Hello Western Business Educators,
I am excited and honored to be your 2018-2019 WBEA President. As my presidency begins, I would love to hear from you and learn more about business education in your districts. I’m looking forward to attending many of your state conferences and bringing greetings from the WBEA Board. Reflecting back to February at the 2018 WBEA Conference in Boise, Idaho, I would like to congratulate Brenda Jacobson and Dona Orr on their successful conference that included relevant sessions, powerful speakers, excellent food, and exciting tours. Looking forward to the 2019 WBEA Conference, your planning committee is hard at work organizing an outstanding conference in Tucson, Arizona, that will prepare teachers with the tools to enhance their classrooms. Please watch the WBEA Website for a link to the WBEA 2019 Conference. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I have been teaching business at an Arizona high school in the Phoenix Union High School District for over 20 years. The unique aspect about my career is that I have not only been at the same school, Metro Tech High School, but have also been in the same classroom for those 20 years. In addition, I have been teaching business and computer classes for over 20 years at a community college in Phoenix. For this same period of time, I have had the privilege of serving as a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) advisor and have groomed future leaders as state officers, state winners, and national winners. My goals this year are straight from the WBEA strategic plan. My first goal is to keep in contact with the S/T/P Presidents, promising to attend many of their state conferences. My second goal is to recognize the WBEA Board members, as well as award winners, so these individuals receive the recognition they deserve from their local administration and school districts. And thirdly, I am going to work closely with our Website Director, Kristina Yamada, to keep the website up-to-date and relevant. This year has been a very busy year for teachers fighting for higher compensation, reduction of overcrowded classrooms, and an increase in support staff salaries. States such as Oklahoma, West Virginia,Colorado, and Arizona have seen results that have given dedicated teacher and support staff raises. This movement shows that education should be in the forefront of local, state, and national attention. We, as WBEA members, already know the importance of what we do on a daily basis. We are proud of the skills that we give our students so they are able to enter college and the working world with ease. Our fight brought to the attention of many legislatures that teachers prepare students for college, career, and life. I look forward to serving as your WBEA President for the upcoming year, and appreciate all the support and encouragement. Have a great beginning of your school year and start to your Fall semester. Chris Liebelt-Garcia WBEA President |
Welcome to the 2019 WBEA Conference in Tucson, AZ.
Keep checking for additional information! Our OrganizationWelcome to the Western Business Education Association (WBEA), an affiliate of the National Business Education Association. WBEA seeks to share educational experiences that will prepare individuals to excel as consumers, workers, and citizens in our economic systems. WBEA is committed to providing our members professional development, networking, and learning opportunities through online resources and regional conferences.
Working closely with the States, Territories, and Provinces (S/T/Ps) that make up the western region, WBEA provides opportunities for these organizations to connect, share, and support business education programs at the local, state, provincial, regional, and national level. |