Farewell Florida DECA

            As I end my term as your State Vice President I could not be more thankful to the delegation that I serve. Although I did not want to believe it when it was told to me, this term really did go by in the blink of an eye.  I truly can not believe that it has already been a year since I was called up on stage with the Zack, Ana, Cameron, and Michael. On Saturday night at CDC when all the officers give their speeches, I will be saying farewell as an officer, but not goodbye as a DECA member.

            You have all embraced the theme “Make It Count” and made this past year amazing, but I want to motivate you to do more. “If you’re still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.”

In the next year, Florida DECA will celebrate 55 years as a state organization. In the next year, our state will host the International Career Development Conference. In the next year, you will have more opportunities to compete as emerging leaders. I am confident that in the next year, we will set higher goals and exceed them.

Thank you for every opportunity you have given to me and for electing me onto Team 54. I can’t wait to see all of you at CDC.

Florida DECA Vice President

Tamir Rabinovich

          After enjoying the holiday season and receiving gifts and love from family and friends, its time to give back to the community.  Whether it is through a school event or fundraiser or going on your own to help out a charity, try to keep those less fortunate in mind. It is always a great feeling to help out those in need of a Helping Hand. You could spend 30 minutes or your entire Saturday, but it all makes a difference.  Your involvement is always appreciated by others, and you will not look back at that day with regret because it would have been time well spent. If you have been active in your community, I commend you. If not, it is never too late! All you have to do is find something you are really passionate and help out that cause.

          A great way to help out the community is to get involved in our statewide Helping Hands project.  For our Career Development Conference, we will be collecting canned chicken, canned tuna, canned fruit, and canned dinners to go to the Manna Food Pantries of Escambia County.  Escambia County is one of the poorest counties in Florida, and the food we donate will be feeding families at six pantries.

          I hope you all enjoyed your break and had a happy New Year! Follow me on twitter @Tamir_VP to stay updated with me!

Tamir Rabinovich

Florida DECA Vice President 

In life, those that do the bare minimum will never go as far as they can. It’s a new school year, and that means another year of DECA. For some, it may be your last, and for others it could be your first. Some may have the goal of getting a leadership position in their class, or qualifying to be an international competitor.

                  

Think about the number 212, because it is a special number. At 211 degrees, water is very hot, but it is just hot water. Although at 212 degrees, water boils, and that is what powers a locomotive. That extra degree, is what made the difference between hot water and water that provides the power to move such a large machine. In life, you have do always try your hardest, and then take that extra step, because that is what will make the difference in life.

This year is a new year, and you have to work harder this year to accomplish your goals. Get involved, compete, and create the success you are capable of. I hope to be able to be with you all in Atlanta, Georgia next year at ICDC as an international competitor. So what are you waiting for? Take that extra step, and Make It Count!

Tamir Rabinovich

Florida DECA Vice President

Florida DECA,

I hope you all have enjoyed your summer and are getting ready for the upcoming school year!  With the start of another school year, means the start of another year with DECA! The four points on the DECA diamond are the guiding principles of what members should take away from this association.  The four are: Community Oriented, Academically Prepared, Experienced Leaders, and Professionally Responsible. As community oriented members, it is important that we all take the time to help out whether it concerns a collection drive, donations, or even a local fundraiser.   It is always a good feeling to know that you took the time to assist those that are less fortunate. 

Also, Team 54 has chosen our Helping Hands Charities and the items that will be collected.  Non-perishable food items will be collected during the fall and spring to help Manna Food Pantries of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.  For the fall conference, peanut butter, jelly, and individual breakfast products will be collected. For the spring conference, canned tuna, canned chicken, canned fruit, and canned dinners will be the items collected.  During the opening and closing sessions of both the spring and Fall conferences, a “miracle minute” inspired collection will occur where all attendees are encouraged to donate $1.00 or more. All the money collected will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Last year, a total of over 26,000 items were collected during both conferences.  I know that this year we will work hard to break that number!  Be sure to plan events and encourage your chapter to start collecting for the fall and spring collections.

Whatever you do this upcoming year, I challenge you to take the time to make a difference, and make it count in your community!

As an officer, it is our duty to be the leader that allows our organization excel. In DECA, when elected, we are given the trust that we will accomplish everything promised and more. With the responsibility in your hands, I offer you a few tips that should be kept in mind through out your term:

•   Delegate your work

          Being an officer isn’t always about taking on all the tasks by yourself, but being able to delegate your work to your peers. It is much less time consuming and more efficient to allow more people to help complete your tasks rather than take it all on alone. Although you have delegated your work to others, keep in mind that the work was assigned to you and ultimately, the result is reflected back at you.

•   Stay organized

          It is much easier to complete your work, when you can find it! Being organized will help relieve stress when given multiple tasks to do. Staying organized means that you are on top of things and ready to do your work. This quality will result in tasks being completed with a smoothly and in a timely manner.

 

•   Be professional

          It is important to remember that as an officer, your peers trusted you with this higher position. To be a great officer, you must be responsible and willing to take on anything that will help the club. You should enjoy this time and be happy that you have this position, but also be professional at the same time.

 

•   Make it count

          You only have 1 year, 1 term, to be an officer. Remember to plan your goals and promises and follow through with them. When looking back at your time as an officer, you want to be able to be happy and without any regrets. You have received a great honor from your peers, congratulations!

With 5 national and 5 state officers posting blogs every month, it can sometimes be hard to keep up with all the new information being posted.  I want to take this opportunity to discuss a specific blog written by our former international president, Morgan Thompson.  Morgan listed and explained, “10 of the best DECA tools you’ve never heard of.”  The blog lists the following tools:

1. Studyrails- allows you to schedule study time and will alert you when its time to study. (*www.studyrails.com-website is temporarily down)

2. Asana- application to keep track of deadlines. (www.asana.com)

3. Diigo- software that lets you annotate your web research and is really helpful when doing online research. (www.diigo.com)

4. Sliderocket- an alternative to PowerPoint and keynote that has unique and creative slides and presentations. (www.sliderocket.com)

*5. Etherpad- allows multiple people to work and edit a document at the same time and is very useful with team members on a paper or project. (www.etherpad.org)

*6. Moonfruit- a free website builder that is really effective for those that are doing a chapter project. This will help promote and publicize your project! (www.moonfruit.com)

7. Easybib- a website that will put together all your citations and create a bibliography that you can put at the end of your paper. (www.easybib.com)

*8. Dipity- this tool will help you organize your information chronologically and is really good for long-term planning. (www.dipity.com)

9. Quizlet- a website that will enhance your studying techniques through flashcards and quizzes. This is effective for those in testing events that want to win at ICDC. (www.quizlet.com)

10. Evernote- enables you to save text, audio and images and share it across computers and phones. (www.evernote.com)

This blog in particular is great for returning DECA students as well as seniors going off to college.  These 10 tools Morgan discussed will help you stay on task, stay organized, and write papers and create presentations that will amaze your audience.

I put an asterisk (*) next to numbers 5, 6 and 8 as they relate directly to my video blog for the month of May.  Etherpad, Moonfruit and Dipity will be very useful for chapters to plan and complete effective chapter projects.

For an in-depth explanation of the tools that were listed, you can read the full blog written by Morgan Thompson here: http://www.deca.org/blog/195/

With the 2012-2013 school year coming to a close, there are moments in the year we can reflect back on with happiness.  Together, we thrived and broke new records.  Wherever this next year takes you, whether it’s working hard to get to ICDC in Atlanta or going off to college, MAKE IT COUNT.

Hey Florida DECA!

At this past 2013 Florida DECA CDC, I was fortunate enough to be elected as one of your Chartered Association officers. Being a Chartered Association officer is a big responsibility that Florida DECA has trusted me with. I truly appreciate this opportunity you all have given me and want to thank you, the members, for it. In these past two months as an officer, I have learned how to effectively present myself, break through my fears, and use my passion to MAKE IT COUNT.

A few short weeks after CDC, Team 54 got together for the annual Officer Training Conference held in Orlando. At OTC, our work really started, when we had workshops and planned how we will make this upcoming year the best one yet. At ICDC in Anaheim, I had the chance to talk to almost all the Florida DECA members throughout the trip, especially during Florida DECA Night. Team 54 also got our Annual Business Plan approved by the Board of Advisors which will be posted on Florida DECA’s website shortly. I attended ICDC as a member of DECA Leads, which is a leadership workshop designed for Chartered Association Officers. At Leads, I was able to associate with these officers and exchange contact information as well get successful ideas that worked in their chartered association.

Team 54 created and is implementing the FL DECA Leadership Council this year. This will give chapter officers an opportunity to connect through the Leadership Council Facebook page and our monthly webinars Team 54 will be hosting. Members will be able to share their ideas and exchange ideas and bring back new information to their chapter. I’m really looking forward to everything Team 54 is implementing this year as well as being able to meet you, the members, during conferences, events, and chapter visits! I encourage you to take on challenges you face this year and get involved, whether its becoming an officer in your chapter to helping out in a community outreach event.

If you have any questions or ever want to talk to me, you can reach me at Tamir@fldeca.org or (954) 740-7865. Also, you can connect with me on twitter on my account @Tamir_VP and share your ideas!

Whatever you do in this upcoming year, MAKE IT COUNT!

Sincerely,

Tamir Rabinovich,

Chartered Association Vice President