North Georgia Technical College (NGTC) students brought home top honors from the 2025 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas, continuing a strong tradition of excellence.
The NGTC FBLA Chapter earned two national awards, including the National Hollis and Kitty Guy Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit, marking them as one of the top-performing chapters in the country.
Students Renee Petenbrink of Toccoa, Kiley Snelgrove of Lavonia, and Adrionna Spencer of Blairsville placed sixth nationally in the State of the Chapter presentation. Snelgrove also earned a top-ten finish, placing tenth in Computer Applications.
State competition
The chapter’s success wasn’t limited to the national stage. Earlier this year, during the state conference in Atlanta, NGTC’s team racked up 18 individual, team, and chapter awards, with all seven student competitors qualifying for nationals.
Highlights from the state competition included:
- Karen Hicks of Blue Ridge – 1st place in Emerging Business Issues; 5th in Foundations of Communication
- Snelgrove – 2nd place in Business Communications; 3rd in Computer Applications; 3rd in State of the Chapter presentations
- Petenbrink – 2nd place in Foundations of Accounting; 3rd in the Business Presentation competition; 3rd in State of the Chapter presentations
- Spencer – 3rd place in Future Business Executive; 3rd in State of the Chapter presentations
- Zoe Fitzgerald of Blairsville – 3rd place in Organizational Behavior and Leadership and Parliamentary Procedure
- Michael Ramirez of Alto – 3rd place in Project Management; 6th in Foundations of Entrepreneurship
- Daisy Paramo of Alto – 4th in Parliamentary Procedure; 5th in Foundations of Accounting
The chapter also received the Platinum Chapter Award of Merit and took first place statewide for Alzheimer’s Fundraising. Individual recognitions went to Hicks, who was named to Who’s Who in Georgia FBLA Collegiate, and Snelgrove, who received the Wings of Excellence Award.
A ‘remarkable accomplishment’
NGTC’s FBLA advisers are Mona Williams and Angela Banks, both instructors in business technology. Williams was also honored as Georgia FBLA Collegiate Executive Director, and under her guidance, Georgia’s collegiate chapter earned first place nationally for Alzheimer’s Fundraising.
College leadership praised the students’ achievements.
“Attending nationals is a remarkable accomplishment,” said Stephanie Benson, NGTC Vice President of Academic Affairs. “We’re incredibly proud of our students and advisers for the hard work and dedication they’ve shown.”
Williams echoed the sentiment, noting the students’ teamwork and courage: “These students stepped outside their comfort zones to compete against some of the brightest future business leaders in the country. They are true team players, and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.”
FBLA is the largest business career and technical student organization in the world, with more than 230,000 members preparing for careers in business and leadership.
