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 This year the national competition was held in
Washington, D.C. on July 3rd - 10th and gave the students not only
the opportunity to rate their skills against others from around the
United States, but also the chance to explore the Nation's Capital
and all its history. Nearly 8,000 students and advisers converged on
the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to celebrate the theme of
this year's conference "Together We Are Healthy."
For the first time in Mount Pulaski High School history the
Parliamentary Procedure team received a national gold medal rating.
According to adviser Wyatt Waterkotte, "In this event, students must
learn the various rules of parliamentary law that are used to run
official business proceedings. In the competition, the students must
hold a mock business meeting in which they demonstrate a dozen
business motions using proper parliamentary procedures. They must
also take a parliamentary knowledge test." This year's members of
the gold medal team were Clayton Lindley, Garrett Johnston, TJ
Benhart, Brady Walsh, Brady Coppinger, Sam Koehl and Eli Olson.
Hannah Riedle also attended the conference and received a national
silver medal rating for her outstanding efforts in the Job
Interview. Waterkotte noted that Job Interview is an event in which
a student must identify a job they are interested in once they are
an adult. "The member must then research the job, necessary
qualifications, and the job description. Following that, the member
must put together a detailed portfolio including a job application,
resume, recommendations, and examples of their work which would
qualify them for the job. At the competition, the student presents
the portfolio and is interviewed by a panel of judges."
In addition to the competitive events, students participated in a
variety of activities related to Family and Consumer Sciences,
including helping and spectating at the Knowledge Bowl competition,
attending workshops and participating in general sessions.
The group also found time to take in the local cuisine, all under
the guidance of Waterkotte and chaperone Melanie Hinson, the
school's guidance counselor.
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Finally the group spent quality time sightseeing at the National Mall, where
they walked through the monuments and memorials, the National Portrait Gallery,
Ford's Theatre, Petersen House, Chinatown, the U.S. Mint and the U.S. Capitol.
Representative John Shimkus also met with the group and gave them a tour of his
office as well as having one of his interns give a tour of the Capitol
buildings.
On a final note, Waterkotte added, "After a full week of competition and
activities, as well as a lot of time spent on the road, we were all happy to
return home. As always these FCCLA members proved themselves to be some of the
best (students) that the Mount Pulaski area has to offer. The community should
be extremely proud of their accomplishments. If you see them, please extend your
congratulations on a job well done in competition as well as their
representation of our community."
[Teena Lowery]
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