Ontario Middle School FCCLA Parliamentary Procedure Team advances to national competition

The Ontario Middle School Family Career and Community Leaders of America Parliamentary Procedure team is the first in school history to advance to the national competition in Seattle.

The team competed at the state level in April and took home the silver medal. Hours of practicing parliamentary procedure, performing the opening and closing ceremonies and studying for the written test paid off as they now have an opportunity to represent Ohio at the National Leadership Conference June 29-July 3.

Seven Ontario Middle School girls to represent Ohio

The girls will compete in the Level One category against teams from other states, according to Robin Owen, OMS FCCLA adviser.

The OMS FCCLA team is comprised of seven students from eighth and seventh grades: Aadi Kigthtlinger, Haylee Breitinger, Olivia Sandwall, Alex McAleer, Leah Bonen, Kennedy Sapp and Gia Gfrer.

In another significant first, this is the first team in OMS history to advance beyond districts. It's quite an achievement for a first-year team to qualify for nationals, Owen said.

In Seattle, the students will perform the opening ceremony, conducting a meeting based on parliamentary procedure rules and doing the closing ceremony, which includes the FCCLA creed. This will be performed in a closed room in front of three judges, and the team will be evaluated based on knowledge, their ability to follow Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure and how well they perform the opening and closing ceremonies. They must also complete a test before the convention based on questions relating to Parliamentary Procedure, Owen said.

"This is a rigorous event and very few advisors take on this task. Fortunately, I participated in Parliamentary Procedure competitions when I was in high school and FFA," she said.

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FCCLA members say they have learned leadership, cooperation, public speaking

Kennedy Sapp, 14, an eighth-grader, said through FCCLA she has learned so much and it has ultimately led her toward new and better opportunities.

"With taking the president role these past two years, I have learned leadership, cooperation and I have learned to take on a whole new level of responsibility. By competing I have learned teamwork and been able to better build friendships with members in my chapter. Additionally, I have learned better public speaking even in front of complete strangers to a point where I am no longer nervous about speaking publicly," Sapp said.

"FCCLA has taught me so many amazing things that I am so grateful for. Not only with FCCLA have I grown so much but I know I have much more to learn. The opportunities I have already had from FCCLA makes me so excited to see where else FCCLA can take me," she added.

Gia Gfrer, 13, vice president and in seventh grade, said she has learned teamwork, leadership and responsibility.

"I’ve learned you need work hard to achieve important things. I’m excited to continue learning new things and go to the national leadership conference," she said.

The national event brings together more than 8,000 individuals, including more than 6,500 middle and high school students and some 1,500 educators.

“We are so proud of these girls and the effort they have put in to make it this far in the competition. This is a rare opportunity for middle school students to travel across the country to not only represent their school, but also the state of Ohio,” Owen said.

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FCCLA members seek donations for expenses of trip to Seattle

Attending an event like this comes with many expenses including registration fees, travel costs and accommodations. The team is working hard to organize a bake sale, a car wash and other activities to raise money to offset the $28,800 cost.

A donation page has been set up at grouprev.com/OMSFCCLA2NLC2024.

“On top of getting good grades, these girls participate in multiple other school activities and sports," said Chris Miller, Ontario Middle School principal. "Despite their busy schedules, they chose to be a part of FCCLA, and they take it seriously. They put in the time and effort to learn parliamentary procedure, no easy task. We have no doubt this team and these girls will make OMS and the state of Ohio immensely proud."

For information, email Owen at owen.robin@olsohio.org.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Seven Ontario students to go in June to Seattle, Washington