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FCCLA Attends PEER Ed. Conference

February 28, 2012

The Plainview FCCLA chapter had 7 members attend the annual PEER Education Retreat held this past Monday, February 27^th in Kearney, NE.  The theme of the retreat was Step Up to PEER Education.   Over 425 FCCLA members and Advisers from 50 schools across the state attended the event.  Those attending from Plainview were Kirsten Cattell, Autumn Ickler, Kaelee VanEvery, Erika Neumann, Ashley Shaffer, Heidi Nelson, Natalie Lingenfelter, and Adviser Ronita Jacobsen.

During the opening session, Kirsten Cattell was recognized as a finalist for the 2012-2013 PEER Education Team.  She was introduced and presented a certificate.  During the FCCLA State Leadership Conference she will take a written test over the PEER Program Student Body, give a 2-3 minute speech on a Student Body Topic, and go through an interview process. 

Plainview was also recognized for the work they did with the Fitness for Fun Activities held in the fall with the elementary students. The chapter received “2011 National Family Week Participant” and “Student Body Challenge” certificates.

The Peer Outreach Program this year dealt with projects relating to helping those in need. This good cause found many FCCLA chapters involved in raising funds or doing special projects to raise funds, collect shoes, or other projects to help those in need.   Plainview was recognized for their work in the Soles 4 Soles program in which they donated collected shoes to the Orphan Grain Train in October. 

Members began the two-day conference by attending a pre-conference session on FACTS (Families Acting for Community Traffic Safety). “We watched videos on what happens when you text and drive, and what happens when you don’t wear your seat belt.  The consequences that come with it can be tragic,” commented Natalie Lingefelter.  Several activities which reinforced the consequences of distracted driving and ways in which students can educate peers in their schools on the dangers of distractive driving were conducted.

The Keynote speaker on Monday was Susan Brown, an extension educator who shared the importance of humor in our lives. “A fact that I learned from her presentation was that people should laugh up to 35-45 times a day (most people only laugh 5-8 times a day) and when people are in a group the joke or situation is 10 times more hilarious than what it would be if there was only one person,” said Kirsten Cattell. Brown’s message stressed the importance of knowing your audience when using humor.

The three PEER Teams (Student Body, Financial Fitness, and Families First) who organized the conference, arranged for three breakout sessions.  One session focused on PEER officers providing information about the peer education programs to members through a variety of activities associated with the three peer teams. “The PEER Ed officers had activities that enhanced our knowledge of the PEER Education teams,” said Heidi Nelson. Another PEER session was on fitness featuring Zumba dancing which the Student Body PEER Ed Officers organized.   The FCCLA members were very energetic with the Zumba dancing. “The instructors from the Kearney YMCA taught us how to test our strength.  Everyone joined in on the fun and worked up a sweat,” commented Autumn Ickler.

The closing emotional breakout session was presented by Tom Knott, a UNK college student, who spoke to the FCCLA members about the poor choices made in his freshmen/sophomore college years at Hasting’s College.  These choices ruined not only his football scholarship but also had life-altering consequences…for several others beyond him. His choice of abusing alcohol and drugs led him to be convicted of vehicular manslaughter and to face the repercussions of his actions. His presentation left a lasting impression on students.  “Leaving this session I learned that one decision could impact more than one person in the end, “ said Erika Neumann.