Hello Phi Beta Lambda

members! Now that school

is in full swing and you have

had the opportunity to at-

tend the Fall Seminar Series

and the National Fall Lead-

ership Conference, some of

you may be asking yourself

how to become more active

in PBL.

Well that’s easy, how about

joining the Ambassador

Program. It is an excellent

opportunity to learn more

about yourself and PBL and

earn an awesome plaque,

and all you have to do is

complete a few simple

tasks. First, attend the Fall

Seminar Series and/or Win-

ter Seminar Series. If you

have attended the Fall Semi-

nar Series, then you can

check that one off your list!

Write an article for our state

newsletter. After this article,

you have two more opportu-

nities to write, once in Feb-

ruary and once in May. The

article can be about any-

thing business related or

something your chapter has

done that you want to share.

Attend an FBLA Area Con-

ference. There are several

different locations and dates

for these conferences. If you

have any questions about

when and where conferences

can be held, you can email

any of the state officers. Bring

two door prizes to and attend

the State Leadership Confer-

ence. That’s an easy one! Af-

ter all our work throughout

the year, who doesn’t want to

go to the State Leadership

Conference? Finally, an Am-

bassador helps the officers

with any tasks they may need

assistance with. To start your

road to becoming an Illinois

State Ambassador, simply

visit the Illinois FBLA-PBL

website, http://www.il-

fblapbl.org/, and look under

resources for the Ambassador

application.

In addition to the Ambassador

Program, there is also our

Career Membership Achieve-

ment Program (CMAP). There

are different levels to CMAP

and each one involves tasks

that better your growth as a

business person and as a PBL

member. These tasks are

rather easy, and you receive a

pin for each level you com-

plete. To sign up for this pro-

gram, speak to your local

chapter adviser and they

will help you with your

login name and password.

Watts Humprey once said,

“innovation is the process

of turning ideas into manu-

facturable and marketable

form.” One way to market

yourself is to be active in

the organizations you’re

passionate about. I hope

you take the opportunity

to make the most of what

PBL and its programs has

to offer, and that they will

help you market yourself

in your future career and

even personal lives!

Heather Borowiak

Illinois PBL- State Presi-

dent

A Message from our President

Illinois Voice

P H I B E T A L A M B D A

Winter 2012 IL PBL Newsletter

Igniting Innovation

SWIC Holds Fundraiser

for Breast Cancer Re-

search

2

SIUC Involvement 3

UIUC—ISU Paintball

Event

4

March of Dimes 5

Walk Across Illinois

Info

6

EIU Chapter News 7

Inside this issue:

Christopher Reeve shared many of his

aspirations with the world but it is his

wisdom I find the most connected

with: “Once you choose hope any-

thing’s possible.” Hope is the last

opportunity for change to occur when

everything feels at a loss.

Southwestern Illinois College

Made Strides to Ignite Innovation for

Early Detection of Breast Cancer. On

October 27, Phi Beta Lambda mem-

bers choose to give hope and inspire

hope by participating in a 5K walk

hosted by the American Cancer Soci-

ety. Making Strides is not just a walk,

it is a day dedicated to honoring survi-

vors and remembering lost loved

ones. This becomes a truly uplifting

opportunity to gather and celebrate

the achievements made toward end-

ing breast cancer. Southwestern Illi-

nois College (SWIC) Abe Small Chap-

ter members are grateful to be a part

of this event in our community for the

fourth consecutive year.

As a returning team, the Abe

Small Chapter wanted to do better

than ever before. We could only do

this by making others involved out-

side of our organization. Each mem-

ber choose to honor a person for this

walk. Some choose their grand-

mother, others choose co-workers but

as a team we honored a breast cancer

survivor from our Business Division

Faculty. Mary Lutz is not just a profes-

sor at our campus, she is a supporter

of all Phi Beta Lambda avenues since

she too held a State Officer position in

the organization. Another professor,

Beth Burns, was a great resource to

design a team t-shirt. A graphic de-

sign student, Dakotah Hughes, cre-

ated a tee representing our team’s

and organization’s goals. Members of

SWIC PBL chapter promoted our Mak-

ing Strides team at a fundraising event

by selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookies

with pink m&m’s. With just two boxes

of cookies, Phi Beta Lambda raised

nearly $200 to benefit breast cancer

research.

Personally as a team captain

and as a member of this organization

community service has always been

an activity I found the most joy. It’s

weeks after the event and I can see

the same passion I have, in the mem-

bers of the SWIC Chapter. This has

now become the biggest delight of my

experience as a student and em-

ployee of SWIC but also as a Phi Beta

Lambda member. The Phi Beta

Lambda organization promotes the

same skills displayed in this commu-

nity service project. One exceptional

skill shown through the development

of this community service project is

networking and advocacy.

One thousand pairs of feet gathered to

enjoy a 5K walk hosted in Belleville, IL

and raised more than $22,000 in sup-

port of those losing and winning the

battle against Breast Cancer. Phi Beta

Lambda contributed by raising more

than $650 with 19 participants present.

Support ensures that the American

Cancer Society can be present in your

community-every day of the year,

creating the power to Pink Differently.

SWIC PBL Chapter pinks differently

by continuing to collect donations in

support of breast cancer research

through the month of December at

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/

abesmall and to meet our goal of

$1,000.

Hope is not an aspiration; it is

a state of mind. Hope creates a chance

for another to live. Live to the fullest.

Live with no regrets, and strive to do

the best. Phi Beta Lambda is leading

the way to a hopeful for those affected

by Breast Cancer. SWIC PBL makes a

continuous stride in the journey to-

wards less cancer and more birthdays

and most importantly igniting innova-

tion.

SWIC Chapter Hosts Walk to Raise Funds for Breast Cancer Research

“One exceptional skill shown

through the development of this

community service project is net-

working and advocacy.“

- Courtney McGowan

By: Cortney McGowan—SWIC

Page 2 Illinois Voice

The Southern Illinois University

Carbondale Gamma Phi chapter of Phi

Beta Lambda is offering general meet-

ings and special activities for the Fall

2012 – Spring 2013 year. Meetings are

held every other Thursday, and are well

attended, but we are still in the process

of recruiting new members. Recently,

we had two different speakers come

down to our meetings to talk about how

a cover letter and resume should be but

together. We have started to spread the

word about our meetings by hanging up

flyers and passing out handouts around

the SIUC campus. This semester our

chapter has launched a new Facebook

group. This group better serves our

chapter’s needs by allowing us to up-

load forms and flyers so that members

can access them from anywhere. Mem-

bers are also able to keep up to date on

our meetings and events by a constantly

updated calendar. Each member who

pays their dues receives a chapter t-

shirt and we have already matched our

previous years’ membership using this

incentive. We encourage our members to

participate in the CMAP program. Points

are awarded based on the level that is

completed. These points are used to-

wards the George Hargraves Outstanding

Member scholarship. The scholarship is

$250 and rewards one outstanding mem-

ber each year. This year the officers have

decided to provide additional incentives

for completing CMAP. Completion of the

Director level gets the member a free

pizza party. Completion of the Executive

level gets a member a free t-shirt, and

Presidential level award has yet to be

decided. Our chapter also participates in

numerous community, social, and fund-

raising events to give our

members a variety of dif-

ferent experiences. Be-

fore the spring term ends

in 2013, we are going to re

-elect officers to start out

the Fall 2013 – Spring 2014

year.

“Our chapter also participates in numerous commu-

nity, social, and fundraising events to give our mem-

bers a variety of different experiences.”

-Jerald Fox

Winter 2012 Page 3

SIUC Involvement

By: Jerald Fox– SIUC

Last month, UIUC PBL and ISU

PBL took the first step in creat-

ing what will hopefully be a

long and successful friend-

ship. Illinois State University

made the trip to The University

of Illinois for a friendly game of

paintball. In an effort to create

new friends, the teams were not

set by school, but split evenly

between schools. This made

getting to know someone new

essential for your team to work

together and to win. Everyone

who attended the event had a

fun time and future plans for

joint chapter events are in the

works. Partnering with the ISU

chapter has not only given

our chapter new friends, but it

has allowed the state's two

biggest chapters to cooperate

and exchange ideas. This will

help our chapters and the

state put forth more exciting

events and grow our mem-

bership. UIUC PBL strongly

recommends that other chap-

ters partner up with the clos-

est chapter to them and see

how far that new friendship

will take them.

Forming Friendships Through Paintball

“Partnering with the ISU chapter

has not only given our chapter new

friends, but it has allowed the

state's two biggest chapters to

cooperate and exchange ideas.” -

Azeem Khan

By: Azeem Kahn—UIUC

Page 4 Illinois Voice

As most of you know, November is Prematur-

ity Awareness Month. November 17th is

World Prematurity Day. As a member of Phi

Beta Lambda we know how involved this or-

ganization is with March of Dimes (MOD). I

personally have a great passion for MOD,

and here is why.

On June 19, 2006, at 32 weeks of my preg-

nancy I went to my doctor’s appointment for

my regular checkup. Little did I know that I

was going to have to go in for a stress test

followed by an emergency c-section. Need-

less to say my little Carter was born at 32 ½

weeks. That’s 7 ½ weeks early. He was 6 lbs

2 oz. and 19 in long. I thought everything

would be fine be- cause he was a normal size

baby. Before I could come out of recovery

my little baby was rushed to St. Johns Hospi-

tal and admitted into their NICU. They said

that he was born with a heart murmur and his

lungs had not developed so he could not

breathe on his own. I was terrified; I didn’t

know what that meant for him. Finally after I

was able to get out of the hospital I went to

Springfield, which was 30 miles away from

where I lived. My baby was in an incuba-

tor, and all around were other babies that

were premature as well. The only differ-

ence was my baby looked full size. There

were babies in there that

would literally

fit in the palm

of your hand,

and they all

had some simi-

lar issues.

Carter was on a

ventilator, had

a feeding tube,

and was hooked up to so many different

machines. When I got to visit him I could-

n’t even hold him, I had to touch him

through the incubator. He didn’t get to eat

from a bottle for the first time until he was

a few weeks old. This is actually a good

thing for a preemie. Finally after almost 2

months I was able to bring my little

Carter home, he came home at 5 lbs 1

oz. Throughout the last 6 years he has

had to undergo many different obsta-

cles. As a preemie he was at risk for

breathing complications, increased

ear infections, and is a little smaller

than some his age. Carter has to have

regular breathing

treatments to help with

his asthma, and now

has an inhaler that he

uses daily to help pre-

vent attacks.

Now you may be ask-

ing yourself, why is

she telling me this? Well that is be-

cause MOD focuses on helping fami-

lies with babies in a NICU. They also

support research aimed at preventing

birth defects, premature birth and

infant mortality. Our goal as a state is

to raise 20% more in total this year. In

October at FSS we kicked off the year

with a mini walk and it was very suc-

cessful. Also, we are already starting

our Walk Across Illinois, you can get

full details on how to participate at:

http://www.il-fblapbl.org/pbl/

resources/. If you scroll all the way

down to the bottom of the page you

will see the guidelines tab as well as

individual and chapter mileage track-

ing tabs. This program is also detailed

out in this November Newsletter.

Now that we know what our goals as a

state are, what are we going to do

about it? Here is my challenge to you,

let’s get involved in a MOD fundraiser,

and help raise awareness. With all of

us working together we could help

make a difference!

Happy November!

“MOD focuses on helping families with babies

in a NICU. They also support research aimed at

preventing birth defects, premature birth and

infant mortality.”

-Candi Pucek

Winter 2012 Page 5

Premature Awareness Month

Mini-walk at Fall Seminar Series—October 20, 2012

By: Candi Pucek—IL PBL State Treasurer

Editor’s Note: As a state,

one of our goals is to in-

crease funds raised in our

state for the March of

Dimes. You can read more

about how to do this through

Walk Across Illinois on the

next page.

The goal of the Illinois PBL “Walk

Across Illinois” March of Dimes Fund-

raiser is to raise money for the March

of Dimes while raising awareness of

the dangers of premature birth. The

goal as a State is to walk enough miles

to cover the entire state of Illinois from

north to south, about 390 miles.

This fundraiser is structured in a way

that every chapter in the state can par-

ticipate in one common goal regard-

less of membership size. Get on your

walking shoes, go into your communi-

ties for donations, and let’s all become

Champions for Babies!

Participation Guidelines:

Donations should be collected as a

per mile rate (in $1 increments)

Once donations are collected, the

chapter must perform a mini-walk

for awareness

Mini-walks must be done in a pub-

lic and unenclosed space (i.e.

around the campus quad, walking

trail, local outdoor track, or

around a downtown city block)

About 17 blocks to cover a mile

(block size varies, 17 is an aver-

age)

Mini-walks should have walkers

holding signs or banners describ-

ing the mission of the March of

Dimes or the dangers of prema-

ture birth. To find more informa-

tion on the organization itself,

please visit

www.marchofdimes.com.

The mileage covered by a chap-

ter is cumulative (i.e. 10 members

walking 10 miles equals 100 miles

covered)

Donors may pledge an open do-

nation with the number of miles to

be walked being open ended

Open donations should only span

the duration of one walk

An unbiased third party and/or a

chapter adviser should verify the

mileage walked

Once the mini-walk for awareness

is complete, a chapter represen-

tative should contact the donor

with the verified mileage to col-

lect the donation

Checks should be made out to:

March of Dimes

Donors may also pledge a closed

donation instead.

Closed donations may be collected

ahead of time

The donor must specify a mileage

rate for the donation

(i.e. for $100 donation the donor

could specify a rate of $2/mile, $10/

mile, etc.)

The chapter must then organize a

walk to cover the appropriate mile-

age

The chapter may walk multiple do-

nations in a single mini-walk

No participant may walk at more

than one rate at a time

No participant may walk for more

than one donor at a time

Multiple participants may walk for a

single donor at the same time

Use the Individual Walk Tracking

Form (see state website) to assist

with this.

Use the Mileage Tracking Form

(see state website) to help keep

track of your chapter’s pro-

gress

Walk across Illinois

By: Illinois State PBL Officer Team

Page 6 Illinois Voice

The individual walk tracker

and mileage tracker forms

are located on the state web-

site: www.il-fblapbl.org.

Winter Seminar Series: January 26, 2013 at Eastern Illinois University

IL PBL State Leadership Conference: April 5 & 6 2013 in Effingham, Illinois

PBL National Leadership Conference

& Institute for Leaders: Anaheim, California

IFL: June 21 & 22 2013

NLC: June 22-25 2013.

Thank you from your 2012-2013 officer team:

pus. We have been conducting meet-

ings in a more productive environ-

ment. With the new work ethic we

have established, several committees

have been established to help en-

hance our chapter. Being a small chap-

ter, new members are able to quickly

obtain a position and make a differ-

ence within our chapter.

Our goal for the up-in-coming semes-

ter is to be noticed as an organization

within the Lumpkin College of Busi-

ness and Applied Sciences, gain more

membership, and to put on a success-

ful Winter Seminar Series in January.

Beginning this semester, Phi Beta

Lambda at Eastern Illinois University has

been in the remolding and restructuring

phase. With a fresh new set of campus

officers, our chapter has been better

than ever before. With great leadership,

all Phi Beta Lambda members have the

opportunity to succeed. Leadership is

important in the business world because

it helps you connect and reach out to

your customers, employees, sales reps,

accountants, and all the countless num-

bers of people connected to your busi-

ness.

Our chapter members are motivated by

each other’s thoughts and ideas. Going

from a chapter of 6 to one of 20+--

everyone is lending a hand and making

our organization stand out on cam-

EIU PBL Makes Plans for Growth

State President: Heather Borowiak

State Vice President: Nick Gregory

State Secretary: Jennilee Benda

State Treasurer: Candi Pucek

State Adviser: Tina Dierkes

State Liaison: Kevin Hoffman

FBLA-PBL State Chair: Darlene Shannon

Igniting Innovation

www.il-fblapbl.org/pbl

By: Mitchell Gurick—EIU

Winter 2012 Page 7

Upcoming Events: