Demopolis High School DECA Club members have completed their regional testing and are now gearing up for the state competition, to be held Monday and Tuesday at the Renaissance Hotel at the Convention Center in Montgomery.

The DHS DECA Club is among the most successful in Alabama, consistently sending members to international competitions each year.

“We had 39 students advance to this year’s state competition,” said DECA sponsor Lucinda Mason. “In the regional competition that we had last month, they were competing against students from the southern half of the state. Now, they will come together in Montgomery, where students from all over the state will compete against each other.”

Last year, current DHS junior Colin Russell was the only Alabama DECA member to earn international recognition, being an event finalist in the multiple marketing sales event at the 2009 international competition in Anaheim, Calif.

This year’s international competition will be held the week of April 23 in Louisville, Ky.

Those advancing to the 2010 DECA state competition in Montgomery are: Victoria Bonds and Erin White, apparel and accessories, Morgan Cooper, Mary Riffe and Ashley Owings, business services marketing; Shakeyla Jones, Talacy Hines, Madison Bozeman and Amber Rowser, hotel and lodging management; Colin Russell and Alex Wright, marketing management; Chrystan Owsley, Hasieb Khan, Sydney Hill, Alex Poole and Anna Lambert, restaurant and food service management; Deanna Marchand, Nicole Akins and Melanie Szalai, retail marketing; Drew Mercer and Jared Gray, sports and entertainment marketing; Hope Moore, Jazmin Campbell and Jonniece Collins, principles of finance; Sutton Aiken, Shannon Pittman, Sommer Horshok and Chelsea Cooke, principles of hospitality and tourism; Alexis Jones, Tiffany Williams and Austin Holtzclaw, principles of marketing; Leanna Parker and Aryn Wilborn, buying and merchandising (team); Kimberly Compton and Karmon Andrews, buying and merchandising (team); Anna Stuart Cramer and Anna Morgan Reynolds, hospitality services (team); and Kayla Cornett and Katrina Brown, travel and tourism marketing (team).