STATE CAREER DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE

Montana DECA is celebrating its 75th Annual State Career Development Conference (SCDC) with the powerful theme, "Make Your Mark." This milestone event is not only a celebration of DECA's rich history but also a call to action for its members to leave a lasting impact on their communities, careers, and the DECA organization itself.

Kaleb Austin grew up in Murray, UT where he cultivated a love for singing and writing country

music from a very early age. He began writing his own songs at age 14 and quickly realized he wanted to pursue a career in the music business. In the coming years he would have the chance to share the stage with the likes of JoDee Messina, Billy Currington, Dan+Shay, Brantley Gilbert and Joe Nichols among others.

After chasing his dreams for over a decade he finally got his big break through social media. His wife Cheyenne began posting short videos of Kaleb singing to his baby daughter which swiftly gained him a following of almost 2 million people. His following dubbed the “KAmpfire” helped him get to Nashville and record his first #1 iTunes single, “Sound of the South” with long time hitmaker Dan Frizsell.

This marked a turning point in Kaleb’s life giving his music new wings and earning him the title of

“TikTok Country Artist of the Year.” He has since released a full album with several chart topping hits including “Turn the Night On” and “Sun Goes Down.” He currently resides in Salt Lake City where he is preparing for his upcoming tour and is actively writing for his second studio album.

Growing up in Sacramento, Ca, Garibaldi created from a young age in various forms.From playing the trumpet, graffiti, animation, and even dance, each would later play a role in kicking off his art career. Though a high school animation teacher inspired Garibaldi to pursue art as a career and attend college, a meeting with his high school counselor was about to change plans. The young artist didn’t have enough credits to graduate high school on time, which was devastating and life altering at that time. From 18 years old to 20, Garibaldi was trying to figure out what’s next while working odd jobs and moving from place to place. Then at 20 years old, he took action to start painting live at local jazz clubs and sell his paintings to make ends meet. This live painting quickly transformed into a live show experience after being inspired by the performance painting legend, Denny Dent.

The Career...From 2003 to 2012 Garibaldi set out to put performance painting on the map while doing 100+ live shows per year for large corporations, schools, non profits, and even an arena tour opening for Blue Man Group. He was determined to keep leveling up and setting a personal challenge to raise $1 million for charity through his art by age 30. Which he did before 2012 .In 2012 Garibaldi’s appearance and America’s Got Talent finalist status took him to a whole new level for almost a decade after. From collaborations with Disney and Cirque Du Soleil, to being the opening act for KISS’s Farewell World Tour, there was a momentum that seemed like it couldn’t be stopped.

Present...Since early 2020 and post pandemic, Garibaldi has grown his online presence with now millions of followers, and had continued doing live shows on tour. In addition, the 39 year old artist started teaching his techniques online, launched a podcast, and even does weekly live streams to create and inspire the next generation of artists. This current path has lead to founding PAINT +, an on demand course and coaching platform for artists. PAINT is built on the foundation of what Garibaldi calls a life method.“We are somewhere on our PAINT journeys of Passion, Action, Intent, New, and Teach. The goal is to discover where we are, and create where we go next.PAINT + is one vehicle to teach and inspire future creators.” -David Garibaldi.