A student project on the Taste of Annandale made it all the way to the international DECA competition.
DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America, prepares students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, management, and entrepreneurship.
Three students at Oakton High School – senior Zach Weber and juniors Evan Schmader and Chris Hillen – came up with the idea of using the Taste of Annandale as a case study of a well-run community event.
“We chose the Taste of Annandale due to their high community influence and diversity represented at the festival,” Evan says. He also has a personal connection – his grandfather, Bob Kahane, is chair of the Taste of Annandale Planning Committee.
For the competition, the students created a mock integrated marketing campaign for the Taste of Annandale. That project placed second in the Virginia state DECA competition in March and qualified them for the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla., April 27-30.
Taste of Annandale - April 29, 2023 