Three Utah high schools took top honors at the inaugural DECA Financial Literacy Challenge hosted by
Mountain America Credit Union� (West Jordan, UT) earning top finisher Herriman High School $10,000, second place Syracuse High School $3,000 and third-place finisher Timpview High School $1,000.
For the challenge, all Utah high schools with DECA clubs were eligible to compete to create the most effective financial literacy marketing campaign. Clubs were judged on their marketing plan, creative brief and creative concepts, execution, results, and their presentation and paper for the recent DECA state conference and competition.
"Mountain Americas goal is to encourage high school students to take an active role in their financial education," said Sharon Cook, senior vice president of marketing and PR for Mountain America. "The earlier a person learns about personal finances and can take charge of their financial future, the smoother their financial road tends to be in adulthood. For example, becoming familiar with online resources and gaining hands-on experience with ones own checking account will pay great dividends. Our DECA challenge was a success as we saw high school students educating their peers on these important subjects."
Dale Stephens, state marketing specialist and DECA coordinator for the Utah State Office of Education, said, "Mountain Americas challenge to our high school students to increase financial literacy has benefited and enhanced the learning of both the DECA clubs and their schools. Our schools responded with terrific campaigns, and the students appreciate the real-world financial and marketing skills theyve developed through this competition."
