A record-breaking number of Whitefish DECA students competed against Class AA schools at the State Career Development Conference in Missoula Feb. 4-6.  

All told, 68 Whitefish students participated.  

DECA is a nonprofit organization that prepares high school and college students to be leaders in business and entrepreneurship.  

Students compete in about 40 different events that help build skills for marketing, finance, hospitality and management careers, aligning with national curriculum standards and 21st century skills.   

“Business professionals serve as expert judges to evaluate DECA members’ mastery of these concepts,” said Whitefish DECA club advisor Kari Baxter. 

“The students represented the Whitefish community with professionalism and confidence as they interacted with industry professionals,” Baxter said. 

Nearly half of Whitefish’s DECA students were recognized as top performers at state.  

Whitefish High School's Shark Tank Team, made up of Unity Loveless, Ava Bee, Iona Sarraille and Lauren Rossi, had less than a week to turn a 16-ounce water bottle into an invention which they presented on stage against other high schools. The team won first place along with a $1,000 prize. 

The club also celebrated incoming and outcoming state officers. Senior Zoey Marzo, outgoing officer, and incoming officer Vanessa Solomon will represent the state of Montana for the 2025-26 school year. 

An impressive squad of 28 Whitefish students qualified to advance to the International Career Development Conference held in Orlando, Florida in the last week of April.  

Qualifiers include Logan Bingham, Maclean Vandevoort, Nola Brown, Lucy Marzo, Delila Vine, Bailey Kallal, Lauren Rossi, CJ Thew, Truth Baxter, Carmela Forcone, Unity Loveless, Abigail Berry, Milla Owens, Iona Sarraille, Nessa Solomon, Maggie Zonich, Marcus Mercer, Zoey Marzo, Lyla Rudolph, Ava Bee, Luca Gignoux, Cole Moses, Kyler Jonson, Elijah Adams-Griffin, Luke Healy, Petra Mauldin, Gretel Vine and Isabella Wilson.

Table of seniors at the DECA state awards ceremony. Front left to right clockwise: Logan Bingham, Gretel Vine, Kyler Jonson, Petra Mauldin, Truth Baxter, Eleanor Blandon, Isabella Wilson, Maclean Vandevoort and Griffin Gunlikson. (Photo provided)

    Shark Tank winners presenting on stage: Unity Loveless, Iona Saraille and Lauren Rossi. (Photo provided)
  

Margo Alexander and Bailey Lowell preparing for their DECA event in Missoula Feb. 4-6. (Photo provided)