Four finish in top five for LHS

La Grande High FBLA members, from left, Jenna Montgomery, Caitlin Lipscomb, Kala Grover and Jacey Childs pose for a photo at the Rose Garden in Portland. - Submitted photo

In more ways than one.

First, the LHS chapter took care of business in impressive fashion on the competitive end. LHS had four top-five finishes at state.

LHS was led by the  Website Development team of Arden Yundt and Daniel Harris, which placed second, and its Management Decision Making team of Samantha Densmore, Sara Densmore Janelle Mattes, which finished third. The students were led by LHS business teachers Molly Brog and Joel Myer, the FBLA chapter’s co-advisers.

The state conference was conducted at the Portland Convention Center and the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center at the Lloyd Center.

When students were not at the centers they were doing things such as getting inside-looks at how major businesses operate in Portland.

Members of the LHS chapter received a behind-the-scenes look at the Rose Quarter’s operations.

The Rose Quarter includes the 20,000-seat Rose Garden, the Portland Trail Blazers’ home arena, and 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum. The LHS students spent much of their time in the Rose Garden, where they received tours of its  offices, dressing rooms, exercise center, sky boxes and more.

The Rose Garden has 70 sky boxes, each with a capacity of 22 visitors. People rent them on a yearly or per event basis. The amenities provided to those renting sky boxes include catering, private restrooms, multiple television monitors and a sound system.

Brog noted that people renting them are given a wrist band that allows them unlimited access to an exclusive food service area.

The Rose Garden’s exercise center is for Trail Blazer players. Brog and her students were struck by how large the exercise equipment is, a reflection of how big NBA players are.

“It was oversized,’’ Brog said.

The center also had workout schedules for Trail Blazer players displayed, including one for Greg Oden, the highly rated  rookie center who was sidelined this season with a knee injury.

The LHS FBLA students attended a Portland Blazer game following their Rose Garden tour.

FBLA STATE 2007

LHS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 

Technology Concepts—5, Arden Yundt.

Technology Concepts—7, Daniel Harris.

Business Communications—4, Kala Grover.

FBLA Principles and Procedures—3, Jon Mattes.

Impromptu Speaking—8, Kelsy Mitchell.

Word Processing II—8, Brandon Taylor.

LHS TEAM RESULTS

Annual Business Report—9, Paige Hughes-Stanton and Rosie Sharrard.

Emerging Business Issues—8, Buddy Walker and Lee Hopper.

Management Decision Making—3, Samantha Densmore, Sara Densmore and Janelle Mattes.

Website Development—2, Arden Yundt and Daniel Harris.