Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America
Encyclopedia
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), formerly known as Future Homemakers of America (FHA), is a nonprofit U.S.
career and technical student organization
(CTSO) for young men and women in family and consumer science
education (FACS) in public and private schools through grade 12 across the United States. FCCLA is the only in-school student organization with the family as its central focus; is a vocational student organization that functions as an integral part of the Family and Consumer Sciences education curriculum and operates within the school system, and it provides opportunities for active student participation at local, state, and national levels. FCCLA currently operates out of Reston, Virginia
.
that works with community service. It was formed in Chicago on June 11, 1945. As of the 2011 National Leadership Conference it had nearly 200,000 members in nearly 7,000 chapters across all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands
, and Puerto Rico
. The national headquarters is located at 1910 Association Drive, Reston VA 20191-1584.
The new name was chosen to reflect the new mission and focus of the organization at the Boston meeting which was presided over by the final national officers of FHA/HERO and subsequently the first national officers of FCCLA: Brandon Abbott (Texas), Becca Hinson (Georgia), Conrad Lucas (West Virginia), Sarah East (Ohio), Erin Springer (Ohio), Geoffrey Pearson (Washington), Patrick Correa (New Mexico), Brooke Roberts (Alabama), Jared Stahler (Pennsylvania) and Leslie Allensworth (Iowa). The name change thrust the organization and many of the young officers into the national spotlight.
STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) is a very popular program incorporated into FCCLA. STAR Events are the competitive events that members can participate in to learn leadership, team work, communication and public speaking skills. STAR Events are no longer considered National Programs, now it is a "Competitive Events".
STAR Events offer individual skill development and application of learning through the following activities:
National-level STAR Events
Categories of Competition
The National Leadership Conference is held in a different US city each year. Some past and future National Leadership Conferences are:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
career and technical student organization
Career and Technical Student Organization
Career and Technical Student Organizations are vocational organizations primarily based in high schools and career technology centers. Often, on the state level, they are integrated into Departments of Education or incorporated as non-profit organizations. Many states define CTSOs as "integral...
(CTSO) for young men and women in family and consumer science
Family and consumer science
Family and consumer sciences is an academic discipline that combines aspects of social and natural science. Family and consumer sciences deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live...
education (FACS) in public and private schools through grade 12 across the United States. FCCLA is the only in-school student organization with the family as its central focus; is a vocational student organization that functions as an integral part of the Family and Consumer Sciences education curriculum and operates within the school system, and it provides opportunities for active student participation at local, state, and national levels. FCCLA currently operates out of Reston, Virginia
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
.
About FCCLA
FCCLA is a Non-profit organizationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that works with community service. It was formed in Chicago on June 11, 1945. As of the 2011 National Leadership Conference it had nearly 200,000 members in nearly 7,000 chapters across all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The national headquarters is located at 1910 Association Drive, Reston VA 20191-1584.
History
FCCLA began on June 11, 1945, as Future Homemakers of America (FHA). It was created in Chicago, Illinois by Edna P. Amidon. During the years of segregation, sixteen southern states also operated the "New Homemakers of America." The two organizations merged in 1965. To reflect a focus on career preparation, the organization "HERO" (Home Economics Related Occupations) also merged with FHA to create FHA/HERO.Name change
The name of the organization was changed to Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) in July 1999 at the National Leadership Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts by a majority of the voting delegates. A previous vote on a name change failed in 1995 at the organization's 50th Anniversary meeting in Washington, DC. A new name had been debated within the organization for many years with several state associations choosing to break ranks and change their names to reflect the new mission of the organization.The new name was chosen to reflect the new mission and focus of the organization at the Boston meeting which was presided over by the final national officers of FHA/HERO and subsequently the first national officers of FCCLA: Brandon Abbott (Texas), Becca Hinson (Georgia), Conrad Lucas (West Virginia), Sarah East (Ohio), Erin Springer (Ohio), Geoffrey Pearson (Washington), Patrick Correa (New Mexico), Brooke Roberts (Alabama), Jared Stahler (Pennsylvania) and Leslie Allensworth (Iowa). The name change thrust the organization and many of the young officers into the national spotlight.
National Programs
FCCLA has a variety of programs serving families, careers, and communities.- Family
- Career
- Community
Competitive Events
Competitive Events is a program that contains all competition events existing in FCCLA.- Competitive Events
- Family and Consumer Sciences Knowledge Bowl
- STAR Events
- FCCLA Contests
STAR Events
STAR Events offer individual skill development and application of learning through the following activities:
- Cooperative – teams work to accomplish specific goals
- Individualized – an individual member works alone to accomplish specific goals
- Competitive – individual or team performance measured by an established set of criteria.
National-level STAR Events
- Advocacy
- Applied Technology
- Career Investigation
- Chapter Service Project (Display and Manual)
- Chapter Showcase (Display and Manual)
- Culinary Arts
- Early Childhood
- Environmental Ambassador
- Entrepreneurship
- Fashion Construction
- Fashion Design
- career connection
- Focus on Children
- Food Innovations
- Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation
- Interior Design
- Interpersonal Communications
- Job Interview
- Leadership
- Life Event Planning
- National Programs in Action
- Nutrition and Wellness
- Parliamentary Procedure
- Promote and Publicize FCCLA!
- Recycle and Redesign
- Teach and Train
- Illustrated Talk
Categories of Competition
- Junior (seventh grade through ninth grade members)
- Senior (tenth grade through twelfth grade members)
- Occupational (members who have completed an occupational family and consumer sciences course)
Chapter Meetings
Chapter Meetings include all the members of a certain chapter in the USA. There, they discuss current issues within the chapter. These usually take place within a school building.Regional Meetings
Regional Meetings may also be called District Meetings. These are meetings where students within a geographical area may compete in STAR events and conduct business related to chapters in that area. District or regional STAR competition will result in groups or individual with a score above a set minimum (usually 50 or 70 out of 100 points) to the state STAR competition. In some states only a specific number of top achievers in each event are given the chance to advance.State Conferences
State Conferences are held in a large city within a state and they are where students present their projects and STAR Events for the chance to go onto the National Leadership Conference. The only way to win the trip to the National Conference is to be the best in your category (such as Focus on Children, or Illustrated Talk) at State STAR Competition. These are usually held at the same city each year in your state.National Leadership Conference
Each year a National is held in a different city. The National Leadership Conference is where thousands of FCCLA Members gather to compete with STAR events to get a Gold, Silver, Bronze medal. Members also go to bring back new and important information towards their state. National Officers are also elected during this conference and introduced during the final night of the week long conference.The National Leadership Conference is held in a different US city each year. Some past and future National Leadership Conferences are:
- 2002: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 2003: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2004: ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois - 2005: San Diego, California
- 2006: NashvilleNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee - 2007: Anaheim, California
- 2008: OrlandoOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Florida - 2009: Nashville, Tennessee
- 2010: Chicago, Illinois
- 2011: Anaheim, California
- 2012: Orlando, Florida
- 2013: Nashville, Tennessee
- 2014: San Antonio, Texas
National Cluster Meetings
National Cluster Meetings are similar to the National Leadership Conference, but without the STAR competitions. The conferences begin on a Friday night and last through Saturday night. Several motivational-type speakers are featured. There are four of these held every year in November, taking place in different regions of the USA. Anyone can attend these conferences.- 2007
- November 9-11 → Atlanta, Georgia & Buffalo, New York
- November 16-18 → Minneapolis, Minnesota & Denver, Colorado
- 2008
- November 14-16 → Jacksonville, Florida & Providence, Rhode Island
- November 21-23 → Dallas, Texas & Cincinnati, Ohio
- 2009
- November 13-15 → Washington D.C.
- November 20-22 → Louisville, Kentucky & Salt Lake City, Utah
- 2010
- November 12-14 → ABQ, NM & St. Louis, Missouri
- November 19-21 → Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2011
- November 11-13 → Denver, Colorado
- November 11-13 → Minneapolis, Minnesota
- November 18-20 → Atlanta, Georgia