FCCLA National Executive Council

National officers use the spring semester to attend requested meetings hosted by state associations. Traveling the furthest this year was National Vice-President of Development Garrhett Petrea who traveled from Washington State to the 2015 Virginia State Leadership Conference. National officers have the opportunity at state conferences to meet members that may not attend national meetings and thus never have an opportunity to interact with members of the FCCLA National Executive Council. This experience allowed us to share several updates on current initiatives within the organization, including the IMPACT Fund, FCCLA@TheTable, and the FCCLA 365 app:

Introduction of the IMPACT Fund

In honor of the 70th anniversary of FCCLA members, advisers, chapters, and states will be encouraged to make monetary donations to promote future leadership opportunities in the organization, through the IMPACT fund. IMPACT stands for Investments in Members and Partnerships and Assistance for Chapters and Teachers. Learn more and donate at: https://www.flipcause.com/browse_public/cause_pdetails/ODY2

Update on the progress of FCCLA@TheTable

 70,000 pledges by the 2015 National Leadership Conference? No Problem! With less than two months until NLC, there is no better time than now to take the FCCLA @ The Table pledge. Head on over to www.fcclaatthetable.org, take the pledge, and start cooking! (UPDATE: 70,000 MEAL GOAL REACHED APRIL 19.)

Rolling out of the FCCLA 365 mobile application

The purpose of this app is to provide the members of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) with a mobile-enhanced one-stop-shop for the organization’s latest news, resources and information. This app will also serve as a platform for members to be able to receive push notifications with FCCLA updates and news as it happens; and for the organization to be able to share its collaterals and publications, like newsletters and Teen Times magazine; all integrated with FCCLA’s website and social media channels.

iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fccla-365/id957875785?mt=8

Each one of these digital tools has proved to be extremely useful for your National Executive Council. I hope that they can be just as beneficial for your team!

Your National Executive Council uses several tools to collaborate with each other on large projects. These tools include Google Drive, Trello, and Doodle, all of which are explained in detail below.

Google Drive

Google Drive allows you to create, share, save documents with a click of a button. By creating account with Google Drive, you gain access to Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. All of these files can easily convert to Word Documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.

One extremely useful aspect of having access to these Google files is that multiple people can work on them at one time. Say you have to create a workshop with another member who lives over an hour away. You can either video call or call each other and then construct the slideshow and notes simultaneously for your workshop on Google Docs and Google Slides. Then you can save these files on the Drive. Once you save them, you can access the files anywhere as long as you have the Google Drive app.

Trello

Trello was something new to me. After you establish an account, you can create multiple "organizations" that you can invite members of your team to join. Within each organization, several boards can be developed. For example, the "NEC organization" has a board for each goal outlined in our Program of Work. Within each board there are three lists: to do, doing, and done.

You can add cards to each list according to any tasks you have. For example, if an officer needs to write an article for the local paper, you can create a card that says, "write article," on the To-Do list within the Public Relations board. Once the article is written, you can move it to the "Done" list.

On each card you can add attachments, create checklists, tag specific people to the card, create labels, and set deadlines. When deadlines approach, organization members receive email notifications.

Doodle

John Ruskin once said, “A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” As FCCLA leaders we often expose ourselves to selfless acts of kindness because we constantly put others before ourselves, often without seeking personal gain, but what if this organization offered rewards to those who have exemplified leadership in this organization throughout their entire high school career. What if by only simply stating your accomplishments you are given the opportunity to gain money to further your leadership and education. FCCLA has just the opportunity as this organization offers several scholarships that may be put towards your future education.

Six scholarships will be offered for the 2014-2015 school year, all of which may be located at this URL: http://www.fcclainc.org/content/youth-scholarship-applications/

Some of the scholarships include:

The Beth Middleton Memorial Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding leadership, academic excellence, community service, and who demonstrates well roundedness through various activities. One application per state may be submitted, so if you stand out in your local chapter and state, make sure to apply for this $400 scholarship.

The Coleene Jossy Memorial Scholarship highlights the academic achievements of this organizations current or former national or state officers by awarding an annual $500 scholarship.

The Raye Virginia Allen State President's Scholarship is a $2000 one-time cash payable scholarship that may be provided to any field of study. Applicants must be a current or former FCCLA State President which exemplify academic excellence, outstanding leadership, and significant volunteer experience.

Only three of the six scholarships were listed, so make sure to go to FCCLAinc.org to check out the rest. FCCLA most certainly has some of the most outstanding leaders in this country, and you deserve to be recognized. All of the scholarships will be due 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time on April 1, 2015. Make sure to apply early so you can receive the recognition that you deserve!

Garrhett Petrea

National Vice-President of Development