DECA Conferences....by VP Landon

​DECA Conferences
Florida DECA ELS (Emerging Leader Summit) - This conference is put on primarily for new members.  It immerses members in the DECA experience early in the school year.  The main focus of this conference is in giving future DECA leaders the opportunity to grow and network.  They will be exposed to various workshops put on by both professionals as well as the Florida DECA officer team.  In addition to the leadership workshops, this conference will most likely be the new member’s first chance to learn about DECA role plays.  This form of competition corresponds to a test, and learning how it works at an early point gives member’s huge advantages over their future competition.
Florida DECA CDC (Career Development Conference) – This conference brings chapters together from across the state for the sole purpose of competing.  This is where the role play introduction at ELS and all those hard hours you spent on your written event pay off.  The members competing at the highest level will receive a bid to the next level of competition- but we’re not quite there yet.  At CDC, Florida DECA stays in a hotel just one minute away from Downtown Disney in Orlando.  If you think this conference is all work no play, you will be pleasantly surprised.  Aside from practicing for whatever event you’re participating in, the only work you will be doing is a fifteen minute presentation if you created a written piece, or an hour and a half long test in conjunction with a ten minute role play.  Aside from that, the rest of the three days can be spent enjoying independency with some of your closest friends!
ICDC (International Career Development Conference) – This is where all the competition culminates; states and countries come together to compete at the highest level of competition.  Rotating between four locations (Anaheim, Nashville, Atlanta, and Orlando) as to give members a new experience each of their four years in high school, every year is a brand new exploration.  The networking opportunities at this conference are truly amazing, giving you a brand new scope on how similar we really are to one another, despite the heavy distance between us.  Seeing thousands of avid DECA fans waving their flashing lights and trading their unique pins at opening session will certainly be an experience you will not forget!