On the weekend of March 12-15, 2026, twenty-six members of the Marlette High School Business Professionals of America team travelled to Grand Rapids, MI, to compete at the annual 2026 BPA State Leadership Conference. There were approximately 2000 students, composed of Michigan regional champions from around the state, who placed in over 74 different BPA competitions. As always, there was a lot of competition this year, with individual competitions featuring over 50 contestants and many team events with up to 20 teams each!
It was a busy, but rewarding weekend for all participants as they dressed up for business and competed in their team and individual events. On the night, students wore Chapter
BPA shirts and participated in a team-building Escape Room activity, where Marlette took first overall!
Over the next three days, students participated in Legacy Leadership Seminars, visited the College Fair, attended the Opening Ceremony, were treated to an elegant dinner and dance Saturday night, and finally attended the Awards Ceremony on Sunday morning! A trip to the Ford Presidential Museum and the Grand Rapids Public Museum was offered, and some students even went to a Cat Cafe in their downtime.
All of the students' hard work and effort paid off on Sunday at the Awards Ceremony, where only the Top 7 were recognized on stage and received awards. After the dust settled, Marlette students brought home 9 awards across 7 events. Highlights include Alexandra Findlay earning 1st overall in her event, Marlette placing in 2 of the Top 5 awards in two separate events,
4 students earning multiple awards, and 7 students qualifying for the National Leadership Competition in May: Andrew Holbach, Alexandra Findlay, Dylan Griffey, Miley Lemanski, Tilli Ruggles, Logan Schlueter, Luke Thomas; and 1 attending as a State Executive Council delegate: Olivia Varey.
Another highlight of the weekend was for third-year Marlette BPA Member
Olivia Varey, who was elected to the 2026-2027 Michigan BPA State Executive Council. This role is among the most distinguished honors in Michigan BPA, as these elected officials represent and serve all 4,000 BPA members across Michigan during the 2026-2027 school year. Livia had to pass rigorous vetting by the BPA State Director and current SEC members, run an election campaign, give a speech to over 2,000 members during the Opening Ceremony, and receive a majority vote from over 150 Chapter voting delegates!
Please congratulate the entire Marlette BPA team on an awesome 2025-2026 year at both the Regional and State competitions, and wish luck to those who will represent Marlette at the National Leadership Conference in May. Mr. Varey, the Marlette BPA Advisor, would like to thank Mrs. Bednaryczk, Mrs. Owen, and Mr. Marshall for their support, and of course, the amazing BPA students who continue to make Marlette Jr/Sr High School successful year after year in Business Professionals of America.