Fifty-two DECA participants from KHS made the trip to South County Mall in South St. Louis County to square off against 16 other high schools at the District competition. Out of the 52 individuals who took part in the competition, 29 qualified for State.

In the 2009-2010 school year only 21 students were involved in the program, but according to Bryce Bunton, DECA advisor and marketing teacher, KHS DECA sent more students to the District and State competitions this year than ever before.

“[DECA] is all about providing opportunities for students to be in real world situations,” Bunton said. “The more students that get the opportunity to compete, the better they are going to be prepared to enter the next stage of their lives.”

The KHS DECA website defines DECA as a co-curricular student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Anyone enrolled in a marketing class during the school year can participate.

“You shake for the first half of the day before you compete, but it’s really fun,” Casey McGuire, senior, said.

The following is a list of DECA participants who competed at Districts and qualified for State. Bold names indicate first place recipients.

1. Accounting Applications – Wil Axmacher – 5th Place

2. Apparel and Accessories – Suzanne Hesse – 2nd Place

3. Apparel and Accessories –  Demi Lewis -5th Place

4. Automotive Services – George Hensley – 1st Place

5. Business Services – Ian Turek – 3rd Place

6. Business Services – Nina Strid – 4th Place

7. Food Marketing – Rachel Clogston – 1st Place

8. Food Marketing – Zach Keeney – 3rd Place

9. Hotel and Lodging Management – Becca Gerdes – 3rd Place

10. Marketing Management – Casey Hackett – 1st Place

11. Marketing Management – John Ems – 3rd Place

12. Quick Serve Restaurant Management – Corliss Pargo – 3rd Place

13. Restaurant & Food Service Management – Lexi Koch – 4th Place

14. Retail Merchandising – Maggie Hallam – 2nd Place

15. Retail Merchandising – Mike McHugh – 4th Place

16. Sports and Entertainment Marketing – Adam Miller – 1st Place

17. Buying and Merchandisising Management Team Decision Making – James Glunt & Ryan Bearden – 1st Place

18. Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making – Logan Drake & Micaela Firszt – 4th Place

19. Travel and Tourism Management Team Decision Making – Megan Meiner & Allie Reinbold – 1st Place

20. Sports & Entertainment Operations Research – Casey McGuire & Eric Nolan – 1st Place

21. Advertising Campaign – Katie Just & Charlie Warden – 1st Place

22. Advertising Campaign – Max Knudsen, Charlie Jaschek, & Brad Kuziel – 2nd Place