Congratulations to junior Madison Clem who was named the 2024-25 Area 4 President and State Officer for Washington DECA during the Area 4 Conference on January 5.

Madison was selected as a candidate for the position after she completed an initial application in the fall, completed a rigorous test through Washington DECA and was interviewed by Washington DECA leadership. She was then elected president and state officer by her peers to represent Area 4 during the 2024-25 school year at the Area 4 Conference.

"At every DECA conference I've attended, I've admired the leaders on stage and thought how cool it would be to join them," Madison Clem said. "This September, I decided to go for it and started the election process! I engaged in informational workshops, tests, applications and an interview. In mid-December, I was notified that I had advanced to the final round in the process – the election! I gave my election speech at the Area 4 Conference in front of over 2,500 people. I was competing against seven final candidates. At the end of the day, they announced that I was the new Area 4 President! It was a surreal moment and extremely rewarding."

In this role, Madison will work with eleven other student leaders from Washington State to develop, implement and enhance Washington DECA's many programs and strategic goals. She’ll represent all Area 4 DECA members, which includes 2,000 students across 11 schools in the Puget Sound area.

Some of the duties that Madison will participate in this year include managing social media channels, planning and executing initiative projects, hosting workshops, visiting chapters across the state, representing and speaking for DECA at community events, planning the next area conference and attending leadership retreats.

"This is Madison’s third year in DECA, and as this year’s EC chapter president, she wanted to find a way to take her leadership skills and interest in business to the next level and make an impact," DECA Advisors Tyler McLaughlin and Isaac Melum said. "We are so proud of her and can’t wait to see her lead Area 4 next year!"