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DECA (also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level, and previously known as Delta Epsilon Chi and Distributive Education Clubs of America) is an international association of high school and college students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. The organization prepares leaders and entrepreneurs for careers and education in marketing, finance, hospitality, management, and other business areas. It is one of ten organizations being led by a parent organization known as "CTSO" Career and Technical Student Organizations. Between 1937 and 1946, local clubs of distributive education students were formed to fulfill the need of cooperative education students to belong, develop socially, and be a part of a group. In 1944, the state clubs in the area that was then designated as the Southern Region, announced that they had joined together under the common name of the Distributors' Club. This association was announced at that year's American Vocational Association convention. In February 1946, a national planning committee was appointed to develop a tentative plan for the organization of a distributive education club on a national level. The official birth of the national organization occurred during the first Interstate Conference of Distributive Education Clubs held in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 17–19, 1947. Among those in attendance was the Louisiana delegation. More than 100 students and sponsors, representing 22 states, participated in the conference. In 1948, the organization's name was changed to the Distributive Education Clubs of America, and a constitution, emblem, creed, colors, and national dues structure were approved. Seventeen states were accepted as charter members. The DECA Foundation was legally incorporated in 1959–1960. In the spring of 1953, the DECA staff moved into the building housing the AVA headquarters in Washington, D.C. The first DECA theme was chosen for use during the 1959–1960 school year (DE - Gateway to Success). By 1969, every state in the US was operating a state association of DECA. Competitive events were refined and stabilized during the 1960s. After a study conducted during 1973–1974, a Competitive Events Reorganization task force proposed a new competence-based approach to competitive events designed to integrate the DECA organization within the instructional program of distributive education. During the early 1970s, the DECA Board of Directors and national staff prepared plans to build a National DECA Center in Reston, Virginia. The building was dedicated in September 1976. Secretary of the US Department of Education, William Bennett, endorsed DECA and the other vocational student organizations in 1988. In 1989, DECA approved its mission statement: "The mission of DECA is to enhance the education of students with interests in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship." A name change occurred in 1991, when the Board of Directors decided that the acronym DECA would be used in conjunction with the words "An Association of Marketing Students." New logos were designed to reflect the change. In 1991, when the acronym was changed, the organization decided that DECA would no longer stand for "Distributive Educational Clubs of America" as it was becoming international.

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