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Fraley fulfills FBLA vice president position

SUN.| 05-01-22 | FEATURES

     Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a popular club here at Rose. Junior Keller Fraley joined FBLA at the beginning of his freshman year after hearing of its popularity from assistant soccer coach and Rose FBLA advisor Kurt Garner and his teammates.

     “The summer before my freshman year, when we had soccer workouts, [FBLA] was the one club that [Garner] and all of the upperclassmen talked about,” Fraley said. “When I came to school, it was like ‘oh you need to sign up for this club’.”

     Being a part of FBLA has given Fraley many opportunities that have been very impactful for him. Fraley is unsure if he would have been given these opportunities at his age without FBLA.

     “The biggest thing I’ve seen in myself is improvements on my speech skills and being able to talk to people more, because I’ve met more people in FBLA than anything else,” Fraley said. “I’m not the most mature person, but I’d definitely be a lot less mature without [FBLA].”

     Garner taught Fraley during his freshman year and always joked about Fraley being an FBLA officer.

     “After applying, I was interviewed that summer and became the Co-Reporter with Sydney Corley my sophomore year,” Fraley said. “I’m Co-Vice President of Social Events with Alex Borton this year.”

     After about two years of FBLA involvement, Garner

Keller FBLA.HEIC

Photo by Elliott Flinchbaugh

asked Fraley if he was interested in running for NC FBLA Eastern Region Vice President.

     “Garner told me there would be an application I needed to do if I wanted it and I [said] ‘sure I’ll think about it’,” Fraley said. “I decided it was something I wanted to do in October.”

     In the following months, Fraley prepared to run for the state officer position.

     “After I filled out all the forms and applications and after soccer season, we slowly started doing more and more for the campaign,” Fraley said. “At regionals in January, I was screened by the region, and then I began preparing my speech and social media posts for the State Leadership Conference.”

     On March 26, during the NC FBLA State Leadership Conference in Greensboro, NC, Fraley was named the new NC FBLA Eastern Region Vice President.

     Fraley appreciates all the help Layne Mills, Chris Bazelow, Carson Fraley, Saline Kulas, Dawson McAlduff and other FBLA members provided, no matter what they had going on during the conference.

     “Everyone was just such a big help; when I was trying to make campaign posters on the bus, Layne just took over which was awesome,” Fraley said. “Thank you to them for making [the State Leadership Conference] great; it was a ton of fun.”

     Fraley is involved in several activities at Rose like soccer, track, baseball, Rampant Lines, and several clubs. In addition to his Rose activities, he also plays travel soccer, and he has to keep all of these in mind when considering his new responsibilities as Eastern Region Vice President.

     “The general things are making sure every school in our region is doing well and keeping up with them, but my main job is planning regionals,” Fraley said. “I’ve gotten a lot better with time management and next year, I will have a period each semester where I’ll have an online class, so I’ll go to Garner’s room and work.”

     Fraley is excited for the future opportunities this position might bring him.

     “I think it’ll be great experience and I’ll make great connections,” Fraley said. “I really want to work in sports business when I grow up and this could help prepare me.”

     Fraley believes that Rose senior and former NC FBLA State President Brena Gauland and Garner had a big impact on his success.

     “Brena Gauland couldn’t be on [my] campaign team because she was a state officer, but she was a huge help,” Fraley said. “Both Garner and Brena have done so much for me, so seriously, thank you to them.”

     Since FBLA has given and taught Fraley so much, he gives this piece of advice to any students interested in FBLA or holding an officer position:

     “Go for it; [FBLA] can teach you a lot and give you a lot of experience,” Fraley said. “If that's not enough, go talk to Garner; he’ll convince you.”

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