On Nov. 18, the schools in Orono’s DECA district gathered together at Minnetonka High School to meet one another before the competitive districts’ conference in January.

DECA is an association where students can display their marketing and business skills. Juniors and seniors of OHS can involve themselves in this extra curricular activity, and about 115 students participate in this club. The Orono program has had a lot of success in previous years in advancing students to the national competition.

Last year, 27 students traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete at the national convention. The DECA Dogs preparing for the next competition season with new projects in hopes of advancing to this years national competition in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Red Bull Social aime to kick of the excitement for everything DECA has to offer. Senior Kiersten Savoie and junior Danny Willson were the Orono representatives a the event. They informed the students about the event during the various marketing classes.

Minnetonka and Mound’s DECA programs also participated in the event. There were different activities such as video games Guitar Hero and Just Dance, a moon bounce and of course Red Bull beverages. “This year ran very smoothly and [we] were super happy with the outcome,” stated Savoie.

Meeting new people is a huge part of what DECA is all about; it’s marketing the participants and the school. Senior Tori Wilson commented, “I met a lot of new people from other schools at the social, and it will be fun to see them again at districts.”

Willson said, “The red bull social really gave me the DECA bug for districts.” The DECA district conference is on Jan. 28 and 29.

Catherine Braunschweig is a Sports Editor for The Spartan Speaks