What's the Buzz

Well, it's that time of year again - Prom Season, Graduation Season, Allergy Season, Mother's Day Season and Pump it Up Season! Hopefully you are all enjoying spring with the lovely blooms of flowers everywhere! I encourage you all to get registered for VATFACS PDI this summer. If you haven't already, there is still time! I hope that you will BEE very happy and excited with our institute this year.

The board is working hard to bring you a "Bee - utiful" time, July 16-19th at the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Conference Center on the buzzing campus of JMU. We hope this year, you are able to re-ignite, re-energize and re-lax before you are right back into the swing of things in late July/August.

Please make sure that you are "Bee-ing" diligent about your own self-care at this time of year! The year is coming to a close and we are excited for the networking and information that we have to pass along to you at the Institute this year!

Bee sure to register before time runs out! HUGE SHOUT OUT to everyone that has sent in a request to present during the institute! We APPRECIATE YOU! Also, if you have submitted names of award/scholarship recipients, we thank you for your time and consideration of those people that you nominated!

We look forward to seeing you at the Institute in July! If you have questions or need assistance, please email myself or one of the board members! Congratulations on getting through May and being in the home stretch!

Your Busy Queen Bee,

Diane Breinig - President

There is currently a tie between Regions 2, 4, 5, 6 & 8. Soooooo.......... we are going to extend the membership madness through the end of May. Lets keep going and see who will be our ultimate region winners! Encourage your colleagues to come join in on the fun at conference and become a VATFACS member today!!

Student Wins Gold Medal & Scholarship to Attend 2023 FCCLA National Leadership Conference

Fairfax, VA – Sierra Warden, an incredible junior at Fairfax High School, earned a gold medal at the 2023 FCCLA State Leadership Recognition Conference held in Virginia Beach. She competed against other juniors and seniors from across the state in the Career Investigation STAR event placing 3rd in her category. Sierra researched a career in forensic science which matched her exploration of attributes, interests, skills, and academics. City of Fairfax Detective Trey Leightley and Detective Noelle Becker met with Sierra and demonstrated how field testing is done at crimes scenes providing her with hands-on experience.

Additionally, Sierra has been awarded the highly coveted Family, Career & Community Leadership of America Access Scholarship. Over 150 applications were received from FCCLA members from across the country, but Sierra’s application stood out to the esteemed Inclusion, Access, Equity, and Diversity (IAED) Committee - the selection panel for the Access Scholarship. As part of the expectations, the students had to be a nationally affiliated member in good standing and she has been a member since 7th grade competing in STAR events at the state and national level. Sierra was required to provide an academic transcript; a current extracurricular and community involvement resume with contributions made to FCCLA and respond to four extensive essay prompts. The application required letters of recommendation from Ms. Georgina Aye, Principal, and Ms. von Schaack, Chapter Adviser of Sierra for 5 years. Unanimously selected as one of only six (6) recipients nationwide, Sierra has been granted a scholarship worth $5,000 to attend the 2023 National Leadership Conference (NLC) in Denver, CO, from July 2-6. This year’s scholarships were generously sponsored by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), Octane Public Relations, and Texas FCCLA. The Access Scholarship, introduced by FCCLA in 2022, was created to provide life-changing opportunities for student members and their chapter advisers to attend NLC.

For more information on FCCLA, please visit www.fcclainc.org

Tosheiba Ragland was awarded the Virginia State- FCCLA Adviser Mentor Award and the

National - FCCLA Adviser Mentor Award. Congratulations on her hard work and dedication to FCCLA!!

• May Day Fun
• Bring a Buddy to VATFACS Promotion