Welcome to a new year with SCBEA!  As your new state president, I would like to share with you my vision for the South Carolina Business Education Association.  I want our organization to be leaders among all areas of Career and Technical Education.  I want our members to take the lead by recruiting and filling our classes with students eager to learn, and I want us to take the lead in volunteering to teach innovative new classes.  It is our responsibility to create an air of excitement within our schools and technology centers in which we are focused and ready to do what is necessary for our students to remain competitive with the ever-changing workforce.  No longer do we compete with just our own states, but now our students must be prepared to compete in a global market.  Students from around the world want what our students have…opportunities. We must look to our future in business education if we are to keep pace with our changing society so that we can provide those opportunities to our students.  
     We are very fortunate to have an organized, dedicated group of professional teachers who want nothing more than to see our students succeed in business and become productive members of society.  We must all make an effort to ensure each of our co-teachers are members of our organization.  Strength comes in numbers, and I truly believe more people will listen when we are strong in membership.  It is necessary for us to show that we are united in our profession and that we are eager to accept the challenges that are being heaped upon us.  We have to grow as teachers in order to keep the pace.  Please encourage those in your business departments to join.
     I want to challenge you to embrace the future!  The theme I chose this year is “Embracing the Future with Business Education.”  Our future is what we make it.  I hear myself tell my students this phrase each semester.  I was fortunate to have my parents repeat this to me on a regular basis, but we must remember that not all of our students are fortunate enough to have parents involved in planning their futures.  We must then take on the role of cheerleader as we steer our students to enroll in classes that will prepare them for the world of work.  Our job is to teach our students the skills they need to face their future successfully.
     Our Executive Board has been working hard to plan our program of work for the upcoming year.   Debbie Castles, President Elect, and her program committee have put in many hours preparing for the upcoming conference.  I know you will be pleased with the choices on the program.  It is hard to believe that conference time will be here in a few months.  Get your hotel reservation early so you will be assured of a room. 
     I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to serve you as President of SCBEA.  I have learned much in this role and can’t wait to see this year unfold as we celebrate “Embracing the Future with Business Education.”
     I am very glad to be serving as your state president and I look forward to a very rewarding year with our great organization.

Beverly A. Meares
SCBEA President