| DECA, a national association of marketing education students, provides
teachers and members with educational and leadership development activities
to merge with the education classroom instructional program. DECA is not
extracurricular; it is an integral part of the classroom instructional
program. DECA chapters attract students who are interested in preparing for
entrepreneurial, marketing or management careers. While DECA membership
consists primarily of students in marketing programs, membership extends
also to alumni and to professionals in marketing education and in marketing
teacher education. Working hand-in-hand with the education and business
communities, DECA’s goal is for its student members to develop a "career
success kit" to carry into their business and personal lives after
graduation; one that includes:
Occupational competencies needed for career in marketing, management and
entrepreneurship
Leadership abilities
Social and business etiquette
Understanding and appreciation of civic responsibility
Ethical behavior in personal and business relationships
Understanding the role of our free enterprise system in the global economy
To accomplish this, DECA utilizes on-the-job experience, chapter projects,
and a program of competency-based competitive events in specific marketing
occupational areas. These events emphasize academic and vocational
excellence as building blocks for successful marketing and management
careers and demonstrate the direct relationship between marketing education
and the real needs of business and industry. Each year more than 110,000
students participate in the competitions on the local, state and national
levels.
A non-profit organization, DECA is governed by an elected Board of
Directors. The National Advisory Board made up of representatives of major
U.S. corporations and businesses who support DECA’s mission, and the
Congressional Advisory Board made up of members of the U.S. Congress, offer
members support and guidance. Since July 1991, the organization is known by
its commonly recognized acronym, DECA, accompanied by the tag line, "An
Association of Marketing Students". The familiar diamond DECA logo has been
updated; newly designed to suggest the strength, stability, and forward-
looking attitude of the association and its 180,000 student members.
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