The Montgomery County R-II School District sent a total of 11 students to Washington, D.C. to the FCCLA Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.

Ten Montgomery County Middle School students and one Montgomery County High School student represented the school district at the five-day conference, which started on July 6. The members attended a variety of workshops and leadership training sessions.

Olivia Spurgeon was MCHS’ lone representative at the conference. She will be a senior at the school this fall.

While at D.C., Spurgeon attended leadership training as a state officer of the Missouri FCCLA Executive Council. She is in her second term as Missouri State Officer. She is the vice president of development for Region 4.

MCHS FCCLA adviser Beth Beattie said Spurgeon enjoyed having the opportunity to serve as one of the voting delegates representing Missouri’s members during the National FCCLA Business Meeting, which had many people from across the country gathered to have a conversation featuring the pros and cons of the proposed by-laws revision on the election of national FCCLA officers.

“Olivia and I have talked quite a bit over the years about parliamentary procedure,” Beattie said. “This was not her first National Leadership Meeting, so we have sat before and talked about how to share your point of view respectfully at a microphone and watched many other officers engage in the back and forth before. This year, I had the privilege of watching her step-up, along with our Missouri State President (Lydea Britt of Salisbury) and share their knowledge and point of view based on how this would affect our state and its members. She spoke well and represented Missouri FCCLA and MCHS proudly. It was really neat.”

The MCMS FCCLA members who attended the conference were Ethan Hogue and Easton Schreiner (Professional Presentation), Lydia Zerr and Tinley Chisholm (Chapter Service Project), Kade Chisholm, Eliza Matthews, Liv Shults and Lynn Knoepflein (National Programs In Action), William Matthews (Chapter Service) and Emily Caldwell (Teach and Train).

Tinley, Lydia and Emily earned fifth-place finishes and a gold rating for their projects. William, Ethan, Easton, Liv, Kade, Lynn and Eliza received silver ratings.

“We are very proud of all our FCCLA members for their hard work and dedication,” MCMS adviser Becky Gilbert said. “They represented our school and community with pride and returned home with new experiences, skills and ideas that will help our FCCLA chapter continue to grow next year.”

The MCMS members raised $14,000 to go on the trip. They raised money through bingo events, bake sales, the Murder Mystery Dinner that was held on April 10 at MCMS and a music bingo event on May 30, which was also held at MCMS.

“We could not have made this incredible experience possible without the generosity of our amazing school and community,” Gilbert said.

The theme for this year’s conference was “ConnECTed.” There were more than 10,000 attendees at the event.

“For our chapter, the National Leadership Conference was more than a trip,” Beattie said. “It was an opportunity to see what is possible when students are given the skills, support, and confidence to lead.”