Career Portfolio competition, students must present a portfolio showcasing their ability to combine their achievements, growth, vision, skills, education, training and career goals into an electronic format. Additionally, competitors have to present their portfolios to a panel of judges.

Cunningham’s portfolio highlighted his achievements with the THS Aviation program, including his personal flight training, licensure and his future plans in the industry. There were 98 competitors spread over seven sections, where the top two from each section advanced to the finals. Cunningham made the finals, where he presented his portfolio once again to judges, before he claimed ninth place overall.

After the presentation, FBLA Leader Franklin Cammack thanked the community for helping in fundraising so the youths could make it to the competition.

“This was not a cheap trip for us to get to take them on,” he said, pointing to the first ever national championship that team members brought back. “Seeing the program began in 2007, it’s pretty impressive.”