On Monday, February 6th, 2023, Seven FCCLA members took a trip to Cornerstone Church in Marion to participate in a competitive event. Each member attending got to choose between creating a Child Care Provider Portfolio or a Preschool Lesson to present to the judges. When the group first arrived at the church there were a lot of emotions taking place but the main feeling was nervousness. 

All of the girls worked super hard to complete their presentations and to make them look phenomenal, but they were still a little anxious when it came to actually presenting the projects they created. While at the event, the FCCLA members all sat in a room together preparing to compete while the judges called them into another room one by one to do the real thing. 

After the seven members all competed they were excited and happy to have been a part of the contest, but even though they were all very joyful, they were still scared to receive their awards at the following conference. After this long and thrilling day, the group stopped to enjoy some Buffalo Wild Wings together before heading back to the school. 

Mrs. George, who also took part in judging the events stated, “My favorite part of the competition was seeing all of the hard work my students put into it and seeing them step up as leaders and do something out of their comfort zone.” Overall she was very proud of how far the students had come.

On Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 FCCLA took another trip, but this time they went to the Carbondale Civic Center and all FCCLA members were able to attend. At the Civic Center the students were given a list of breakout sessions and they were able to pick two to attend. These breakout sessions focused on valuable life skills and taught the students how to be real leaders. 

After the sessions were over, it was time for lunch. Lunch was provided for the students and they were able to sit down and talk to the other group members while they ate. When lunch was over the members got to meet new people from different schools who are also involved in FCCLA. 

After all of the events were over people attending went back to the main room to listen to keynote speaker, Football Coach, Nick Hill who shared a few words from his life experience. 

Then came the time all competitors were waiting for, it was finally time for the awards to be announced.      

Congratulations to Gracie Griffin, Maezy Lukens, and Jazmin Lentz for getting a gold rating on their Child Care Provider Portfolios, Ele LaMaster and Danielle Hall for getting a gold rating on their Preschool Lessons, and Jolene Fraley and Maddie Hopper for receiving a silver rating on their Preschool Lesson! Jolene Fraley stated “My favorite part of the conference was seeing everyone being proud of themselves.”

All of these wonderful competitors are super excited for state but they aren’t the only ones. When Mrs. George was asked if she was excited for state her response was, “Yeah, absolutely, there’s going to be a lot of opportunities for you guys to be leaders and it’s always a fun time in Springfield.” They will be able to meet new people, engage in thrilling events, and learn more about the things that they love.

Make sure to say congratulations to all of the competitors and wish them luck as they start preparing to head to state on April 13th!