If it is springtime in Texas, it must be time for the STAR (Students, Taking, Action with Recognition) events for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. Members of the Golden Triangle Unit, Tracy Fiers, RP, and Kathy Blair, RP, attended the Region III Leadership Conference on February 18, 2022, where they evaluated the Parliamentary Pro participants from Kemp High School. Then, on March 4, Tracy Fiers, RP, and Lin Sarfaraz, evaluated nine teams from Region II in Parliamentary Pro from Miles, Brady, Bartlett, Albany and De Leon schools.
The FCCLA Parliamentary Procedure event consists of high school teams of 5-8 participants that are scored on a written test and during a mock meeting. They are given meeting minutes and a treasurer’s report of a previous meeting along with suggested items of New Business. After 15 minutes of preparation time, they are given 20 minutes to demonstrate as many parliamentary procedures as possible from list of typical maneuvers. They are scored on a rubric and those scores are combined with the written test scores to determine the winner.
The mission of FCCLA is, “To promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner and community leader, members develop skills for life through: character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, and career preparation.”
As evaluators, our duty is to evaluate and encourage all participants with positive feedback. After evaluating for ten years, it was inspiring to see how the teams progressed in their parliamentary knowledge and ability from their first time as participants. The emphasis to all participants was the valuable life-skill they obtained by learning parliamentary procedures. This skill will assist them in every future club, student council and eventually a homeowner’s association in which they participate. If you ever doubt the quality of the youth in Texas, volunteer at one of the regional or state events held by FCCLA. Seeing hundreds of youth organizing the events, preparing to compete, and demonstrating their hard work will confirm that the youth in Texas are prepared to lead when called.
Our participation as evaluators was facilitated by a grant from the TSAP Education Endowment Fund in 2020. TSAP members are encouraged to help support the efforts of FCCLA to develop our future leaders by volunteering at a local event. For more information, visit: https://www.texasfccla.org.
Tracy Fiers, RP
Golden Triangle Parliamentarians