This is the time of year when Lafayette’s chapter of Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) begins preparing for competition. They compete in a set of events called Star Events, which has many categories for members to compete in. Star Events take place in different cities throughout the state and country. This year, FCCLA will compete in Danville, KY, Louisville, KY, and Orlando, FL.
Some categories that students in the Lafayette chapter are competing in are Chapter Service Project Display, Baking and Pastry, Public Policy Advocate, and Focus on Children. There are also so many more competition categories for students to join.
FCCLA members first decide which competition they want to enter and whether they are working with a partner or solo. Then, they confirm with the club advisor Jennifer Burton to make sure that their competition has not already been chosen by someone else in the chapter, or group. After she has confirmed that they can compete in their competition, they can begin forming a plan. This year, some students in FCCLA at Lafayette are completing community service projects at local elementary schools, baking and pastry competitions, and public policy advocates to stand up for policies they believe in.
The first step into actually starting their project is forming a plan. They need to figure out an idea that meets the requirements in the rubric, such as completing a project on DanceBlue for a community service project. After they finish their community service project they need to form their mandated planning process page, which is required for all competitions because it shows how members have completed their projects.
The planning process is a document that requires students to identify their concerns. The Planning Process page is worth a maximum of 10 points when being scored. First, they should create a few goals they want to accomplish and write them in SMART form. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Then, students should write a plan of action and a follow-up to their project.
Star Events is a student-led competition that offers the opportunity for help from their advisor. Burton told The Times, “FCCLA has the planning process that helps them map out the whole project and then I have checkpoints along the way to make sure they are making progress.”
The next step in completing their project is taking action. Members should be able to reach out to the community to complete their project. For example, if members are completing a community service project, they should do the community service in their city.
Once members have completed their project, they need to create their display board or a slideshow. Members must write a speech for their competition. In this speech, members must explain what they did for their project and why they chose to complete the project they did.
When members compete, they receive five minutes to set up their project, whether it is a display board or slideshow. Then they will have 10 minutes to share their projects with the judges, and then the judges will get five minutes to ask questions. The total competition will take about 20 minutes.
If members place first at Regionals in Danville, they will move on to state in Louisville. If they are at State and get first or second place, they will move on to Nationals in Orlando. Wish your FCCLA chapter good luck this time of year as they prepare for competitions.
