Hello all, welcome to WFHR's Rapids Report for this May 2nd, 2025.
Have your host, James J. Mailov here, and we're going to take some time today to talk to
some of the kids from Lincoln High School's DECA program and their recent trip to the ICDC in Orlando.
Gang, what I'd like to do first is put a voice to the name, let the audience be able to connect that.
So I'll go down right the line here and let's introduce yourselves.
Yeah, I'm Jonah Rashison. I'm a senior at Lincoln this year.
I'm Olivia Zimmerman. I'm also a senior at Lincoln.
And I am Josh Bush. I am also a senior at Lincoln.
Josh, Jonah, Olivia, thank you so much for being here.
Appreciate the time from all of you and really excited for you.
I remember when we talked before the trip and thinking about this and then seeing some of the
articles and the stories that were out there about this and for those that don't know,
let's catch them up. Lincoln High School's DECA chapter advanced 26 students in the national
competition in Orlando, Florida. These students qualified in an interesting way.
And I want to get into that first guys. How did you qualify for this to be able to take this
trip to Orlando? Is anybody want to take the lead on it? Because I'll let you guys go ahead and
kind of feel that out. I don't want to put anybody on the spot. But if somebody wants to take the
lead on that one, how did you qualify? I'll go. So there you go. Thank you. Good man.
So qualifying for ICDC is most of the time it's through competition. So we start with our
district competition, which is in January. That's kind of like the entry level of competition.
We do that over at mid-state here in Wisconsin Rapids. So then after districts, if you qualify for
state from districts, you then compete at the state competition, which is at the end of February
in Lake Geneva. And then from there, you, if you qualify at state, you move on to ICDC. So for us,
us three, we qualified in our projects or project was in community awareness. And we based it off of
a student communication platform that's new to our school. And so we were we've been working on it
since probably later in 2024. And then we put it together and we're able to present it at state.
We ended up receiving first place at state, which allowed us to compete at ICDC. And then also
Joan and I also double qualified in our series event. So for us, we had two different options to
go in for a competition at ICDC. But ultimately, because we've been working so hard in our project,
us three decided that we should all stick with the project. And so we can be competed with our
community awareness project at ICDC. Congratulations on all of the success and all of that by the way.
And nicely done, Josh. Nicely done. You're just perfect. That was well done.
One of the things that I wanted to do this with is for one, I think that I in the audience just
find it interesting. But I also want the audience to know how much work you guys and your teammates,
if you will, put into this to be able to take this trip and be able to do all of these things.
It's really impressive. And I want to make sure that everybody understands all the hard work
you guys put into it. Yeah. For project events that we went in, it's months of work typically starting
in like the beginning of the school years when you get assigned your members and then your project
that you'll be working on. And then it's we sort of met with our advisors by weekly for about two
to three months until the state competition where it's a 20 page paper we have to write with
details and executive summaries about our process, what we did, how we did it in our goals.
And then with the summary of what we did because we actually implement our project.
And so this year we had a two month to three month campaign around the school to where we
were as class competitions, grade level competitions and club competitions to boost the awareness
of our student platform. Well, thank you for that, Jonah. And one of the things that I think is a
key to keep in mind with all of this, especially considering the majority of people listening to this
are older my age. We've been not a school for a little while here. I'm just going to do that as
gracefully as I can. I think we forget all of that is impressive and would be difficult for any one
of us as adults to pull off. And then you put on top of that your regular work school load
and everything. And just the other things of other after school activities or just having a life
any of this to add that on top of this and the fact that you guys not only did all that but
excelled at it, like just a big tip of the hat you guys. It's very, very cool. And shows how much
you enjoyed this too. We'll get into that a little bit more later. But I want to get to this trip.
How did it go? How did you enjoy your land? What did you guys do during the trip? And we'll just
kind of go down the line here because any one of those things you want to touch on.
Well, we start off with Disney, which is a great.
It seems like a good start. It's a great start to the weekday trip or week trip. And it was
fun. I mean, Disney, there's not much to complain about. We spent a day there and then it was
fun doing the activities like Disney and the beach and just being in a warm Orlando area and not
40 degrees in raining. But our competition wise, it was lackluster. We felt confident, but
obviously we didn't do that great. But I would say overall it was still fun for me just being
there and experiencing Deca for my last time. Yeah. Yeah. And I obviously agree with everything
that Jonas said. You know, it's great to be in the warm Orlando environment on the beach at Disney
with our friends. It's all fantastic. And although a competition didn't necessarily go, the way
that we had hoped we did raise the most money in the world for muscular dystrophy association.
So our chapter was on stage for that. And it was just a great cause and a great time.
We met with other chapters that had raised lots and lots of money and the MDA ambassador. So
all of that was really informative. As well as Jonas kind of touched on, it was our last ICTC.
So you know, just a little sentimental, you know, going back to Orlando and getting to experience
that for the last time was enjoyable. Very cool. Thank you, Olivia. Yeah. And so I'll go
to the things that the past two people have said. I did enjoy the weather. I enjoyed the Disney
experiences, kind of the different things that you're able to do in the southern parts of the country
that you can't really do here. But then another part I think is that over the past year, I've really
enjoyed the networking aspect of Deca. So kind of reconnecting with the people that I haven't seen
since February in a couple months and just not talking and connecting with them. Just because
the last year, I kind of saw Deca in a little different capacity just through my role. So like Olivia
said, kind of it was ICTC this year was kind of a nice wrap up to like the past four years of Deca,
Deca as a whole. And this year, I was able to kind of take a step back and just enjoy a little more
and not have so much to do as compared to last year. But so yeah, really the networking competition and
all the opportunities that you can do. Great answers, you guys. And just piggybacking off of what
you were saying there, Josh, as far as that networking thing goes, there is some reps, some life
lessons you're learning through that. And not only that, but time management. And that's one of those
things that just gets more and more important the older you get. Olivia, you were talking about
some of the things that you enjoyed about it. And Joni, you touched on some stuff too. But the things
that stood up to me that all of you guys mentioned were things that you can't learn in a schoolbook,
things that we have some amazing teachers in this area. Wonderful, wonderful teachers. But they
would be the first to tell you that there's certain things that you can only experience if you're
out there doing them, if you're really in the real environment of it and everything. And you guys
got a chance to do some of that, got some reps and doing those things. Personally, and I may sound
corny, I don't care. To me, whenever you're raising money for a cause, especially one like this,
you can't lose. But given what you guys put into this and how much time you put into it,
the trip itself, all the things you touched on them, among plenty of other things that I'm sure
went on that you'll think of like two hours after this interview and kick yourself for all of
this stuff being said, you can't lose. You can't lose, man. I don't care what you finished in that
whole thing. I'm proud of you. Like I'm proud of this team. I'm proud of what you guys did. And
the reps and the experience, the life experience you guys got from this, they can never take that away.
They can't place something like that. There's no ribbon for something like that. It's stuff that
you guys were able to do and experience that is only going to help you wherever you go in life.
And you're all going to do great things. But whatever you did, just stay out of radio.
I need this job, you guys. And you're all got great voices. No, get in the radio. We need it.
You're going to do good things and you're going to take this experience to be able to do that.
You're going to be able to piggyback from it and excel from it. So I feel for you that you do
not places. I hear it in your voices. I know the competitor. I come from a very competitive family.
I get it. But I don't think there's no loss in this. And again, don't care if it sounds corny.
I mean, every syllable of it. You guys did something that is very impressive.
Did not many could do. Be honest with you. When I was your age, I don't know if I could have done it.
Not sure if I could have. I would have liked to, but I don't know if I could have wanted to talk
about maybe your favorite part of the trip or something that you're looking forward to.
I think from learning from the trip, is there anything along those lines you guys want to touch on?
So I want to get to sponsors and I want to get to your love of Deca too. But if there's none,
we can keep going. I thought you might have somebody living.
I think I touched on it a little, you know, just kind of. And Josh talked about it.
The culmination of our years in Deca and getting our last I CDC experiencing that.
And I think as, you know, a senior member of Deca is something we can appreciate. And I especially
as seeing the younger grades and the younger members kind of come into this white. And I'm
looking forward to seeing how that plays out and all the work that they can continue, you know,
as we graduate, you know, we put a lot of love and work into the chapter. So it was kind of
nice to step back and see it from that perspective as to, you know, what the future will be like. And I,
you know, it was a nice kind of role that way, I'd say.
Good to hear. Very good hearing. Thank you for that. I really appreciate it. It's a sentiment that
I think you guys have touched on a bit here. But just to kind of wrap this up before we mentioned
all these great sponsors and everything, I want to not just use this as an opportunity for our
community to hear the work that you guys did and show some love and appreciation for it.
But certainly to encourage more parents, you know, get their kids involved in Deca. And so for
you, what is your, as you're kind of looking back, wrapping up your Deca careers and everything,
what did you enjoy about Deca? What would you encourage, say to others to encourage them to be a
part of this program? They'd be a part of these classes and everything. Don't you want to start?
Yeah, I think one of the most important things about Deca is that I've never heard a student
join Deca and like compete in it and say that they've regretted it. It's been like, it's been a
great experience. I know when I was freshman year, I was hesitant to join, but I know if I didn't
do Deca, that would not be the person I am today, whether that's just be with my like speaking
skills or my like outgoingness. I know that Deca really like cultivated that within me,
as well as just, it's fun trips. Like say, you don't compete. Like we had a sad performance with
our project, but we still had fun. Like even when you don't, as you said, you can't lose. Like,
no matter what we do with our Deca careers or in Deca, it's been just a fun experience being
there and I've learned a lot. Good, good, will be. Yeah, really what Jonas said, I think you can,
you can never lose and what you said, but you know, you get all the friendships, you get all the
life skills and all of that has been incredibly influential in my life. And as you kind of touched
on before, it connects the real world in ways that, you know, the classroom necessarily can't always.
And I think personally, you know, I'm looking to go to university and get a career that has been
largely impacted by my time in Deca. I think if I wasn't in this organization, you know, I wouldn't
have these interests and it's kind of led me down a career path that I'm looking forward to.
So yeah, just that real world connection and the career orientation of the organization,
really, it's beneficial to everyone, I think. Very cool. Good to hear.
So I think that some of the biggest like takeaways from Deca is the benefit of
like succeeding in what Deca is actually about. So competition, getting a knowledge of business
and marketing and things like that. But there's a lot of like outside benefits that come from it.
So like the process, just like in a chapter, chapter level at the state level, there are a lot
of opportunities for you to apply for things. So that's like getting experience with writing a
resume or an interview or an application or making yourself look like you're qualified for a role
which would help with a job or a college or anything that you're going to do after high school.
So it's a lot of preparation for your future, not only in maybe what you want to go in
as a job, as an occupation or for school, but it really connects all of these skills that you're
going to use for the rest of your life in kind of a four-year period that you can really like
nurture and have a lot of opportunities to do it. Because if you get a job, you're not necessarily
going to be after you graduate college, you're not necessarily going to be applying for a job every
four years. But in Deca, you might apply for a different role every four years. And that gives you
that much more experience in an interview process and an application and just getting a network of
people that you now know that might go off into a different field or go live somewhere else.
And after you graduate from college, now you have all those connections and all those experiences
to where if you need something, if you need advice, if you need maybe a job opportunity or something
like that, you have all of these levels of experience and applying for it. And then you have all these
people that might have insight to opportunities that they can give to you in order to fill your
needs and your wants. So Deca is a lot of, yes, it's about business and marketing, but it's also a lot
about these professional skills that you're going to use, whether you go into business, whether
you go into health, whether you go into any sort of occupation, it really prepares you to take
on the next level of your life. Well said and well done, all three of you. Thank you so much.
Before I wrap up, none of this would be possible without some amazing sponsors, some wonderful
people buying local supporting local supporting our kids and these great things. So we want to make
sure to get through all these sponsors. We've got a number of them here. So let's go ahead and
get into these and mention these great people. I would like to thank Bruns and Suns Auto,
Cade Covey Keller Williams Relity, Central Wisconsin Counseling Association, Clare Eckenchen,
Culver's, Delicious Asian Egrals, Delston Law Office, Aguera Construction LLC,
Gradient Tech Consulting, Greenway RV. As well as the Herman Taylor Funeral Home,
Jasperson's Family Foundation, Jeff Clark and Associates, Lang Electric, Lynx Contracting Inc,
Mehta Custom Apparel, Martin Weiss Electric, Out of the Box Coffee House and Parent Square.
And finally, we'd also like to thank Provelle Bank, Randy O'Keefe Trucking,
the Rapid School of Performing Arts, revision eye care, rural mutual Caleb Shore,
Springer and Sacks at Next Home Partners, Strong Bridge, Wealth Advisors, Swiftwater Ice Cream,
Team Matthews Tire Center, Tritz Forest Products and Williams Plumbing and Heating.
Thank you, James.
