The Oak Park Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter became regional champions for the first time in its four-year history last month.

Oak Park took home first place in Sweepstakes at the February Section Leadership Conference. The club received 57 awards in total and qualified 37 members for the State Leadership Conference in April.

The largest student-run organization in the nation, FBLA prepares middle school, high school and collegiate students for careers in business. During the year, members compete in business-related written and performance events at the regional, state and national levels, while participating in financial and environmental community service projects.

On the morning of Feb. 21, more than 450 members from across the Gold Coast region arrived at West Ranch High School, ready to begin the 2015 Section Leadership Conference.

Freshman Vaishnavi Tipireddy enjoyed the opportunity to make new friends throughout the conference.

“It was an awesome experience meeting so many students from other schools,” Tipireddy said.

Senior Rohit Karthikeyan also enjoyed the networking.

“The atmosphere was pretty open and relaxed,” Karthikeyan said. “It was easy to talk to new people because we all had similar interests. There were people having rap battles, dancing, playing basketball, and talking to each other before tests.”

The conference held four competitive event sessions during which members could compete in individual and team events. Topics included everything from business law and entrepreneurship to digital design and sports management.

During the awards ceremony, members saw their hard work pay off as Oak Park received a total of 57 plaques, including seven first place finishes, 12 second place plaques, and six third place awards.

“Our Future Business Leaders of America club, which only had a few members two years ago has grown under Mike Winkler’s guidance to an impressive 70 plus members. This year they came in overall first place, beating Moorpark who came in second and Westlake who placed third,” Principal Kevin Buchanan wrote in an email.

Senior and FBLA President Alex Pai agreed:

“I’m immensely proud of what we have accomplished in these four years. I think we’ve set up a legacy that will last long after us.”