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Island students strut their stuff at DECA

It was a red letter day for 23 Shelter Island students who brought home 13 trophies and one honorable mention at the January 3 Regional DECA competition held at the Suffolk County Community College Selden Campus.

The DECA program, previously known as Distributive Education Clubs of America, enhances student business skills.

All trophy winners and the school’s honorable mention student qualify for the statewide competition to be held later this spring.

Islanders competed in marketing management and communications, finance, advertising, decision-making, hospitality and travel and tourism, restaurant management and job interviewing.

Some competitions involved public speaking, while others required presentations to a panel of judges. Some required preparation of advertising campaigns and others were based on written tests.

Guidance Director Martha Tuthill led the Shelter Island delegation. She became involved in fostering the program when she worked for the Greenport School District and brought the program to Shelter Island when she was hired here in February 2015.

Trophies were awarded to Pacey Cronin and Emmett Cummings in the area of business management and administration; Amelia Clark in business services marketing; Junior Gil and Tyler Gulluscio in job interviewing; Jane Richards, Nico Seddio and Matthew Strauss in public speaking; Lyng Coyne and Emma Gallagher in financial consulting; and Abigail Kotula, Nicholas Labrozzi and Emma Teodoru in hospitality and tourism sales.

Henry Binder received an honorable mention in entrepreneurship.