DECA At A Glance

 

  • Kentucky Association of DECA is a member of DECA Inc. the non-partisan, non-sectarian 501 (c)(3) association of marketing students. Founded nationally in 1946, DECA Inc now has members in 50 states and four territories and Canada. Its members participate in local chapters in the secondary, postsecondary and professional levels. DECA's national headquarters, in Reston, Virginia, with the Kentucky office house at 2116 Capital Plaza Tower, Frankfort, KY 40601.

  • Membership is open to students with a career interest in marketing, management, hospitality, finance, entrepreneurship, and/or business administration. DECA programs are co-curricular, meaning programs complement nationally recognized curriculum standards in the classroom and then go further to incorporate realistic educational experiences not available through classroom instruction alone.

  • A key strategy in pursuit of this mission is to enable schools and businesses to work together to offer students the education and cooperative work experiences necessary to give them a competitive edge in the job market. To this end, members participate in a wide variety of programs, including:

    • classroom instruction in economics, marketing concepts and management

    • work experience (both role-play and actual);

    • industry-sponsored marketing competitions and other competitive events;

    • leadership, career and personal development classes and workshops.

  • DECA's 160,000 members participate in over 5,000 local chapters. The program generally is available to students in 11th and 12th grades. A related organization of college-level marketing students operates as the Delta Epsilon Chi organization.

  • It is a marketable future for DECA members across the United States and Canada.

  • It is the future of partnerships between many of America's leading businesses

  • and marketing educators in the interest both of corporate needs and of DECA members.

  • It is a demonstration of the present and future integration of academic learning with identifiable marketplace skills.

  • DECA has made a significant impact to the lives of over eight million students who have applied the marketing and leadership principles they learned in the classroom, in the workplace, and through DECA projects and competitive events. Clearly, DECA has contributed to the marketable future of our former members. Those same opportunities must be available to today's members. Through DECA the unique combination of creative teaching and strong support from business leaders have combined to form a set of experiences that allow DECA members to leave high school with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that enhance their marketability.

 

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