ElDo DECA competes at State, Davis Qualifies for ICDC

Pictured from left: Gabby Boch, Darlinda Davis, Sebastian Vanholt, Lilly Willinger and Kyndal Swopes.

Members of the El Dorado Springs DECA chapter competed at the 78th Missouri DECA State Career Development Conference (SCDC) at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri on March 22-24, 2026. The five DECA members were among the over 2,000 high school students and advisors who attended the conference. This year’s conference theme was “Go Beyond” which challenged students to “Go Beyond” their comfort zone as they competed against the top Marketing students in the state of Missouri. While at the conference, the students had the opportunity to network with other DECA members from all over the state, hear the keynote speech from Mike Howard and compete in various Marketing events. Competing this year were Gabby Boch in Community Giving Project, Darlinda Davis in Entrepreneurship Series Event, Kyndal Swopes and Lilly Willinger in Integrated Marketing Campaign-Event and Sebastian Vanholt in Principals of Hospitality and Tourism.

Darlinda Davis placed 4th in her event, earning DECA Glass which garnered her a chance to compete at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, Georgia on April 24-29, 2026. Also earning recognition was DECA advisor Kristal Swopes who was honored with the District 10 DECA Diamond Award. The entire chapter was also recognized for their community service efforts with the Achievement Level Community Service Campaign. We are extremely proud of all DECA’s accomplishments this year.

If you are willing to help sponsor Darlinda’s trip to ICDC, please contact Ms. Swopes at kswopes@eldok12.org.