Worth County FCCLA Qualifies 14 Students to Nationals

Fifteen members of the Worth County FCCLA were prepared to compete at the Missouri State Leadership Conference at the end of March in Tantara, but schools started closing down and the conference was cancelled.  "The kids were disappointed to say the least, but we were hoping that it could be rescheduled later in the school year", stated adviser, Jonell Cook.  "I was so proud of this group because everyone who had competed at the Regional competition in Maryville advanced to state".   

The FCCLA National website was still inviting members to attend the conference scheduled for July 5th in Washington D.C until about 3 weeks ago.  At this time, the National FCCLA organization stated that they were planning to try a "Virtual" Conference.  Since the Missouri Leadership Conference had canceled and no one was able to compete, there would be no Missouri competitive events (STAR events) qualifiers to advance to Washington D.C.  Missouri FCCLA officials got together and decided to look at the Regional (14 Regions in Missouri) scores, with a standard deviation component factored in, to be able to have representatives to compete in STAR events at the National level.  "I couldn't believe it when I started getting emails from the state telling me that my kids were eligible to compete virtually at NLC. When the final email came in, Worth County FCCLA would have 14 out of 15 qualify to attend!" said Ms Cook.  Students have been busy taking pictures and uploading their projects and speeches, with the help of Mrs. Emily Maudlin,  in order to compete in the FCCLA National Leadership Conference next week. This has truly been a year to remember!  

Qualifying this year were Aivry Griffin, Caydee Sherer, Claire McElvain, Anna Spainhower, Jill Hardy, Taylor Sanders, Merrideth Spiers, Justina Wimer, Alison Anderson, Misty Helt, Lincoln Moore, Allison Larison, Braidy Hunt, and Wyatt Abplanalp.

Aivry (10th grade) chose to compete in the Job Interview event.  She was interested in the health field and did extensive interviews with local health care providers.  Aivry also shadowed Ashley Harding, a nurse practitioner. Aivry will be the only one to compete via Zoom interview with FCCLA National judges.

Caydee and Claire (9th grade) & Anna and Jill (11th grade) are competing in the Chapter Review and Display event.  The process of this event is to showcase all the projects, meetings, and activities that each local chapter has completed for the year. 

Taylor (9th grade) is competing in the Fashion Construction event.  Taylor constructed the garment in Ms Cook's Textiles/Clothing class, used the dress in FCCLA competition, and submitted it for Mrs. Spiers' Romeo and Juliet project. Taylor had never sewn and this was quite an accomplishment.

Merrideth (12th grade) & Justina (10th grade) are competing in Promote & Publicize FCCLA! event.  Both girls were responsible for Facebook posts, school announcements, newspaper articles, Instagram accounts that promoted Worth County FCCLA accomplishments/recognition. Merrideth created a Worth County recruitment PSA  that has been shared with Missouri FCCLA!  

Alison (9th grade) is competing in a new category called  Say Yes to FCS Education.  Alison had to research colleges with a Family & Consumer Science degree, interview several area FACS teachers, and create lesson plans and activities to teach 7th graders about the dangers of vaping/juuling.

Lincoln and Misty (10th grade) & Wyatt, Allison, and Braidy (11th grade) are both competing in the Food Innovations category.  This year's prompt from the National FCCLA was to create a vegan dish. Misty and Lincoln created a lunchtime wrap making a cilantro mint chutney, chickpeas, cauliflower and avocados while the team of Wyatt, Allison, and Braidy created a tofu dish containing beets, wild rice, miso paste, shallots, and celeriac root.  Both teams enjoyed learning more about vegan cooking and getting creative in the kitchen.

Worth County FCCLA Qualifies Seven for Nationals

Worth County FCCLA qualified seven for nationals in Anaheim (CA) following state competition this year. They are Merrideth Spiers (Top Gold in Missouri), Jill Hardy & Anna Spainhower (Chapter in Review Display), Lauren Moore (Recycle & Redesign), Keelin Engel (Fashion Construction), and Josh Freed & Lincoln Moore (Food Innovations).

Students also competing, but not advancing were Abbi Caddenhead (Gold, Chapter in Review Portfolio), Justina Wimer (Recycle & Redesign, Gold), Braidy Hunt & Allison Larison (Food Innovations, Silver), and Wyatt Abplanalp (Food Innovations, Silver).

New Worth County FCCLA Officers Named

The Worth County FCCLA named its officers Tuesday, May 8th. The organization celebrated a year which saw many of its members get state and national recognition.

New officers for the 2018-2019 school year will be Abbi Caddenhead (President), Kennedy Galanakis (1st Vice-President of STAR Events), Merrideth Spiers (2nd Vice-President of Public Relations), Kaylee McElvain (Secretary), Keelin Engel (Treasurer), and Anna Spainhower (Historian).

For the previous year, officers were Abbi Caddenhead (President), Kennedy Galanakis (Vice-President), Lauren Moore (Secretary), Merrideth Spiers (Treasurer), Shylea Moellenberndt (Historian/Photographer), and Jessi Badell (Public Relations). Two members served as regional officers for this year. Kennedy Galanakis was President of Region 1, while Abbi Caddenhead was Vice-President of Community Service for Region 1.

Going to nationals this year in the Junior Category will be Anna Spainhower and Jill Hardy (Chapter in Review Display), Braidy Hunt and Wyatt Abplanalp (Food Innovations), and Keelin Engel (Recycle & Redesign). Going to nationals this year in the Senior Category will be Abbi Caddenhead and Kennedy Galanakis (Chapter in Review Display), Kaylee McElvain (Fashion Construction), and Merrideth Spiers (Promote and Publicize FCCLA). Spiers, as part of her project, got to do a spot on KAAN.

Going to state this year were Lauren Moore (Recycle & Redesign), and Bailee Walker (Life Event Planning).

Jonell Cook Named Missouri VFW Teacher of the Year

Jonell Cook has been named Teacher of the Year by the Missouri VFW, Worth County Tiger Talk, a Facebook page posting information about the school, reports. She is the Family & Consumer Sciences Teacher for Worth County. Under her guidance, Worth County has built up an active FCCLA group that gets regional and statewide recognition for its students. They have also done various events and community service projects for Worth County. At Worth County, the students have learned much about veterans who served our country. During last fall's Veterans Day Program, students did posters with bios of people who served in the military who were from Worth County. The school did a program recognizing area veterans for their service along with a patriotic tribute.

Kristen Ross, Kennedy Galanakis Installed as FCCLA Regional Officers

On March 2nd, at the North Andrew School, two Worth County FCCLA members were installed as Region 1 officers.  Region 1 of FCCLA encompasses the area from Princeton to Bethany to Savannah to Rock Port and all the schools in between to the state line.  There are approximately 800 students in FCCLA from the Northwest Region of Missouri.  What an honor it was for Worth County to have Kristen Ross elected and installed as President of Region 1.  Kristen has been a dynamic force in her own chapter this year as President.  Her duties have included competing in a STAR event (state bound), keeping the chapter informed by routinely updating the FCCLA website and bulletin board, and keeping her advisor, Jonell Cook, organized.  Also installed at the regional level was Kennedy Galanakis, who is the new VP of Devotions.  As a first time FCCLA member this year, Kennedy has been actively preparing for State STAR event competition with her 2 partners, Abbi Caddenhead and Jessi Badell.   Guests at the banquet included Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Ross, Mrs. Kera Galanakis, Abbi Caddenhead, Victoria Moore, and Advisor, Jonell Cook.

Worth County FCCLA Attends Regional Meeting

On October 10th, 53 members of  Worth County FCCLA traveled to Northwest
Missouri State University to attend the annual Region 1 meeting.  Worth
County students donated $110  to the "Show Me Hunger" campaign. During the
meeting, a powerpoint presentation on texting/driving was given by a
Missouri Highway Patrol officer.  Past state president Caleb Herron from
Chillicothe told the large crowd that he joined FCCLA as an 8th grader
because he was shy and wanted to meet girls but his experience as a state
officer had surpassed all his expectations.  He encouraged each member to
get as involved as they could in their individual chapters and communities
and to be a positive role models in their school. After the meeting,
members ate lunch at the Student Union on campus and were joined by several
Worth County FCCLA alumuni.  Traveling with this large membership was
advisor, Jonell Cook and Brenda Parman.

Worth County FCCLA Raises Over $800 in 5K Run/Walk

Worth County's FCCLA was proud to sponsor a 5 K run/walk "Fight Like a Ghoul" to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Foundation. The 5K was held October 27th at 10:00 and was attended by approximately 50 participants.  The weather was cold but that didn't stop the families and individuals from enjoying the walk around town and getting into the spirit of the event.  A soup lunch was served by FCCLA members at the fairgrounds in order to raise more money for this important cause.  Winners in the adult category were Michele Weddle and Amber Steele, the 7-12th grade winners were Travis Troutwine and Brandon Fletchall, and the K-6th grade winners were Kaylee McElvain and Avery Griffin.  FCCLA would like to thank all those who participated, gave money as sponsors of the event, and helped organize this "spooktacular" event.  Freshmen FCCLA members Nicole Aragon and Taylor Raymond were the driving force behind the event and did a wonderful job planning and raising over $800.  They are excited to do it again next year!!