Meet Hannah/ Lets Talk About Membership!

Hey guys I’m Hannah Wright from Nebraska! I am so honored to say that I am your 2011-2012 National VP of Membership, for all of you who don’t know I stand at 3’2”.

A little bit about me, I was born and raised in Neligh, Nebraska, population 1,600. My senior class has 30 kids and I know everyone’s parents all the way to their dog…it is a very small town! I am in FCCLA, FBLA, One Act, Speech, Dance, All School Play/Musical, Choir and many more activities. But, I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for FCCLA. I was born with Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Dwarfism. After I was out of my mom I was in an ambulance on my way to Omaha to the Children’s Hospital. The doctors prepared my parents for the worse and told them at best, I would live to be 6 months old…well did I prove them wrong! My parents raised me the same way they raised my older brother and sister--to my family nothing was different with me, I was just short. Later on in 2003 my mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She kicked some major cancer butt and came out stronger than before. She is my super mom and my hero. When we all thought our lives would finally become normal we found out my grandpa had colon cancer. On July 7th, 2007 he lost his battle and it shook my family--that was year I joined FCCLA. I started out a shy 8th grader not really knowing what to do and was asked to be the Freshman District Creed speaker. I nervously agreed and wrote a speech about my life so far. The day came and I said my speech in front of 600 of my peers, when I was done I looked up and saw my fellow FCCLA’ers with tears in their eyes and then they stood up and gave me a standing ovation. After that I was running for the Peer Education Team, State Officer, and National Officer. FCCLA has taught me to take my past experiences and show others it doesn’t matter your history, you can achieve your dreams if you are willing to work at them.

So FCCLA, here we are! As VP of Membership it is my job to give you some ideas to help recruit members. I asked some members to see what they do in their chapters…

“Scholarships! Those seniors need all the scholarships they can get! My chapter gives away 3 scholarships each year to active members. It really helps increase active members!” –Justin Hess Virginia

“Go to talk to local schools that don’t have FCCLA but have FACS classes! Inform the students about the benefits of FCCLA, what we do, and why we are in it! Of course don’t forget to inform the Administration and the FACS teacher(s)!” –Patrick Colgan Nebraska

“My chapter has a lock-in for underclassmen to teach them about FCCLA with games, food, and an overnight stay at the school” –Kali Lenhoff Nebraska

“Go talk to those who are eligible to join FCCLA in a year or two! Play games and give presentations on what you do in FCCLA and why it’s so amazing!” –Rose Haugen North Dakota

Don’t forget to Recruit, Retain, and Recognize! To find more ways to get members go to www.fcclainc.org and look under the Membership tab where you can find many resources to help you out!

August Meeting in Review

This week from Wednesday August 17th through today, we have been trying to plan a strong, dynamic year for all of you members. Our lips are definitely sealed on certain details, but we can share a few things.
   First of all, we have definitely bonded much stronger as a group. This allowed us to bounce ideas off of each other much easier and create out of this world ideas. We learned about all the new opportunities that will be provided to the members and discussed how to promote these and make them reach their greatest potential. We drafted our Program of Work which states the guidelines we will use to try and grow the organization. I'm not sure if anyone in this council has ever focused so much on the wording of a sentence. Our goal was to clearly state what benefits we want to give to the members and how we are going to get you those benefits.
  Then came the fun parts. We have officially decided our theme for the 2012 National Leadership Conference!!!!!! We are so excited to unvail it to everyone AT CLUSTERS!! Until then you will have to wait in anticipation because like I said before, we've got that theme under lock and key for now. We also created the skits for the National Cluster Meeting. These will not be shared till clusters either!!! We can't wait to surprise and inspire every single member. If it makes you feel any better we can announce the officers that are going to each cluster meeting:
Denver- Ariana Lake
              Tori Coates
              Kristy Paquette
              Alex Durham
              Miguel Astello

Minnesota & Atlanta- Kaylen Larson
                                   Jessica Pope
                                   Hannah Wright
                                   Jessie Pratt
                                   Kelcie Sturgeon

Now more than ever before I think we can all agree that we are truly honored to represent the FCCLA members while making these decisions and serving as your 2011-2012 National Executive Council.
                                

Meet Kelcie Sturgeon

Once again congratulations to all the competitive events participants. Keep up the good work and we hope to see you next year in Orlando! The next officer we'd like to introduce is Kelcie Sturgeon, the VP of Parlimentary Procedure. Take it away Kelcie!!

Why hello all you amazing people! My name is Kelcie Sturgeon from West Virginia and I am proud to announce that I am your 2011-2012 National Vice-President of Parliamentary Law! Wow. That sounds so weird to say. I still can’t process it enough that I am a National Officer. Every day it sets in a little more. I think it’ll finally hit me at Clusters when I get to speak in front of the finest members around. YOU. I can’t seem to thank you guys enough. The members are what make this organization amazing.
I can’t even begin to fathom where FCCLA has taken me. I started out in 6th grade in my Home Economics class where I was introduced to my middle school FACS teacher, Mrs. McBee. Because of her, I am standing where I am today.
As soon as I saw the eight officers in those red blazers at my first State Leadership Conference, I knew that is exactly what I wanted to do. Eventually I ran for state office and I was elected the 2008-2009 Vice-President of Public Relations and Community Service (Mouth Full). Again, I am so truly blessed as West Virginia doesn’t have a limit on how many times you can run for office (Probably because we’re so tiny). Anyways, the next year I was elected 2009-2010 First Vice-President. The next two years I was elected 2010-2012 State President. After being elected, State President for my second term I decided to start filling out the application to be a National Officer Candidate. That was the hardest part out of the entire process. But look where I am, a National Officer. Very Awesome feeling to say that. In case you were wondering, I did have to give up my position as State President, but I’m not complaining too much! Haha!
I live in Morgantown, West Virginia, HOME OF THE MOUNTAINEERS! I am so proud to live in WV.Some of my favorite things include singing in and out of the shower, acting, speaking in front of large crowds, hanging with my friends, and shopping. My favorite book is now Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. My favorite color is green. My favorite kind of music would have to be Alternative, Rock, Country, and Pop. I really like to paint but hate to draw. Everything about me is spontaneous. I love being loud and energetic. I am a fun person to be around who will always make you smile! When I graduate from high school, I will attend a University where I will get my masters in Political Science where maybe one day I can run for an real office. I hope one day I will get to intern at the White House, where that is one of my big dreams!
I am so truly blessed right now; I am unable to put it into words. I can already see great things happening this year. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email or Facebook me. All my information is on the national website, fcclainc.org. I want to hear from YOU! And trust me, you will be hearing a lot from me!

Meet Jessica Pope/ Competitive Event Review

Thank you Kaylen for sharing with us! Next NEC officer we'd like to introduce is Jessica Pope, the 2011-2012 National VP of Competitve Events.

Hello FCCLA,

So what do most people look forward to most when they come to National Leadership Conference? Well the competitions of course! And, this year has again pushed our competitive events to a whole new level! From STAR Events to the Otis Spunkmeyer O-riginal Recipe contest, this was an amazing year with lots of opportunities to show your originality!

This year, we had 3,500 students participate in STAR Events! This is a 450 person increase from last year!

 We held a FACS Knowledge Bowl Competition with the winners being:

«      1^st place: New Berlin High School – Illinois

«      2^nd place: Jonesboro FCCLA – Arkansas

«       3^rd place: Selah High School – Washington

The 2011 Recycled Flag Contest Winner was Kyila Hopson Mosley – Nebraska.

The 2010-2011 FCCLA Leaders to Watch Contest participants included:

 Student Winners: Bobbi Anderson – Kansas, Linsey Armstrong – Nebraska, Rachel Cheng - New Jersey, Elizabeth Cook – Wisconsin, Madelyn Dunavant – Alabama, Cara Gooch – Missouri, Dalton Noakes – Kansas, David Shah - New Jersey, Sara Smith – Nebraska, and Daven Woosley – Kentucky.

Adviser Winners :  Jeanne Dowell – Kansas, Marcy Hamiliton – Missouri, Beth Moore Williams – Georgia, Pat Neville – Indiana, Nicole Perez - New Jersey, and Bryan Tolle - West Virginia.

And we can’t forget the Otis Spunkmeyer O-riginal Recipe contest winner! The O-riginals Winning Creation was: "Peanut Butter Cup Ravioli Sundae" by Leah Schneider from Ocean Township High School FCCLA, New Jersey.

 I would like to congratulate all participants! It was truly a great year, and I look forward to an even more amazing year and increasing our number of competitors! Everyone keep up all your hard work, and we will see even more winners and gold medalists in Orlando!

My name is Jessica Pope, and this year I will be serving you as the 2011-2012 National Vice-President of Competitive Events! I come to you from the great peach state of Georgia. I joined FCCLA as an 8^th grader and have been thrown into a whirlwind of leadership experiences and fun ever since it began. I competed in STAR Events for two years and the Georgia knowledge bowl competition before being elected into my first state officer position. This past year, I served as Georgia’s State President and will be serving on the State Executive Council for my third and final year this year. They call me Grandma Pope on our state council since I have been around for so long so feel free to call me that as well, if you please!

Other than FCCLA, I am an active member of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), Beta Club, and Student Council.  I have cheered since I was four years old and was on our high school’s varsity competition cheerleading squad for two years before being elected to state office and choosing to focus on FCCLA over cheerleading. As well as high school cheerleading, I was chosen by the Universal Cheerleading Association for their All Star squad and was given the opportunity to travel to France; however, I was unable to go, but was still named a member of the team for 3 consecutive years. I also competed on our school’s hip-hop dance team bringing home a gold medal and first over all at the Show Stoppers National Competition. I am a pretty competitive individual. I guess my national office fits me well! I have also been a member of HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America).

I come from a small town with only 4 stop lights, and the worst traffic jam you can get into is stuck behind a tractor. I have ridden horses since I could walk and bought my own horse at the age of seven. I now own five horses and also raise cattle, as well as being an active pageant participant. I know...I am a good mixture of everything. Baseball is my favorite sport! I enjoy just cuddling up on the couch with my daddy and some boiled peanuts watching our Braves bring home a win! My favorite music artist is Michael Jackson. He always has been and he will forever be the best singer ever! I absolutely love eating Mexican food and sushi with sweet tea of course! The beach is my favorite place to be other than Bryant Denny Stadium on game days! (University of Alabama’s football stadium) I am still undecided on a college major at this time, but I plan to attend the University of Alabama next fall.

If you have any other questions about me, the competitive events, or would just like to talk to me about your FCCLA experience feel free to email me on my address that can be found on the national website, www.fcclainc.org.