Arlee AIBL earns 2007 Student Chapter of the Year

The Arlee AIBL students accept their award. Back row: Maranda Frost, Krystyn Adams, Willie Frost, Tayla Desjarlais. Front row: Isaac Desjarlais, Kaitlin Farmer, Nellie Desjarlais

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Arlee American Indian Business Leaders student chapter won Chapter of the Year at the 13th Annual AIBL Leadership conference held April 12-14. The chapter consists of eight members ranging from the ages of 6-13. The students were required to give a 12-minute PowerPoint Presentation on their chapter activities.

Some of the chapter activities included beading pouches, College Goal Sunday promotion, drumming and singing, Indian taco sales, and youth dances.

They also identified their favorite subjects in school and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Maranda Frost, 11 years old, said, "I want to be a paleontologist, and for those of you who don't know what a paleontologists is. It is a person who studies dinosaurs." The audience was taken aback by her vocabulary and career goals.

Each member took turns presenting.

"The students nailed their presentation, they were fearless, I was so proud of them. They represented the Flathead Nation and Arlee community very well," said Tina Begay, co-advisor for the Arlee chapter.

In addition to winning chapter of the year, they placed 2nd in the National AIBL Business Plan Competition. They were required to submit a written business plan and provide a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation. They presented their "Arlee Snack Shack" business. Their business motto was, "Feed your snack attack." Isaac Desjarlais, a 10-year-old member, was the highlight of the business plan competition with his presentation skills and salesmanship abilities.

The top 5 things the students learned were as follows:
    How to bead;
    How to be respectful when people are talking;
    Be proud of your culture;
    How to work as a team; and
    How to run a business.

The Arlee AIBL Chapter was one of four Junior (K-8) chapters who participated in the National Conference. American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) is a student-based program designed to promote and support the American Indian business students and/or entrepreneurs.

AIBL Chapters at the K-8 levels are designed to expose educators, administrators, students, and parents, alike to culturally relevant and appropriate entrepreneurial curricula and/or models that will subsequently help introduce our young people to business, leadership, and financial skill/management in a hands-on, interactive way. www.arleemontana.org