Community Awareness Project

2

What are DECA Competitions?

2

DECA Kickball Recap 3

What is the DECA Letter

3

All Things Bear Necessities

4

Nationals in Nashville

4

Community Giving Project

5

Smoky Hill DECA Conference

5

District Conference

Recap

6

Vail DECA

Conference

6

Creek DECA in NYC 7

State Qualifier List 8

Inside this issue:

Volume 14, Issue 1: First Semester, 2019

A Publication of Cherry Creek DECA

Greetings and Welcome to DECA! By: Jamie Morgan

C ommunity, dedication, and success; these are

all things Cherry Creek DECA has displayed over the course of the semester. Without a doubt, it is these ideals that allowed Creek DECA to achieve so many things this semester. Let’s take a look back at the semester to see everything Creek DECA has accomplished so far this year!

Cherry Creek DECA has become a close knit club over the course of the semester

due to all of the social events we have had. Students got to know each other at our ice cream social. Our DECA Dorks let out their competitive side at the annual DECA kickball tournament (congrats to Mrs. Adolphi’s seniors for winning!). Creek DECA has also dedicated time to giving back to the community by creating Thanksgiving food baskets for Creek families and raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

There is no better way to describe teamwork and dedication other than what it takes to successfully complete a DECA written event. Creek DECA written event competitors have been hard at work to make their paper the best it can be since the start of the school year. We can’t wait to see what will come of these projects at State in February! We also have several groups of students working on Project Management Events which include raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, raising awareness for Creek’s Unified Sports Program, promoting career development in the school community, making our school store Bear Necessities the best it can be, and providing a local business with operations

advice. As for

competition that has already occurred, Cherry Creek DECA students have been immensely successful at the three role play competitions we have had this semester. Our rock-star juniors that competed at the Smoky Hill Buffalo Stampede walked away with both role play experience and some awesome medals! At the Cherry Creek Vail Conference, students competed with the hope of advancing to the District Competition. Because of our success in Vail, Cherry Creek DECA took 137 students to the District Conference at Arapahoe County Fairgrounds where DECA Role Play competitors had the opportunity to qualify for State. Our many State qualifiers look forward to spending a weekend at the Broadmoor with our written event competitors in February!

All of these wonderful accomplishments Creek DECA has achieved this semester could not have been done

without the help of the amazing support system Creek DECA has. Thank you to our teachers, parents, and my fellow DECA Dorks! Creek DECA would not be able to enjoy this much success without each and every one of you. As this year’s Cherry Creek DECA President, I could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to represent such a dedicated, collaborative, and spirited group of people. First semester has brought so many

achievements and good times to Creek DECA; I cannot wait to see what Creek DECA can make happen after the New Year!

Page 2 The DECA Digest

Community Awareness Project: Unified Sports By Jamie Morgan, Audrey Sorge, and Reilly Sarratt

We, Jamie Morgan, Reilly Sarratt, and Audrey Sorge, are working on the Community Awareness Project

and have chosen to raise awareness for the Unified Sports Program at Cherry Creek High School. The Unified Sports Program at Creek is a Special Olympics Program that joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same sports team. At Cherry Creek, there are Unified teams for soccer, basketball, and track.

The purpose of our Community Awareness Project is to raise awareness and support for the Unified Sports Program at Cherry Creek. We primarily want to increase our community’s knowledge of the program as well as develop a strong support system for the sports teams and program as a whole. Aiming to achieve both of these things will also help to promote a space of inclusivity in our community.

To work towards completing these goals, we have planned and

DECA's key feature is the competitive events they host for their members. There are two main types: role-plays and written events. In role-plays, competitors have the option to choose one of the five main career clusters, Marketing, Business Management & Administration, Hospitality & Tourism, Finance, or Entrepreneurship. Whether working individually or in pairs, every competitor is required to do a Sales role-play and a Human Relations role-play. Every role-play has its own scenario, depending on the career

carried out many activities this past

semester. For soccer, we coordinated a supporting audience for the Men’s Varsity Soccer and Unified Soccer field day. We also had the opportunity to announce the Unified Soccer Players and promote the program at a Men’s Varsity Soccer Game in Stutler Bowl. For basketball, we promoted the big Pepsi Center Tournament that includes Unified Teams from the entire school district. We also advertised to local businesses the schedule of the basketball team and how they can support the program throughout the season.

In addition to specifically promoting the sports teams of Unified, we have also raised support for the entire program and its ideals as a whole. We hosted two fundraising nights; one at Pizzability, which is a pizza restaurant that employs people with disabilities, and we also had

cluster the competitors chose. In the sales role-play, they

must successfully sell to the customer (judge) the product/service the scenario gives them. In a human relations role-play, students must resolve a concern that the customer (judge) has

regarding their designated business. All role-players have a ten-minute limit to do their assigned tasks.

In written events, groups consisting of two to three competitors must pair with a business and create a

ten or twenty-page report (depending on the chosen category) and a presentation about the company. Written projects span for several months. This gives time for the competitors to obtain interviews and financial information for their paper and develop a speech for their audience of judges. Through these two competitive events, DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs.

one at Modern Market Eatery. We created and distributed informational flyers to local businesses to inform them of the existence of Creek’s Unified Team. To keep the students and staff of Cherry Creek High School updated on Creek’s Unified Program, posters were

put up around the school with helpful information about the program and how to get involved. We have greatly enjoyed having the opportunity to work with and promote such a

great program at Cherry Creek. We are very thankful to be a part of a cause that not only promotes a sports program, but also encourages creating an environment of inclusivity. Play Unified! Go Bruins!

What are DECA Competitions? By Jaden Lam

DECA Kickball Recap By: Sam Silverman and Will Henry

Page 3 The DECA Digest

As the first few school weeks flutter by in a midsummer's haze, DECA dorks are swiftly introduced to a plethora of social events. The initial list seems daunting: an ice cream social, a few food nights, and enough fundraisers to feed a village. However, one event sits insurmountable atop the others. A night

for glory, prestige, and triumph. A night to foresee which Marketing class will dominate, and above all else a night to open the book of DECA and see who lives and who dies. DECA’s annual Kickball social event went just as quick as it came, but enough action occurred to fill the halls of this school with its legend for a whole decade after.

Make no mistake: each class was going to war. Every Marketing period decided on which theme to wear to the night’s big event through a civil, democratic process; a stark contrast to the true severity of the competition. Slowly students trickled in to GV Fields, minds’ acute and ready with hearts’ true and steady. The warm autumn air provided optimal conditions for the oncoming strife. As friend looked

upon friend, it became apparent that only theme would decide your destiny. The contest started around 6:00 PM as the classes scrambled for the last few hours of pale daylight. The first few rounds went by orderly and decisively, making winners and losers of this year’s contestants. Anybody would have detected the instant and repugnant gloom that settled over the latter. Some were driven to the point of shouts and fury as their one year’s chance for glory was squandered so hastily. Conversely, the energy was electrifying among those who had just moved on.

Students with minimal enthusiasm in the first round quickly livened up, instantly becoming enthralled with the age-old competition. Each and everyone’s emotions were amplified exponentially as the grand finale approached. Our winners were in sight, as was the imminent champion out of the Marketing teachers; Mrs. Adolphi’s 2nd and 4th period classes were about to face off in an ultimate

match for honor and to solidify the legacy of only one DECA class. As the sun set casting pink rays across the electric evening, the stoic moon rose, imbuing the air with a certain decisiveness. It now became clear that only one class

would reap the spoils of the discord, and all competing minds honed in sharply to the frequency of the competition. The first inning saw students running around barefoot, tapping into primordial strength to obtain glory. Legs thrusted through the air with a

Spartan like physique and intensity, and for every immaculate kick was an equally impressive catch. Each team answered one another inning after inning, raising the stakes that much higher.

In the end, Mrs. Adolphi’s 2nd period pulled ahead, proving to be a true testament of their iron will and a thrilling end to the event. Mr. Sheeks encapsulated this moment perfectly when he said “it was pretty obvious truly how much effort each team put in. Each game was very entertaining and I think we know how to make quite a show here in DECA.” Next year’s game is sure to be infinitely more encapsulating, as the frustration among the losers will simmer for the rest of the year and eventually come to a head in another ultimate battle for glory. Until then, students can revel in the fact that they put on a great event.

What is the DECA Letter? By: Adarsh Kotlapati

The DECA letter is a highly prestigious award given to two-year DECA members who’ve shown a high level of involvement and devotion to the club and a wide array of meaningful skills and qualities that are worthy of such recognition.

In order to receive the DECA letter, a student must be in DECA for 2 years, a valid member of the chapter and Colorado DECA for 2 years, and earn a total of 40 letter points split up into different sections. Junior students who earn 20 points in the proper

sections will be recognized as being “on track” to earn a letter at the year-end banquet. A student may not earn a letter in one year; points over 20 will not carry over to the next year; points under 20 will carry over to the next year.

The required points in each section for each year include 6 points of DECA social events, 6 points of community service/DECA activities, and 0 points in the other activities section. All DECA

Letter winners are recognized at the end-of-the-year banquet.

Page 4 The DECA Digest

All Things Bear Necessities By: Abby Malloy

Bear Necessities, which is run by DECA, is the one stop shop for all things Creek whether that be workbooks, school apparel, or snacks! As part of the Sales Chapter Project, store managers Lexie Harding & Nick Most, joined by fellow DECA senior Abby Malloy, are hard at work to stretch the store’s bounds far beyond the IC Building. Our chapter project goals include increasing sales and store awareness, creating a community atmosphere, and improving accessibility to purchase store items.

In order to improve sales, we have focused heavily on community outreach. Our defined community includes CCHS students and parents as well as our feeder elementary and middle schools. To connect with our target audience, we have hosted a couple of pop-up shops and plan to host

more at our feeder schools with the hopes of starting these Bruins young and raising them right! We are also working on custom printed t-

shirts to connect with younger kids in our Creek community. In terms of

outreach within the school, Bear Necessities now offers Birthday Grams as a way to celebrate individual students on their special day while also selling a new product in the store.

Our team has also taken on the monthly goal of selling Otis-Spunkmeyer cookies to students after the 3:30 pm bell. This is something that we like to call the Cookie Task Force. There is nothing like a good old chocolate chip cookie to brighten the

day of any Creek student. The Bear Necessities shop is also working to bring in new vending machines that comply with federal guidelines-- a constraint which has been constant throughout our project.

Lastly, our project has focused

DECA Nationals Down in Nashville By: Erik Gustafson

M ark your calendars and

clear your schedules for this year’s National DECA Conference in the lovely city of Nashville, Tennessee. Anyone planning on competing should start preparing because when April 29th comes around, qualifiers from across the nation will be there to take stage.

This is the finale of the 2019-2020 Cherry Creek DECA Chapter year. Students will be competing in either a role play or written event. In either case,

your experience will be one to remember.

This business trip isn’t all business though. Participants will be treated to a musical spectacular at the one and only Grand Ole Opry. But wait, there’s more! Contestants will be given the opportunity to see a AAA baseball game, so don’t forget to get

psyched for the Nashville Sounds. Congratulations ahead of time

to all students who will qualify to compete in the National DECA Conference. It is expected that the Cherry Creek DECA Chapter will have up to 60 competitors going to Nashville. With so many students representing our chapter, only one question remains. Who will go to Nashville as a qualifier, and return home on May 3rd a hero? Who will become a Cherry Creek DECA Chapter champion of 2020?

on accessibility to the store which we are still working towards as we collaborate with photography students and teachers to update our website inventory and graphics. With our up-to-date website, we hope to attract more parents to place online orders. We also seek online store promotion and accessibility through our Instagram page @thebearnecessitiescchs. Since August, this social media platform has seen a 500% growth in followers with more to come in the next few months.

We are excited to see what is next in store for the Bear Necessities. Abby, Lexie, and Nick can’t wait to compete at the DECA State Conference in February and continue to brainstorm ways to improve the shop and involve our surrounding community.

Muscular Dystrophy Association: Community Giving By: Elizabeth Aldrich and Jackie Lasseter

Page 5 The DECA Digest

We are working on a community giving chapter project for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) to send kids with Muscular Dystrophy to summer camp where they can enjoy activities they otherwise

wouldn’t be able to. Our goal is to raise $8,000 which would allow us to send 8 kids to camp! In order to attain this goal, we have put on various events within DECA and with the entire school throughout the year. Once a month, we sell the infamous Otis-Spunkmeyer cookies to all the DECA classes as well as at some Creek events. Other small events we have done include a Movie Night where DECA students watched

Grown Ups with candy, popcorn, and a drink provided.

One of our big events this year was hosting an online silent auction which had items including a one night stay at the Broadmoor, a signed Chris Harris jersey, and various restaurant gift certificates. We are hosting the auction the first week of December for people to conveniently find holiday gifts. It is our hope that we will be able to promote this auction a large group of people - DECA Alum, Creek parents, and others interested in supporting MDA -which will help contribute to reaching our goal.

We have also involved ourselves

within the Muscular Dystrophy community by having lunch with a fellow classmate at Creek. Not only did he teach us about how Muscular Dystrophy has impacted his life, but he has motivated us to raise as much

money as we can for this worthy cause. As a group, we are currently working on putting the final touches for our written event paper. We are excited to compete at the State DECA conference in February and represent the giving community of Cherry Creek DECA.

Smoky Hill DECA Conference By: Mitch Pisciotta and Caroline Capra

The morning started at 7:30 on September 28th. Students piled into the

bleachers, nervous for their first competi-tion. Teachers gave the lay down on how the day would go as they attempted to ease students’ anxious minds. While waiting for their first holding time, competitors were able to play fun games in the gym like spike ball and corn hole. They could also go to a variety of different workshops put on by DECA officers from a wide array of schools. These workshops covered topics ranging from how to prepare to the best props to use while role playing. Our very own officers, Coryn Zurcher and Jack Kriesel, presented on proper attire to wear during competitions. These workshops pro-

vided great tips and firsthand experi-ence to the new DECA dorks.

When it was finally time to compete, students first had to sit in a ten minute holding area where they were checked in and surrounded by their fellow peers. In these ten minutes, stress levels were high as teachers scrambled to get their kids organized. Meanwhile, pop music played over the loudspeaker as students waited in wor-ry. Finally, it was time to compete! Students were led into the prep room where they had ten minutes to read their situation and prepare. They were then brought into the competition room where rows of judges awaited. The judges were senior DECA students including our Creek DECA president, Jamie Morgan. The stu-dents had two role plays throughout the day, a sales role play and human relations role play, which consisted of the same process.

After everyone was finished, stu-dents congregated in the theatre to experi-ence their first awards ceremony. The com-petition was divided between many sections of about 15 students each. While scores

were being totaled, candy bars were handed out to students who had the highest PK score in their section. A number of Creek students fell into this exclusive category. Once the placements were official, the top five of each section were called up on stage to receive a medal. Among the many Creek competitors that placed, these individuals took first place: Becca Fischer, Caroline Capra, Clayton Aldrich, and Mitch Pisciot-ta. The Smoky Hill invite was filled with many emotions matched with many smiles and good memories.

Page 6 The DECA Digest

District Conference Recap By: Coryn Zurcher

On Monday, November 25th, students from four different DECA chapters gathered to compete at the annual DECA District 2 Conference. Smoky Hill, Cherokee Trail, Cherry Creek, and Eaglecrest brought a total of 550 competitors to Arapahoe County Fairgrounds for the competition. Roughly 135 of those students were Cherry Creek students, who knocked the judges’ socks off!

Each student completed a PK test the week prior, consisting of 100 tough questions about his/her category. On Monday, they each completed two role-plays in front of judges. Individual events have 10 minutes to read over the scenario and prepare, and 10 minutes to

present to the judge immediately following. Team decision events have 30 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to present to the judge. The scores from the two role-plays and the PK tests were combined to provide each student with a final score Competitors were then ranked amongst the others in their category.

In each category, around 33% of the District competitors advance to State. Cherry Creek DECA ended up with 63 qualifiers and many alternates, totaling to nearly 50% of our competitors alone! We wish a huge

congratulations to our qualifiers as they compete at the end of February at our State Leadership Conference at the Broadmoor.

Vail DECA Conference By: Anthony Politi

On November 2nd and 3rd, Cherry Creek DECA sent 175 students to the Vail DECA Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Vail, Colorado. These students took business math and PK (short for “product knowledge”) tests in addition to role playing their respective events in a wide variety of team and individual categories. Students got a break from the competition by having the opportunity to see the beautiful ski town of Vail and some of them were even hypnotized by Brian Imbus. All in all, the event was a huge success, and the majority of Creek’s student competitors advanced to Districts which was held on November 25th at Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.

Creek DECA in NYC! By: Jack Kriesel and Riley Barker

The annual New York City DECA trip was once again a success: filled with lots of learning, loads of fun, and memories that will last a lifetime! Despite only spending three full days in the city, we feel we saw enough of the city to be able to call ourselves true New Yorkers. Early morning wake-up calls mixed with late-night returns to the hotel led to long yet eventful days, which meant there was never once a dull moment!

Our first day saw us visiting the Brooklyn Bridge in the morning and after a quick photo shoot, we were off to our first business tour of the day: The Smithee Group. At The Smithee Group, a firm that specializes in digital advertising, we learned about the ever-changing nature of advertising and the various strategies involved, as well as what life is like in a dynamic workplace. Following The Smithee Group, we visited Sofar Sounds: a company that provides music lovers with concerts in intimate settings. Our final business tour of the day saw us traveling to the Lower East Side to see Economy Candy: a candy shop that has been a staple of the community for generations. Not a single sweet tooth was left unsatisfied upon leaving Economy Candy! Our opening day in New York concluded with us watching the entertaining Broadway show “Mean Girls” and then heading back to the hotel for some much-needed rest.

As we woke up and prepared for day two, we all thought to ourselves:

“How could this trip possibly get any better?”. At this point, most of us were New York City subway experts, which made going down to our first

destination (Facebook) a breeze. Thanks to Jamie Smolski, a former Creek DECA alum, we were able to get the inside scoop on what working at Facebook was like and what her job entailed. From Facebook we went to Silver Buffalo, a company that taught us the ins and outs of the licensing business. Once we left Silver Buffalo, we started to feel hungry, which was perfect since we were headed to Shake Shack’s Innovation Kitchen. After a presentation outlining the process of choosing new menu items and Shake Shack’s recent expansion overseas, we

were able to dig in to an excellent meal--some of us even tried a burger fresh out of the Innovation Kitchen! That night we ventured up to the

Top of the Rock where we saw spectacular views of the city all lit up, and of course, took plenty of pictures.

Our third day in New York was life-changing for many reasons--the main one being that business casual was no longer the dress code. We started that morning by visiting the top floor of One World Trade Center and the breathtaking 360 degree view of the city it had to offer. After that, our trip took a turn for the somber and thoughtful as we visited the 9/11

Memorial and Museum. After learning about the events that took place on that world-changing day, we also took time to remember the lives that were lost.

With heavy hearts, we made our way to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. Our visit to the Statue of Liberty consisted of us singing the fight song, learning that Ms. Adolphi desperately needs functioning auto-correct, running to catch the boat, and one member of the group nearly getting attacked by seagulls.

Following our dinner in Little Italy, we went to Chinatown: a place that gave us memories that we will forever remember. It was in Chinatown where we met Eddie Gucci, a man so interesting, we could have easily written this entire article about him and no one would have complained. After buying all the highest-quality designer sunglasses, rings, watches, and handbags that Chinatown had to offer, we hopped back on the subway to take us to our hotel.

After three exciting and adventurous days of exploring the city, it was sadly time to return home. Waking up at 3:00 AM to head to the airport was certainly not one of the highlights of the trip. Nevertheless, we think we speak for everyone who went on the trip when we say that it was an experience that each and every one of us will not soon forget!

Page 7 The DECA Digest

Page 8 The DECA Digest

Congratulations to our 152 State Qualifiers!!!

Hoyoung Ahn

Clayton Aldrich

Elizabeth Aldrich

Hannah Altberger

Tatum Armstrong

Samantha Aseoff

Amelia Bailey

Kennedy Bailey

Isabella Balbona

Riley Barker

Blake Barnes

Jessica Batchelder

Kaitlin Becker

Reza Behbakht

Isabella Benson

Roberto Berkowitz

John Berube

Petrus Bierman

Caroline Brandon

Hallie Cantor

Caroline Capra

George Cavo

John Cavo IV

Juinkye Chiang

Carter Croke

Harry Crouch

Basak Demirci

Juliana Diecidue

Olivia Dreifaldt

Griffin Dreifaldt

Paxton Dye

Margaret Eggleston

Emma Fey

Jimena Firo Becerril

Rebecca Fischer

Alexa Fisher

Charles Fitzpatrick

Ryan Flora

Addie Follett

Max Franzman

Jenica Golynko

Grace Grantz

Alexandra Gruitch

Avery Hall

Alexa Harding

Sophia Hashimoto

Morgan Haws

Halle Hayutin

Nathan Henden

Thomas Hicks

Gabriel Hoehl

Abby Hoffmann

William Holst

Blake Holst

Julie Huang

Mitchell Hughes

Alexandra Huguez

Abigail Jacobson

Alexander Jansen

Aidan Jones

Monica Karlberg

Marla Kassanoff

Jonathan Katcher

Kristin Kelley

Grant Kelly

Nare Khachatryan

Gunhi Kim

Michelle Kim

Eden Kinde

Benjamin Kirk

Ari Klotas

Hannah Knutson

Adarsh Kotlapati

Jack Kriesel

Ellienna Krulish

Jaden Lam

Jacqueline Lasseter

Jake Lazar

Ryan Legwold

Olivia Leyden

Emma Litvin

Halley Mackiernan

Abigail Malloy

Karina Marinovich

Camille Marsh

Siena Mauvais

Krista May

Colin Mccann

Brendan McDowell

Charles McVeigh

Zachary Mechanik

Jamie Morgan

Riley Morris

Nicholas Most

Chloe Mulqueen

Delaine Nash

Molly Nicknish

Andia Niederloh

Marc Norris

Hunter Orr

Ashley Otgontsengel

Claire Pemberton

Emma Petrache

Mitch Pisciotta

Elisabeth Plum

Allison Poole

Adam Powers DeChar

Knox Quarles

Hector Ramirez

Maxwell Rosenstein

Wellington Rothschild

Abigail Russell

Reilly Sarratt

Samantha Schechterman

Jaden Schwartz

Samantha Seiden

William Seifert

Hayden Sells

Sierra Shetterly

Samuel Silverman

Cullen Slattery

Kiera Smith

Joshua Snyder

Audrey Sorge

Gabriella Sparaco

Maverick Stansbury

Reese Starr

Jackson Stephens

Hatcher Still

Shannon Straub

Caroline Tew

Nathan Thewedros

Julia Tidey

Jake Topalian

Gabriel Totaro

Isabella Walton

Johnny Wang

Nathan Watson

Harrison Webb

Ainsley White

Evan Wilson

Emily Winkler

Courtney Wisneski

Cooper Wisneski

Halle Wist

John Wooden

Frederick Yang

David Yoon

Jonathan Yoon

Cameron Yuran

Cayla Zimmerman

Coryn Zurcher