Fifteen Arkansas Tech University students earned top-four awards in competitions at the 2026 Arkansas Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate State Leadership Conference on Thursday, March 12, in El Dorado.
The ATU winners at the state conference were:
First Place
State of Chapter: Madison Mertens of Lead Hill and Morgan Blamey of Scranton
Foundations of Finance: Avery Emmerling of Little Rock
Foundations of Management: Rilee Underwood of Pottsville
Business Ethics: Joy Skaggs of Russellville
Business Presentation: Madison Mertens of Lead Hill and Morgan Blamey of Scranton
Future Business Facilitator: Briley Parker of Mena
Technology and Computer Science Case Study: Larry Desiderio of Hot Springs
Second Place
Foundations of Accounting: Harrison Bartlett of Russellville
Foundations of Economics: Avery Emmerling of Little Rock
Foundations of Hospitality Management: Camrin Woodson of McGehee
Foundations of Marketing: Rose Gunther of Bigelow
Organizational Behavior and Leadership: Olivia Mosby of Pottsville
Retail Management: Morgan Blamey of Scranton
Emerging Business Issues: Larry Desiderio of Hot Springs and Briley Parker of Mena
Entrepreneurship Pitch: Tyler Parker of Cabot
Job Interview: Wapiti Mefford of Jasper
Third Place
Business Law: Madison Mertens of Lead Hill
Foundation of Communications: Andrea Guerrero of Atkins
Project Management: Tyler Parker of Cabot
Fourth Place
Sports Marketing and Management: Rose Gunther of Bigelow
Impromptu Speaking: J.D. Olivarez of Fort Smith
Public Speaking: Olivia Mosby of Pottsville
According to the FBLA Collegiate website, the competitions “celebrate and reward excellence across a wide range of business and career-related disciplines” while equipping “members for successful careers by offering a platform to engage classroom knowledge in real-world, simulated environments.”
Learn more about the ATU College of Business and Economic Development at www.atu.edu/business.
