National FCCLA Conference 2009

2009 National FCCLA Leadership Conference
The 2009 National FCCLA Leadership Conference was held in Nashville, Tennessee July 12-18. I attended the conference with 6 students at the Opryland Hotel (which is incredibly beautiful!)

At the opening and closing sessions, the talented national officer team built a skit around the theme “Beyond the Label” with stereotypical teens such as the “jock”, the “brain”, the “slacker”, the “princess”, the “prep”, etc. They emphasized seeing the real person and not just the image. They stressed that an organization like FCCLA can bring many different types of students together with a common goal. As always, I was thoroughly impressed with these officers. I am excited to see our own Leilani Mullins in action this year in Chicago. My state officer served on the interview panel and it was a tremendous opportunity for her to be part of the process.

I spent quit a bit of time at the Spotlight on Projects this year. I was intentional to take my camera and a note pad. The Spotlight on Projects is dozens and dozens of STAR event projects on display. The students who did the projects are present to tell about them. Many of them also have copies of their planning process. I have attended the Spotlight every year, but this year I wanted to bring back tangible examples for my chapter. I concentrated on some of the events we have never attempted and the new ones. I took pictures, notes and copies of the planning processes. I brought back these resources to my chapter and the students were amazed at the variety of good projects at Nationals. If you go to Nationals, be sure to go to the Spotlight on Projects.

Here is a brief synopsis of some of the sessions I attended:
Putting the Science Back Family and Consumer Sciences by Susan Turgeson, 2009 AAFCS Teacher of the Year, stressed that science was a key component of the development of our profession in the early 1900s. A century later, we need to reinforce the science standards in our courses and that will help build FACS programs and engage students.
How Your Students Can “Pay It Forward” with “Tagged by Kindness”
Tara Richardson and Heather Davis encouraged FCCLA chapters to come up with unique projects that raise funds for non-profit groups in your community and teach students to look beyond themselves.
Cathe Felz, National Consultant Team game some awesome ideas for including STAR Events in your classroom. She gave many examples of how a class assignment which may be used as a STAR Event or submitted as a national program award application.
Teaching Gen Y Catherine DiGioia-Laird, FCCLA Alumni and Leadership Trainer, gave information on Gen Y students who have increased use and familiarity with
communications, media, and digital technologies. Using these tools will help engage students.

I also judged the Chapter Showcase Display event and was impressed by the many activities that FCCLA members are doing all over the country. I liked judging this event because it gave me an overview of the Program of Work for about 8 different chapters. If you attend nationals, be sure to judge an event. It is a great way to learn more about STAR events.