AHS teams qualify for nationals

By Donnie A. Lucas

Both Parliamentary Procedure teams competing for the Albany FFCLA chapter took first place at the State Leadership Conference in Dallas last weekend, qualifying them to advance to the National Conference in Denver in July.

The junior high team of all eighth graders competed in Level I division for seventh and eighth graders, while the Level II team for ninth and 10th graders entered all local ninth graders.

Most of the Level II team won the National Championship as a Level I team last year in San Diego.

The five returning members of the Level II team are Mimi Ivy - president, Caroline Chapman - secretary, Tristan Howe - treasuer, and members Madison Parrott and Woods Peterson. New to the group this year are Cade Fairchild and Jaxson Street.

“The judges said that the Level II team was a finely-tuned machine,” FCCLA sponsor Jennifer Marshall said. “They hit every point on the scoring rubric.”

She added that the group keeps improving with each contest.

“The interesting things about Parliamentary Procedure is that there is so much to keep learning,” she said. “You can always find ways to improve your meeting.”

This is the first year for the eighth graders who competed on the Level I team, which includes Hattie Jo Braly - president, Tatum Grady - secretary, Colter Edgar - treasurer, and members Jack Nail, Wesley Gleitz, Zayne LeFerve, Braeten Street, and Connor Smith.

“This is such a great skill for students to learn because they can use it throughout their lives serving on boards and committees,” Marshall said.

Two other projects also qualified to compete at the state level after placing well at the regional conference two weeks ago.

Lainey Cash and Ann Davis earned a spot on the awards stage with a fourth place finish in Chapter Service Projects. The pair made a presentation on a mum workshop they held for elementary students last fall.

“They did an amazing job taking the feedback the judges gave them at the regional conference and revamping their entire presentation,” Marshall said. “They worked really hard.”

Only the top two places at the state contest advance to the national level.

A Level III team of Callan Edgar and Jaci Chapman also competed in the National Program in Action category with a presentation about a series of community programs sponsored by Resource Care. They did not make the top five to earn a spot on stage.

Foreign exchange student Marie Hufschmidt was recognized at the state conference for completing a Power of One project.

“She finished all five units and documented her activities,” Marshall said. “That is an individual project that doesn’t compete against others, but she did receive recognition on stage for her accomplishment.”

The National Leadership Conference will be held in Denver on July 2-5 this year, with Marshall saying that the chapter will begin raising funds for the trip in the next couple of weeks.

“The community was very generous last year, helping us raise $25,000 in about two weeks,” she said.

The cost to attend this year’s national conference has not been calculated yet.