Candace Credle, MBA, is a dynamic educator and community leader withover a decade of experience in empowering educational andentrepreneurial success. With a Master’s in Business Administration and abackground in Fine Arts, she has honed her skills in project management,mentoring, and as a career and technical education teacher. Candace is also the Founder and CEO of C3 Concierge, a company dedicated to providing personalized online business management services to help individuals and businesses streamline their operations and achieve their goals.

Candace is dedicated to empowering young people and community leaders to reach their full potential by implementing efficient systems that enable them to realize their capabilities, pursue their passions, and bring their impactful visions to life.

As an educator, Candace has a profound impact on her students, preparing them for a dynamic and ever-changing world by emphasizing the practical application of business systems and innovative marketing strategies, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Her dedication to education is evident through her roles as the DECA District Advisor for District 21, Nansemond River High School (NRHS) DECA Advisor, Senior Class Sponsor, and Ladies of Distinction Site Coordinator for NRHS, where she guides students in developing leadership skills and achieving academic excellence. 

Candace was recognized with the 2024 Outstanding DECA Advisor Silver Award and a Certificate of Excellence in Education from the Suffolk Public Schools School Board for the 2023-2024 school year. She also serves asthe Director of Administration for Walk In It/Ladies of Distinction. 

Candace’s community initiatives are evident within and outside the classroom. She is the co-visionary behind the "Gowns for Crowns" prom dress giveaway event, which helps alleviate the financial burden of prom for students. Her community engagement extends to organizing breast cancer awareness campaigns in support of the CJA Foundation and annual toy drives and nursing home initiatives, significantly impacting the Hampton Roads community.

Candace's journey began with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Norfolk State University, followed by earning her MBA from the University of Phoenix. Her career has spanned various roles in education and community service, including teaching entrepreneurship and marketing to high school students and managing significant events like the Jeezy concert at Chrysler Hall and Gospel Fest. Candace’s love and passion for youth and entrepreneurship extend farbeyond the classroom to her community. Candace is an active member of Grove Church serving in multiple capacities as Sunday School Facilitator and previously as a Trio Leader with Daughters of Destiny ministry.

Candace wears many hats but is most proud of being a godmother to eight amazing children ranging from the age of five months to twenty-three years of age, auntie, sister, daughter, wife, and woman of God.

Pa’Trice L. Day Owens has been an educator at Orange County High School in Orange, Virginia since 2014, teaching Business and Marketing. Before her teaching career, Pa’Trice served in the United States Marine Corps for 17 years, attaining the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. She also has experience owning several businesses and participating on various executive boards. Having relocated to Virginia from Ohio in November 2008, where she worked as an Information Technologist and College Program Advisor at Bowling Green State University, Pa’Trice pursued doctoral studies in Educational Psychology. Realizing the need for hands-on impact and firsthand knowledge, she transitioned to the classroom as a substitute teacher with Orange County Public Schools in 2012, discovering her passion for teaching.

She has been a DECA Co-Advisor for 10 years. As Co-Advisor, she assisted the opening of her school’s SBE which has received Gold Certification each year. Her chapter has also earned awards for the Virginia DECA Annual Report and championed district, state, and international finalists and winners. Orange County High School DECA chapter students have led as the International Executive President, Association Vice Presidents, and District 18 Officers.

Pa’Trice has served as a member of the Virginia Association of Marketing Educators (VAME), the Board of Directors, and the Virginia DECA Board of Trustees. She has been listed as a presenter at DECA Amped, DECA Virtually Chapter Advisor Experience, and the VAME conferences.

Under Pa’Trice’s leadership, she has assisted in starting several new programs at OCHS such as Entrepreneur Day, Job Café, and the Annual DECA Etiquette Dinner.  Pa’Trice also assisted in adding five new courses to the Marketing curriculum at OCHS in 2015: Fashion Marketing, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Advanced Entrepreneurship, and Introduction to Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation formerly Opportunities in Hospitality and Tourism.

As a business teacher, Pa’Trice has taught Economics and Personal Finance for 10 years. In the last decade, she has continued to teach classes with a 93% pass rate on the national WISE personal financial literacy exam earning her Gold Star Teacher for 10 years. Pa’Trice’s Bachelor's degree in Advanced Technological Education assisted her in creating a digital classroom in 2015. When COVID shut down education around the globe, her students were used to learning in a hybrid setting. Pa’Trice used the time during the shutdown to revamp her courses. As new teachers have joined the Business and Marketing team teaching Principles of Business and Marketing and Economics and Personal Finance, the changes have shown great promise for OCHS students and teachers. OCHS has continued to earn the title of a Wise Blue Star School. New teachers have also become WISE Gold Star Teachers. For the 2022-2023 school year, OCHS was listed as a WISE TOP 100 Schools in the country and was in the Top 10 in large schools with a population of 1500 students.

Pa’Trice was awarded Teacher of the Year for 2016-2017 for both Orange County High School and the Orange County Public Schools district. She has been a Virginia DECA Outstanding Advisor since 2017. As a Co-Advisor, Pa’Trice was awarded the Orange County Chamber of Commerce Education Award in 2016. In 2014, 2016, and 2023, she won the Lake of the Woods Innovation Grant and the Wells Fargo Teacher Award. These grants have aided OCHS in receiving monetary awards to add academic resources and enrichment for students. She was honored and received the 2014 Community Mentor of the Year Award from Locust Grove Middle School. She was accepted into the prestigious Columbia University, Loot Academy Cohort in 2015, and the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton College of Business, Economic High School Teacher’s Cohort in 2016. Pa’Trice has also received the Teacher Achievement Award from Orange County Public Schools in 2015, 2019, and 2022. This award is given by the top academic graduating students who nominate their most K-12 influential teacher. Pa’Trice also was chosen by the District leadership to serve on the Orange County Public Schools Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee. In this position, Pa’Trice assisted in aiding community members, business leaders, and other OCPS educators to ensure a successful future.

In addition to teaching, Pa’Trice founded and currently Co-Advises the African American Club (AAC) at Orange County High School. The organization's mission is to educate the community about the culture and historical significance of the African American Community and to close the academic achievement gap of students of color. Her work is partly responsible for shrinking the achievement gap to less than 9% in OCPS and increasing students of color to enroll in higher-level courses before the COVID-19 shutdown. In addition, AAC has coordinated the Annual Black History Month (BHM) activities which culminates with a historical program.

Pa’Trice has served as a volunteer in all the communities she has lived in. Since arriving in Orange, she has served as a member of the Minority Task Force for her county. Pa’Trice also assists with the youth in the Orange County Chapter of the NAACP. She has served as the President of the Orange County Education Association, VEA since 2021. She has been a member of the Orange County African American Historical Society Board of Directors since 2021. In April 2024, Pa’Trice accomplished a lifetime goal of becoming a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated member.

Pa’Trice plans to resume her studies as a doctoral student in Education Psychology in the Fall of 2024 at Capella University. Pa’Trice has earned two Associate degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Advance Technological Education, and a Master in Organizational Development completed post-graduate work in Education Leadership at James Madison University in 2019.

She has been friends for 32 years and married for 17 years to fellow Marine, Rembert Owens Sr. Together, they have seven children ranging in age from 18 to 38: Timothy who is also a DECA Advisor, Dr. Amber Mukasa, Cierra, Rembert Jr., Ashley, Sean, and Anthony, and son-in-law Dr. Samwiri Mukasa, three grandchildren, Carson (14), Peyton (13), and Ashton (10), two goddaughters, Aniyah (23) and Kenza (9), and one God-Son Demetrius (43). 

Since moving to Virginia, Pa’Trice has found her passion in life with teaching and DECA. She influences her students in and outside of the classroom. Her life is full of children. Her passion for people shows in all she does in both education and her family.

Marketing teacher and School Leadership Team member at Salem High School, Kris Harless, has just completed her 20th year in education. She taught in Roanoke County for 2 years, then moved to Salem High School for 3 years. After taking some time off to be a full-time mom, Kris served as a paraprofessional in elementary education for 5 years, returning to SHS in 2015. In the early years in Roanoke County and Salem, Kris taught Introduction to Marketing, Advanced Marketing, International Marketing, Internet Marketing, and Business Law. During this second tenure at SHS, she teaches Marketing Exploration, Marketing, Strategic Marketing, Introduction to Fashion Careers, and Senior Pathway Project Management. Kris has been the sole DECA Advisor at Salem High School during both of her tenures at SHS.

Kris earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration from Radford University and completed her teaching requirements at James Madison University. She went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech.

Beyond her professional responsibilities at Salem High School, Kris is a supporter of youth development through her role as a merit badge counselor for Scouts BSA. Her expertise and guidance have been instrumental in helping Scouts achieve their goals and develop essential life skills. As the proud mom of two Eagle Scouts, Kris understands the value of perseverance, leadership, and community service, and she strives to instill these values in all her students and scouts.

Kris's dedication extends to her active participation in various school and community activities. She is a mentor, role model, and advocate for continuous learning, always seeking new ways to enrich her students' educational experiences. Her contributions not only shape the lives of her students, but also have a lasting impact on the Salem High School community.