The following press release was provided by Mr. Gartman:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 02, 2026
Contact: Kevin Gartman
Montezuma Community School
(641) 623-5121
Local student earns DECA Emerging Leader Honor Award
Montezuma, Iowa – Claire Erselius, a senior at Montezuma Community School in Montezuma, Iowa, is the recipient of the 2026 DECA Emerging Leader Honor Award.
Claire Erselius has distinguished herself at Montezuma Community School through strong academic performance, leadership involvement, and consistent service to her school and community. In addition to her academic success, Claire has been an active leader in DECA and other school activities, where she has taken on responsibilities that require organization, professionalism, and collaboration. She is known for her reliability, positive attitude, and willingness to support others, whether through mentoring peers, representing her school at competitive events, or contributing to community initiatives. Her commitment to excellence and service reflects the qualities this award is designed to recognize.
This award recognizes students studying marketing, finance, hospitality and management for being academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders through participation in DECA. The award recipient must be a DECA member in his or her senior year of high school with a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or better for each of the high school semesters.
“Claire is the kind of student who makes a lasting impact on our school and community. She leads by example, supports others, and approaches every opportunity with maturity and purpose. This award recognizes not only her accomplishments, but the leadership qualities she demonstrates every day,” said Kevin Gartman, DECA chapter advisor at Montezuma Community School.
The DECA chapter advisor at Montezuma Community School is Kevin Gartman. Claire Erselius is the daughter of Andy and Sara Erselius.
About DECA Inc.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs with a career interest in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business and promote competition. DECA student members leverage their DECA experience to become academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders. DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with over 287,000 members in more than 4,000 high school and college chapters in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Germany. For more information about DECA, visit www.deca.org.
Congratulations to Claire!