ERHS DECA Continues to Grow, Begins Podcast

Projects are at the heart of the DECA program, and Elk River High School’s, led by award-winning advisor Sonja Weiler, keeps adding to the repertoire. 

Earlier this year, it was a fundraiser/dinner and remembrance for the Frank family - who tragically lost Solara and Laiken in the spring of 2024. 

“Carly is one of our students and we wanted to utilize DECA to not only remember them, but to really come together as a community and support one another and support Carly the way we do,” Weiler said. “They did an amazing job.”

ERHS DECA teamed with D’s Smokehouse in Zimmerman. Thousands of dollars were raised to begin a scholarship fund in honor of Solara - a Twin Lake Elementary student, and Laiken - a Discovery Preschool student. 

Also new this year is The Lodge - a new, semi-permanent location for a DECA store outside of the high school campus. Yeah, it’s just next door, but the partnership with the City of Elk River and the staff at Furniture and Things Arena has allowed DECA students to have first-hand experience on things like renting space for a business, retail profit margins and even purchasing and ordering apparel and souvenirs. 

“It’s a different animal when you get outside of the ‘school store.’ We have great support here, and the pop-up shops we do for the holidays have been great. But this is something that future chapters will have to keep working on as a project,” Weiler said. 

In addition, a group of DECA students has ventured into the exploding world of podcasts. Entitled “Market Share,” the show has interviewed alumni, business executives, ERHS staff (Weiler and principal Michael Zeman) and, well, itself since launching late last fall. 

You can check it out on Spotify, where all episodes are listed. 

DECA will roll on to the State competition in March, with others aimed at National/World competition in the spring in Florida. 

“It just continues to be a terrific program, which is why I love it,” Weiler said. “And it really brings out the best in students - they love the opportunity to get creative and try things.”