State DECA Updates
The Chatham Charter chapter of DECA participated in the NC DECA Career Development Conference (CDC) in Greensboro from Thursday, February 26, through Saturday, February 28. The annual event features workshops, competitive events, and general sessions for all attendees. Forty-six DECA members and their advisor, Larisa Spillman, joined over 5,000 high school students, teachers, and business professionals from across the state at this year’s conference.
Individual/Team Awards
Individual event team winners included:
- Dylan Stout/Kymani Wagner-Jatta, 8th place overall, Top Role Play,Business Law & Ethics Team Decision Making
- Eli Christenbury/Adam Reese/Tannin Scheidt, 5th place overall, Business Solutions Project
- Abby McPherson, 10th place overall, Business Growth Plan
- Kaitlyn Evans/Maddie Teague, 8th place overall, Integrated Marketing Campaign – Event
- Garrison Clark/John Whistle Spillman/Tori Vaughn, 5th place overall, Sales Project
Additionally, the following students received the new AMA Associate in Marketing Management Credential. This credential is available to DECA members who earn a score of 70% or higher on the DECA Marketing Cluster Exam at the state or international level.
- Lane Avery
- Emmanuel Canales
- Lucy Crossman
- Kaitlyn Evans
- Kevin Kincaid
- Emme McCorquodale
- Jase Nicks
- Fisher Sellers
- Kaylee Root
- Madeline Teague
Scholarship Winner
Senior Kaitlyn Evans was selected by the NCDECA Foundation as the recipient of the T. Carl Brown Scholarship in the amount of $5,000. The T. Carl Brown Scholarship provides financial assistance to DECA members at high schools in North Carolina who plan to study business-related fields at a college in any state.
Chapter Awards
Chatham Charter DECA was named a Diamond-Class Chapter and received the following chapter awards:
- NC DECA Chapter of Distinction
- NC DECA Foundation Gold-Level Supporting Chapter Award
- Membership Campaign – Thrive Level
- Chapter Campaign – Thrive Level
Recognized for Outstanding School-based Enterprise (SBE)
Castle Café, Castle Creations, and Castle Media, the three school-based enterprises at Chatham Charter School, were among more than 1,000 school-based enterprises achieving DECA’s Gold-Level Certification for the 2025-2026 school year and will be recognized during DECA’s International Career Development Conference this April 25-28, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. For the second consecutive year, Chatham Charter is the only school in the state to have three with Gold-Level Certification.
A school-based enterprise (SBE) is an entrepreneurial operation within a school that provides goods and services to meet market needs. SBEs are managed and operated by students as hands-on learning laboratories that integrate National Curriculum Standards in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA advisors have utilized this effective educational tool for over four decades to provide their students with realistic and practical learning experiences that reinforce classroom instruction, enhance 21st Century skill development, and prepare students for college and careers.
The Chatham Charter DECA members who managed the certifications were:
- Castle Café: Makenzi Allen, Kaylee Root, Tori Vaughn (Gold Certified since 2022-2023)
- Castle Creations: Garrison Clark, Westin Phillips, John Whistle Spillman (Gold Certified since 2020-2021)
- Castle Media: Eli Christenbury, Adam Reese, Tannin Scheidt (Gold Certified since 2024-2025)
Chatham Charter has operated SBEs since the 2020-2021 school year, when officers submitted the first SBE manual for retail operations, following the chapter’s response to the need to move retail sales online due to COVID. That SBE morphed into what is today known as Castle Creations, the DECA chapter’s apparel and merchandise business, which had to be submitted for new certification this year after being able to apply for re-certification the past four years. Castle Café was born in 2022 as a student-run, student-focused coffee shop. That business has transformed into a café for staff and parents as well as a pop-up retail business for after-hours student activities. Castle Media is a photography and videography services business that was initially certified last year and provides sports, event, and portrait photography and videography services to the school and local community. Combined, all three SBEs have generated almost $30,000 in sales, which helps offset competition, travel, and chapter expenses.
“DECA’s School-based Enterprise Certification Program is a rigorous process designed to help DECA members demonstrate their classroom learning in a practical, learning laboratory, and then translate that into meaningful outcomes,” said Christopher Young, CAE, Chief Program Officer at DECA Inc. “These DECA members are practicing important workplace readiness skills while preparing for college and careers.”
DECA’s School-based Enterprise Certification Program provides recognition for outstanding achievement by school-based enterprises and motivates SBEs to strive for excellence and growth. SBEs can be certified at three levels: bronze, silver, or gold. In order to apply for the certification, SBEs must submit extensive documentation that explains how the SBE demonstrates the practice of various marketing and retail standards. A review committee evaluates the documentation to determine the level of certification achieved. DECA’s School-based Enterprise program is sponsored by Otis Spunkmeyer Inc.
Advisor Recognition
Finally, advisor Larisa Spillman was presented with the Clifton B. Belcher Professional Division Award. Professional Division Award recipients must have taught Marketing Education for at least five years and are chosen on the basis of contributions to the growth and development of Marketing Education through DECA activities.
