Few extracurricular clubs across the state can match the 124% membership growth seen by Palmerton Area High School’s Future Business Leaders of America over the past decade.

Palmerton has turned that large membership into unparalleled success with 66 of its 82 students qualifying for the upcoming state FBLA conference from April 11-13.

Advisers Kerry Palumbo and Jennifer Danzeisen are in their 10th year leading the club, which is now the sixth largest among 266 chapters in Pennsylvania.

“It’s been an eye opening experience to see how we’ve grown,” Palumbo said during a recent presentation before Palmerton’s school board. “The great thing about this club is it’s something anyone can be a part of. You don’t have to be at the top of your class. You could be a really great artist, or be really good at public speaking, or maybe math is your thing and you excel there. There are so many different areas where kids can explore what their future might look like before they commit to higher education and a major without having an idea where they are starting.”

Based on Palmerton’s entries in the state FBLA competition, it estimates between 10-15 qualifiers for the national conference in Chicago later this year. Senior Chris Walkowiak gave the Bombers their best ever FBLA performance when he placed ninth out of 88 competitors last year in the computer problem solving national competition. Before nationals, at the 2021 state conference, Maddie Everett and Madeline Wentz finished first in “Intro To Social Media Strategy.” The duo had to create a strategy they would use to help increase the school’s influence through three different social media platforms.

Many FBLA clubs saw a large decrease in participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, membership around the state dropped from 12,723 students before the pandemic to 6,875 in 2020-21.

“We were one of the few clubs even last year that continued to meet with students and prep them for testing,” Palumbo said. “A lot of our students embraced it, even when we were not in person, because it gave them something to do on their own when they were just stuck in front of a computer.”

In 2019-20, Palmerton’s membership peaked at 111 students, but even with a slight decrease, it still has 17% of its student body participating in the organization.

With more success, however, comes more cost. Palmerton’s board last updated its FBLA funding amount when it pledged $8,000 in 2016. It costs around $3,000, however, just for chaperones and advisers because the district needs one adult for every 10 students.

“An ideal scenario would see the district pay for transportation and the cost for the advisers, regardless of what those are from year to year, so we can use all of that $8,000 to directly bring the individual cost down for the students,” Palumbo said. “All we want is the opportunity to give more kids a chance to participate, particularly attending the state conference, by covering some of the basic costs we have to administer the club.”

Each student will have an estimated cost of $350 to attend this year’s state conference. The cost includes three nights lodging, five meals, registration fees, shuttle transportation at the conference, a T-shirt and a one-day ticket to Hersheypark.

In addition to their competitive events, students will attend workshops throughout the conference as well as hear numerous motivational speakers.

“I think we need to have a discussion about what we can commit so we can give all kids as much as opportunity as fiscally possible,” board President Tammy Recker said in response to the club’s request for a new funding approach.

Palmerton’s FBLA has raised almost $3,000 to date through a variety of fundraisers.

It is hosting a trivia night, open to everyone, on March 29 at 6 p.m. in the Palmerton Area High School cafeteria.

“It is $10 a person and we’re planning on having prizes for each round a trophy at the end,” Palumbo said. “There will also be food and baked goods. We’re trying to put together something that will be a really fun night for everyone.”