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Hernando Today

DECA Students Win With Late Classmate In Mind

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By TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: March 27, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - When Michelle Venezia ran onto the stage, she clutched a lanyard with a photo of her late classmate Andrew Altringer.

It was the first week of March, and Venezia and other members of Central High School's Distributive Education Clubs of America were in Orlando to compete against other Florida chapters of DECA, a student business and marketing organization.

When Venezia learned she would been elected vice president of the Florida DECA high school division, she cried on the stage for her success and for Andrew Altringer, a senior who would have been there had he not just a few weeks earlier committed suicide after striking a girl with his car.

The girl is recovering, but the Altringer was apparently so distraught by the incident that he shot himself after being pulled over for speeding in Inglis an hour later.

Altringer was among the first of Central's four-year DECA members and had a passion for the group, friends and family have said. He was at the state competition last year and helped Venezia campaign.

She came to within a few votes of winning the state vice president post, and knew she had to try again this year.

"It was really important to win for him because I know he would have wanted us to," Venezia, a 16-year-old junior and vice president of the school's chapter, said in a recent interview. "He was a really good support system."

As part of her duties, Venezia will represent Florida at DECA's annual national rally and competition in California next month - and she won't be the only Central High DECA chapter member there.

Dalton Whitelaw, a 17-year-old senior and president of the school's chapter, did so well in a marketing role-playing exercise at the same state competition in Orlando that he earned a chance to compete in California.

As part of an exercise in the restaurant and food service category, Whitelaw and the other competitors were told to envision themselves as a manager at a popular steakhouse and faced with this conundrum: The restaurant is a hot spot for the business community but has also become popular with families that are bringing young - and noisy - children.

The older clientele are complaining about the change in the atmosphere. What do you do? Whitelaw's answer to have special areas for different demographics was enough to earn him fourth out of 36 competitors. The competition will be similar - but more complicated - on the national level, Whitelaw said.

The high ranks at state competitions have typically been the domain of larger schools. "It gave us more motivation to put Central on the map," Whitelaw said.

Venezia even touted the power of small schools in her campaign speech.

"I wanted to show kids they can do it," she said.

Both Venezia and Whitelaw did just that, said Gino Ortiz, a marketing teacher at Central and the DECA chapter sponsor. Ortiz said both students have shown the kind of characteristics that are crucial for a successful career in business, marketing or entrepreneurship.

"They're take action kind of people," he said. "They don't sit around waiting to be told what to do. They see what needs to be done and do it, or get it done" by delegating.

The national event is expected to bring some 30,000 DECA members from throughout the country.

"There's no greater feeling than sitting in a room with that many people who love the same thing that you do," Venezia said.

She'll be bringing her photo of Altringer.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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