The Montgomery County High School Family, Career and Community Leaders of America attended the Missouri FCCLA Fall Leadership Conference on Nov. 2-3 at Union Station in St. Louis.

Students, advisers, and guests from 120 schools attended the event. More than 800 delegates from across the state joined the state association to kick off the 2025-2026 school year with Missouri FCCLA.

MCHS FCCLA chapter officer Khloe Kribbs was able to serve as a room consultant for the events.  She was able to watch the culinary knife skills and food art events. 

"My favorite part was watching a student turn a pineapple and cantaloupe into an owl,” she said. “It was really cute and well done."

Students also were able to attend workshops on leadership development, community service, career preparation and healthy living. Exhibits from Missouri colleges, universities and businesses were also present at the conference to engage with members about various college and career opportunities. Attendees participated in a miracle minute and a costume dance party to raise money for our state outreach project benefitting Care to Learn whose focus is to provide students with emergent health, hunger and hygiene resources. 

Olivia Spurgeon, another MCHS FCCLA chapter officer, presented a leadership workshop to 125 students, as part of her state officer responsibilities.  Her workshop focused on communication development and got students up out of their seats working with students from across the state.

In preparation for the conference, MCHS FCCLA officers hosted a health, hunger, and hygiene drive in each school building of Montgomery County R-2 and across all schools in Region 4.  Within our district, FCCLA was able to provide donated items to each school to use with their students and families.  

At the conference, Olivia was able to donate 225 items on behalf of Region 4 to give to the Learn to Care organization.  The health, hunger and hygiene items will be donated to school students across Missouri.

The conference centered on the student-developed theme “Now Filming: Your Future,” representing the broader theme of the school year – “Lights, Camera, Lead!.” The theme reflects the countless opportunities members of FCCLA have that encourage personal and professional development. 

The conference kicked off with the opening general session on Nov. 2 where the 2025-2026 Missouri FCCLA State Executive Council introduced the year ahead. Attendees heard from former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader and motivational speaker Shannon McKain and took away valuable lessons in personal branding and leadership development.

On the afternoon of Nov. 2, more than 100 students participated in the second year of the Show-Me Skills competition. Show-Me Skills are designed to showcase the talents and skills of our members in a variety of areas. Show-Me Skills are similar to National FCCLA’s Skill Demonstration Events, where most of the events will be held in person, with a few being submitted prior to the conference. Show-Me Skills competitive events at Fall Leadership Conference include a chapter banner challenge, culinary food art and knife skills, dollar decisions, fashion sketching, FCCLA Creed speaking and interpretation, a mock podcast challenge featuring FCCLA content, a member recruitment challenge, lesson planning and modification and photography representing FCCLA’s six career pathways.