HOISINGTON — Hoisington High School Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club members recently attended  a National Cluster Meeting in Omaha, Neb. More than 2,800 of its student leaders, members and advisers to the Century Link Center Nov. 21-24 to participate in the largest of three regional conferences being held around the country.
The meetings provided an opportunity for students and advisers to come together for fun and to listen to inspiring speakers, as well as to expand leadership skills, sharpen talents and explore career pathways. The theme of this year’s conference was “Exceeding Expectations” and attendees were challenged to go beyond what is expected of them to make lasting, positive impressions in their families, schools and communities.
“We were delighted to gather great speakers, offer leadership development initiatives and harness the energy of the hundreds of students who came Omaha for this conference, but realize the best part is that these students will use the event as a platform to make a difference in their own cities and states when they return home,” said Sandy Spavone, executive director of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
As part of that platform, FCCLA students who attended the Omaha conference gathered and donated more than 750 pairs of socks to provide to the homeless. The students presented the socks to Skate For Change – a nonprofit organization based in Lincoln, Neb. – that empowers youth to use skateboarding as a means for giving back to the less fortunate in their communities. Then, several of the students – who brought their skateboards to town with them – were selected
to skate along with Skate For Change volunteers to deliver socks to some of Omaha’s homeless population on Saturday afternoon.
“It was great to see so many FCCLA student leaders giving back to our community through Skate For Change,” said Mike Smith, the founder of Skate For Change and a motivational speaker who also presented workshops at the Omaha conference on ways students can become effective leaders in their schools and their communities. “I think the students got a real sense of pride knowing that the socks they brought went directly to someone who really needs them.”
Another highlight of the Omaha meeting was the announcement and formal kick-off of a partnership between FCCLA and Snap-2-Live, an initiative in support of the United Nations’ “Decade of Action for Road Safety” campaign. Snap-2-Live belts are fashion accessories that look like actual vintage automobile seat belts and buckles, and act as highly visible reminders of what we can do everyday to save lives on the road.  Snap-2-Live pledges 70 percent of profits to road safety initiatives, creation of new roads and safe communities for under- served families in developing countries.
To help raise awareness of the importance of road safety – especially among the youth population –Snap-2-Live announced that it would donate $5 to FCCLA for every belt sold through the organization, in support of its FACTS (Families Acting for Community Traffic Safety) program.
Skill demonstration events were also held at the conference, featuring students participating in a wide variety of competitive activities. Events included several oratory and FCCLA-specific knowledge competitions, demonstrations of college and career-ready skills in Family and Consumer Sciences, and exhibitions of culinary food art and knife skills.
Additional FCCLA National Cluster Meetings were held this in Charlotte, N.C., and Spokane, Wash.