MNTC Student Earns Top Honors at
National DECA Competition

By Anna Trowbridge,
Moore Norman Technology Center

Post secondary student Stacie Rathbun was the only representative of Oklahoma at the National DECA Competition held in Nashville, Tenn., in May, and left quite an impression as she took first place honors in the sports and entertainment event.

"They were calling out the winners and I began to feel bad. I thought our team hadn't been selected. I didn't think they would call our group as the winners. It was unbelievable," said Rathbun. She is enrolled in Moore Norman Technology Center's Entrepreneurship program, and participates in competition as a member of Delta Epsilon Chi. She is a member of the National Technical Honor Society and will graduate from the program in May. DECA is the national student organization for those enrolled in marketing-based classes in high school or technical schools and colleges.

She competed in the state competition this March in Tulsa. She earned first place in the Sales Representative category, which earned her the right to compete at the national level. She was grouped with students from Utah, Missouri, and Minnesota. They had two-and-a-half days to take a real sports/entertainment publicity crisis and develop a public relations and marketing campaign. Their resources? Anything they could get their hands on. "We actually borrowed a computer from someone in the hotel and created a PowerPoint presentation and then asked another patron of the hotel to draw out our commercials. We just had to go with whatever we could find and become resourceful," she said. When it was " show time," her team had 10 minutes to present their pitch and had to take four questions from the panel of judges. Her team earned 96 out of 100 possible points.

Their problem concerned the Nashville Predators Ice Hockey team possibly not finishing contract negotiations prior to the start of their fall season this year. Students competing toured the Gaylord Entertainment Center where the Predators play, and met with Randy Campbell, vice president of the team. He talked with them about the team's history and gave them an inside look at the concerns they have with the upcoming season.

The questions to be addressed by each team were: What is the message to Predator stakeholders? What is our promise to stakeholders and the community of Nashville? How can loyalty to the team be maintained even if season ticket holders may not get their money's worth by the fall season? "It was great to experience this type of working environment. We had to set aside our differences and egos real quick in order to get the job done. It was a real-world job situation for us because we'll always have to set aside personal issues and focus on the goal. This was a memorable experience for me and I'm so grateful MNTC gave me the opportunity to do this," said Rathbun.

She has worked in the sports industry for more than eight years, and is committed to doing whatever it takes to continue working in this setting. "My father was an assistant equipment trainer for the Oklahoma City Blazers Ice Hockey team, and that's how I came to be involved with sports teams. I have to be around sports marketing and sports events. That's what I've wanted to do since I was a little girl," she said. She is doing an internship with the newly developed arena football team, the OKC Yard Dawgz, that she hopes will turn into a full time position. She performs ticket and merchandise sales and basic office procedures for the team. "It's their first season, so there is plenty of time for growth. I'll keep my fingers crossed," said Rathbun.

She said MNTC's program has given her the formal tools she'll need to excel in a position with sports marketing and events planning. "I knew what to do and even how to do things, but Moore Norman has taught me 'why we do it this way' about this industry," said Rathbun. Another draw to the program for Rathbun are the college credits she is earning simultaneously with Rose State College. She'll continue her education there full time this fall and continue working with the Blazers and the Yard Dawgz.

"I'd like to continue my education as far as it will take me. I want to learn everything I can to help me become successful in this industry," she said. "This national honor has given me the confidence I needed in the areas I doubted myself. It's a wonderful feeling."

For more information on MNTC's Entrepreneurship program, or any other long or short term courses, visit www.mntechnology.comwww.mntechnology.com , or call 364-5763, ext. 7575.