FCCLA Annual State Conference and Egg Hunt

Fair Grove’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club (FCCLA) has returned from the State Conference that’s celebrating the 75th anniversary of the organization. They are also planning a local Easter egg hunt at the mill.

FCCLA is an organization that is growing exponentially this year in Fair Grove. They have been gaining a lot of members and have been involved in more large-scale events since one of their members has joined the regional cabinet. One of the most recent events that Fair Grove has attended is the 75th Anniversary State Leadership Conference in Osage Beach, Missouri. The conference was hosted to unite the FCCLA regions in the state and create leadership skills for the youth of Missouri.

One of the students at the conference was Seth Hardison (10), who has recently gotten elected onto the regional cabinet as the president of the region. The State Leadership Conference was very influential for Hardison. “I was able to learn a lot about national programs, where you learn to work as a team in your chapter towards a project that will better the community. I would like to lead my own project for the Fair Grove community in the future using what I learned,” explained Hardison. At the conference, he represented Region 10, attended a Regional Officer Session, collected money for the state outreach program and served as the chapter voting delegate.

This annual event is very helpful for FCCLA members across the state to learn and experience skills in the presence of other people with similar interests. There are also local events that FCCLA is hosting for the Fair Grove community. The group has already participated in the Santa’s Workshop during Christmas and sold candy for Valentine’s Day, and are now preparing for the annual Easter egg hunt at the mill.

FCCLA has been running the hunt for several years for the children of the Fair Grove community, but they have been unable to run it for the past two years due to Covid-19. This is the first year that they are returning since the pandemic and many members are excited, including the teacher running the organization, Darci Friberg.

Friberg is preparing for the hunt by having club members and students from Mrs. Perry’s class help in stuffing the eggs with candy. On the day of the event, members will be in charge of spreading the eggs and helping the children find their hunting areas. Friberg knows how much this hunt means to the children of the community. “This event is a large draw for kids in the community. We hope that we will be blessed with good weather since it will take place rain or shine,” said Friberg.

The hunt will be available to kids of all ages with three separate hunt areas for ages 0-3, 4-7 and 8 years and older. The hunt will take place on April 9th at the Old Mill.

“I hope FCCLA can continue to be involved with this event as it is so much fun to watch kids as they gather their eggs and reveal the candy inside,” added Friberg.