Grafton HS DECA Chapter Gets National Recognition

GRAFTON, MA — The Grafton High School DECA chapter — a professional training organization for students — will be recognized this spring at an international conference for achievements in community service and leadership campaigns.

Here's more from a DECA news release:

Grafton High School DECA was among 525 chapters that achieved THRIVE level recognition this year and will be commended at DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC) held April 22-25 in Orlando.

Each fall, DECA offers four campaigns for chapters to complete as part of their program of leadership for the year. These campaigns are designed to grow membership engagement and build lasting partnerships within the school and local community. Chapters that achieve THRIVE level receive a commemorative pennant, flag, and plaque. The chapters also have an opportunity to participate in ICDC. In order to receive THRIVE level recognition, the chapter completed two out of three chapter campaigns including the community service campaign, ethical leadership campaign and promotional campaign. Alternatively, the chapter could have participated in the membership campaign which challenged the chapter to attain two of three goals: recruit 20 professional members, recruit 20 alumni members, or increase student membership by 20 more members from the previous school year.

The Grafton High School DECA members who contributed to the THRIVE recognition were numerous, with the chapter co-presidents, Brie Dwyer ’23 & Amelia Whitney ’23, leading the charge with the assistance of their advisor, Jeff Maxwell.

This is the chapter’s first year of gaining national recognition under Maxwell’s advisory. The chapter made cards for soldiers overseas who were away over the Holidays, cleaned up a park in Grafton, volunteered at the Community Harvest Project 5K, presented to 8th graders at Grafton Middle School about the benefits of joining DECA, and were lucky enough to have several alumni explain how DECA has helped them in college, and beyond.

Upcoming events include a Meet & Greet with business professionals, their annual Winter Gala at Highfields Golf and Country Club, and a Spring Field Day for families at Grafton High.

Maxwell has been at Grafton High since July 2018, when he was hired as a business teacher and the school’s DECA Advisor. “There is no substitute for experience: there’s not an app you can download, not a book you can read…either you are directly involved in an event, or you are not,” said Maxwell. “And GHS DECA gives the students experiences that they simply cannot get otherwise. I am proud of their involvement, their dedication, their leadership, their partnership, their motivation, and the extraordinary people they are blossoming into. These experiences will give them skills and memories that will last their lifetime. I am honored and flattered to be a part of this.”