New Years Goals

Happy New Year everyone! As we reflect back on the accomplishments of 2011 and say goodbye for a final time, we can't help but be excited for 2012!  This year is sure to be one for the history books!  Not only does 2012 mean the long-awaited graduation for seniors, the mysterious Mayan calendar, or the next presidential election, but it's also a new opportunity to better yourself, your chapter, your state, and your nation through FCCLA!   Whether your New Year Resolution is to be healthier, to save money, or become a better person, FCCLA's National Programs like Student Body, Financial Fitness, and Power of One are perfect tools in helping you achieve your goals!  Just as you set personal goals for the New Year, we would like to encourage you to set down with your local officer team and set goals for your chapter.  Whether it's to raise membership, raise the number of STAR event participants, or raise money for Share Our Strength, your goals help move our organization forward!   Here is some helpful information to help you set SMART goals destined for success! S- Specific. Write down exactly what you want to accomplish with this goal. Make sure it answers the 5 W's: who, what, when, where, and why. M- Measurable. If you can't measure results and progress, you'll never know if you actually achieved your goal. A- Attainable.  Goals should challenge you, but what good are they if there's no way you'll actually accomplish them? R- Relevant.  You goals should be focused toward your long-term plans and relate to your vision, skills, and talents. T- Timely.  Set a timeframe for accomplishing your goal.  Break that down into smaller benchmarks to measure your progress. Remember, if you ever need help or would like to share your accomplishments with us, we love hearing from you!  You can find our emails listed on the National Website (www.fcclainc.org) or send us a message on Facebook.  We look forward to hearing about all that you accomplish this year!  We know with members like you, this is sure to be a year FCCLA will never forget!  Happy 2012! :)

FCCLA Emblematic Gear

Some people are so hard to shop for at Christmas. You really are completely stumped at what to get them. Well we now have the perfect answer for you. Why not get them some FCCLA gear? It makes perfect sense! With FCCLA gear you can make your friends happy plus spread the news about our great organization. So the next time your looking for a perfect gift go online at www.fcclainc.org and check out all the great items the FCCLA store and API have to offer!

NEC Gives Thanks/ New Poster Series

First and foremost, the NEC would like to wish you all very happy holidays. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'd like to take a second to tell what about FCCLA we are thankful for.

"I'm thankful for all the postivity that surrounds an FCCLA event. All the members are friendly and the meetings are so electrifying. It's impossible to be in a bad mood when you've got the FCCLA spirit."
-Kristy Paquette, Vice-President of Public Relations

"FCCLA has opened so many doors, and helped me find my voice."
-Alex Durham, Vice-President of Community Service

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to develop leadership skills, make lifelong friendships, and positively affect the world."
-Ariana Lake, First Vice-President

"I'm most thankful for the opportunities that it gives students around our country to develop life skills. I'm also thankful for the diversity that our organization offers, giving students opportunities no matter what their history or race is."
-Miguel Astello, Vice-President of Programs

"I'm most thanful for the personal growth FCCLA has given me. I am the confident, career ready, professional, and unique person I am today because of FCCLA!"
-Jessie Pratt, Vice-President of Finance

"I'm thankful for the members, as they continue to inspire me, and many others, to be the best person I can be."
-Kaylen Larson, President

"I'm most thankful for having the opportunity to make friends with people across the nation who share the same passion for helping others and making a difference world wide."
-Tori Coates, Vice-President of Development

"I'm most thankful for everyone involved in FCCLA members, advisers, national staff, and everyone behind the scenes. Without the hard work, dedication, and passion there would be no FCCLA."
-Hannah Wright, Vice-President of Membership

"Because of FCCLA, I am thankful not only for the chance to be a part of the National Executive Council, but being apart of it with my 9 best friends. I will be close with these guys for the rest of my life and I encourage every single in of you to go out and meet an FCCLA member and hopefully have the same outcome as I did: To meet someone that could possibly change your life."
-Kelcie Sturgeon, Vice-President of Parlimentary Law

"I'm most thankful for the life experiences. being a part of the nec has not only taught me simple things like how to navigate an airport or how to handle grouchy attitudes late at night while practicing, but it has also taught me some of the most basic fundamentals that I will use the rest of my life."
-Jessica Pope, Vice-President of Competitive Events

With that being said I'd like to remind you all about the new FCCLA poster series. The posters are a quick and easy reference to use when talking about our great organization. They are also a perfect conversation starter. Everytime someone walks into your adviser's classroom or wherever else you have those posters hanging they are going to wonder what FCCLA is all about. You can then express what aspects of FCCLA YOU are thankful for, and possibly recruit new members!

National Cluster Meetings in Review

Do you have what it takes to be the ultimate FCCLA survivor? Well,  over 5,000 FCCLA members and advisers took on the challenge as they came together in the Denver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and finally, the Big Peach, Atlanta, Georgia. Attendees not only had the opportunity to network with others from across the nation, but also develop their leadership skills! Through a variety of workshops, students and advisers alike were challenged to raise the bar in their families, careers, and communities. They even had the opportunity to listen to motivational speakers John Beede and Gerald Jones.

Alec Ostapovicz, Virginia FCCLA State President, said, "This year's cluster meetings have been one of the best! From the keynote speakers, the workshops, the fantastic NEC, all the friends I made and reaquainted with from across the country, and all the leaders that grew from these wonderful experiences; this year we really raised the bar. "

Students also had the opportunity to compete in competitive events such as Impromptu Speaking, Culinary Knife Skills, Culinary Food Art, and the Family and Consumer Sciences Knowledge Bowl. The top ten Skill Demonstration Event competitors from each site qualified to compete at the 2012 National Leadership Conference July 8-12 in Orlando, Florida.

And speaking of  the National Leadership Conference, the theme for the conference was also announced. ***Drum roll please*****
#Realitycheck is the official theme for the 2012 National Leadership Conference. This announcement was met with a thunderous applause and enthusiasm. So, be sure to work hard throughout the year so that you too may join us for a #Realitycheck in Orlando, Florida!

Attendees left the national cluster meetings inspired to dream, believe, and achieve in their chapters, regions, states, and nation.

March of Dimes

Hello all of you ultimate leaders! This is your VP of Community Service, Alex Durham!
I hope all of you are adjusting to the time change, I know I enjoyed my extra hour of sleep last night! Are there any earthquake survivors out there?? Comment and tell us about your earthquake experience!

As we all know, it's the beginning of November! November is a very special month not only because of Thanksgiving, but because World Prematurity Day is the 17th! Every year, 13 million babies are born prematurely worldwide. A million of them never get the chance to celebrate their first birthday, and many more face serious, lifelong health challenges. Raising awareness of this serious problem is the first step to defeating it! As FCCLA members partnering with the March of Dimes, it is our job to raise the awareness and educate others about saving babies! So why just advocate one day, when we could the whole month of November?! The March of Dimes Youth Volunteer Council has created a "2-week fun fund raising plan" to help give students different ideas of how to advocate in your schools! I would love to provide this to anyone who is interested, I also have media kits and guides that I would be happy to share! Be sure and join the March of Dimes on Facebook and Twitter, as well as check out their website http://www.marchofdimes.com/volunteers/teamyouth.html I challenge YOU to work hard all month long to honor the 1 million babies worldwide who died this year because they were born too soon, and the 12 million more who struggle to survive! If you are interested in receiving more information contact me at Email: adurham@fcclainc.org, Facebook: Alex Durham, Twitter: AlexAnneDurham I am happy to answer any questions that you have and provide all of the information your hearts desire! Don't forget November 17, 2011 is World Prematurity Day, be sure to wear your purple! I will be keeping up with your success on Facebook! Thank you for working together for stronger, healthier babies!

Speaking on behalf of "Team UNO" we are very excited to see some of you at the National Cluster Meeting in Denver, and I'm sure "Team A" is just as excited about their meeting in Minneapolis! I hope you have a great week, and safe travels!

Meet Ariana/ FCCLA Picture Contest

In the words of Tori Coates, "Hi I'm Ariana Lake and I am a princess. Sometimes in the morning I like to go to the window of my castle and look at the mountains and sing to the birds. Then they all come and fly around my head and it makes for a very lovely day." But really...Most people call me Ari. I'm a Montana girl through and through. I love to ride horses, camp, ATV, ski, and basically anything else you can do outside! My all time favorite things are going horseback riding, cheer leading, and spending time with friends and family. :) A fun fact is that I live in a house shaped like a pyramid. Yes, like the ones in Egypt! I also happened to be on MTV in August because of it. :) I joined FCCLA because I believe that practicing acts of kindness and doing good for my community is crucial. As a National FCCLA Officer, I put it upon myself to make a difference so that each one of you can feel that something wonderful, something different, something unique, and something life changing that FCCLA has to offer.

One of my other passions is competitions though...like the upcoming FCCLA picture contest!

Here's the D.L.-- We're going to be holding a contest via Facebook and Twitter. The challenge is to be the participant with the funniest, most unique, interesting, overall AWESOME that ties in FCCLA and the NEC's determined monthly theme. The theme for November will be *drum roll please* CRAZY SOCKS! So what YOU need to go do is take crazy sock pictures with something FCCLA in it and tag the National FCCLA Facebook page or National FCCLA Twitter. The winner will be announced at the end of the month. Best of luck! Lights. Camera. ACTION!!

Meet Kristy/ FCCLA Social Media

Hey ya'll I'm Kristy Paquette, your National Vice President of Public Relations. Ya'll may know me better as the National Vice President of the Random Facts Countdown (haha). I'm 17 (soon to be 18!!). I'm originally from Louisiana, but moved to Texas when I was about 13. The town I live in now is the hometown of Miranda Lambert. If you want me to talk your ear off, start a conversation with me about baseball or Batman because I absolutely can't get enough of either. I love the Rangers with all my heart and soul and if they don't win the World Series I may just lose my mind. I also love the Saints (Who Dat?!). Baylor better be ready for me when I graduate because I want to major in nursing there. In a nutshell I'm the goofy one. I love laughing all day, and you'll hear me say the weirdest things to make you start laughing too. But the funniest thing about me is the fact I used to be so shy and quiet before FCCLA. I know, hard to believe, right? I owe it all to FCCLA, so I can't wait to repay the organization by having the best year ever this year!!! If you have any questions, cocerns,...crippling fears, don't be afraid to hit me up on Facebook or my email. I'm always up for a good Dr. Phil moment.

But back to business, let's talk about how important social media is now a days. I, for one, check all my social media outlets at least once a day. It's where I let myself creep out and learn what's going in the world from the football scores to relationship statuses to information about school or FCCLA. FCCLA has so many pages and profiles you can check out to learn more about the organization. For any facts FCCLA, you can go to the website at fcclainc.org and read about the programs or register for an upcoming conference. FCCLA has a Facebook profile (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) and twitter account (@NationalFCCLA) where you can get a daily dose of FCCLA including newly updated information. There are also many chapter and member pages like The FCCLA Lovers!! (Josey Stevens just beefed up its membership quite a bit!) which serve as a forum for members across the country. Last but not least there is the FCCLA National Executive Council blog (fcclanec.blogspot.com) where you can learn about the council and what we are up to now.