Bluefield College state Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) award winners: (from left) Aaron Parkin, Emily Sears, Cary Carpenter, Martell Powell, Brittany Garton, Andrew McKinney, Evan Sherman, Ben Shumate and Borgia M’Bala.

Bluefield College business students recently competed at the national Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference. John-Michael Bohon and Cary Carpenter of Roanoke were among those who won state awards. Here is a press release from the college:

Students from Bluefield College’s chapter of Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), a national business student organization, recently competed in the PBL State Leadership Conference in Richmond, Virginia, and brought home 36 awards and finished runner-up overall, second only to Virginia Commonwealth University.

The 22 Bluefield College scholars competed against students from 11 other Virginia colleges, including the likes of VCU, Longwood University, Virginia Union University and Sweetbrier College. The BC students developed business plans, designed service projects, offered presentations, participated in interviews, completed tests, and took part in other competition activities en route to garnering 15 first place awards, 13 second place prizes, and eight third place honors.

The 36 total awards for BC this spring marks the sixth time in seven years since the creation of the school’s PBL chapter in 2005 that BC students have collected either the most or second most number of awards in state competition.

Winners of first place awards in 2011 and their respective competition:

- Jacob Johnson, Tazewell, Virginia, “Accounting Analysis and Decision Making”

- Brittany Garton, Gordonsville, Virginia, “Business Communication”

- Brittany Garton, Gordonsville, Virginia, “Community Service Project”

- Martell Powell, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Emily Sears, Hinton, West Virginia, “Business Ethics”

- Emily Sears of Hinton, West Virginia, “Client Service”

- Joseph Johnson, Tazewell, Virginia, “Economic Analysis and Decision Making”

- Joseph Johnson, Tazewell, Virginia, “Strategic Analysis and Decision Making”

- Jacob Woodrum, Bluefield, West Virginia, “Financial Analysis and Decision Making”

- Evan Sherman, Newport, Pennsylvania, “Future Business Executive”

- Evan Sherman, Newport, Pennsylvania, “Small Business Management Plan”

- Brian Wikle, Princeton, West Virginia, “Information Management”

- Andrew Dickerson, Santa Clara, California, “Management Concepts”

- Ben Shumate, Bluefield, West Virginia, “Marketing Analysis”

- Ben Shumate, Bluefield, West Virginia, “Microeconomics”

- Andrew Weaver, Weyers Cave, Virginia, “Marketing Concepts”

Winners of second place awards and their respective competition:

- John-Michael Bohon, Roanoke, Virginia, “Networking Concepts”

- Brian Wikle, Princeton, West Virginia, “Project Management”

- Aaron Parkin, Bradenton, Florida, “Job Interview”

- Borgia M’Bala, Paris, France, “Justice Administration”

- Borgia M’Bala, Paris, France, “Contemporary Sports Issues”

- Martell Powell, Chattanooga, Tennessee, “Management Analysis and Decision Making”

- Sheena Neal, Tazewell, Virginia, “Financial Concepts”

- Sheena Neal, Tazewell, Virginia, “Accounting for Professionals”

- Lydia Freeman, Bristol, Virginia, and Cary Carpenter, Roanoke, Virginia, “Desktop Publishing”

- Jacob Woodrum, Bluefield, West Virginia, “Economic Analysis and Decision Making”

- Andrew McKinney, Elk Creek, Virginia, “Sales Presentation”

- Andrew Weaver, Weyers Cave, Virginia, “Strategic Analysis and Decision Making”

- Entire BC chapter, “Largest Local Chapter Membership”

Winners of third place awards and their respective competition:

- Jacob Johnson, Tazewell, Virginia, “Business Law”

- Jordan Johnson, Chantilly, Virginia, “Computer Concepts”

- Edric Folden, Richmond, Virginia, “Contemporary Sports Issues”

- Andrew Dickerson, Santa Clara, California, “Financial Concepts”

- Brittany Garton, Gordonsville, Virginia, “International Business”

- Cary Carpenter, Roanoke, Virginia, “Macroeconomics”

- Erica Coleman, Vansant, Virginia, “Management Concepts”

- Entire BC chapter, “Local Annual Chapter Business”

With the state PBL awards, 18 of 22 BC students qualified for the National PBL Leadership Conference in Florida this June. Traveling with the students to Richmond were PBL advisors Dee Shoemaker, assistant professor of business; Dr. Harry Snodgrass, assistant professor of business; and Kayla Myers, BC alumna and former student member of PBL.

In addition to competing for PBL, the BC students participated in a tour of the Richmond Times-Dispatch production facility, arranged by Bluefield College trustee Dr. David Bailey, a political consultant in Richmond, Virginia.