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Orlando
Bound
Ubly High
juniors will represent
the Thumb at national meeting
MEMBERS OF THE Ubly FCCLA chapter include (front row, left) Nikki Grifka, Laura Warner, Lauren Peplinski, Brandon Glaza, (back row, left) Jennifer Messing and Amanda Grifka. Messing and Grifka will represent the school at the 2008 National Leadership Meeting July 13-17 in Orlando, Fla.
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Members of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) may not be familiar with tiny Ubly High School when they gather for the 2008 National Leadership Meeting this summer in Orlando, Fla.
But 2 Ubly High School juniors are aiming to make sure their peers remember them after the meeting, July 13-17.
Amanda Grifka and Jennifer Messing both earned "gold" in their respective National Star Events - Grifka in career investigation and Messing in financial planning -- during the Michigan Leadership Meeting, April 9-11 in Midland. Messing's top score earned her the right to represent Ubly in Orlando. Grifka's score wasn't quite enough to qualify her for the national event, but she'll be representing Ubly in Florida after being elected to the Michigan FCCLA State Executive Council as secretary for 2008-09.
According to veteran Ubly FCCLA Advisor Tammy Laurie, 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 communications, practical knowledge and vocational preparation," explained Laurie, who has served as the Ubly FCCLA chapter advisor for 24 years and was named the state "Advisor of the Year" in 2007.
Laurie noted that Grifka and Messing competed in STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills and career preparation.
The pair also received "Power of One" awards for their completion of Power of One Units entitled A Better You, Family Ties, Working on Working, Take the Lead and Speak our for FCCLA.
In addition a group of Ubly freshmen - Brandon Glaza, Nikki Grifka, Laura Warner and Lauren Peplinski - competed and earned a gold award in a state STAR event known as Healthy Lifestyle Challenge, a team activity that recognizes participants who develop a project in response to a case study situation related to healthy lifestyles, in this case physical fitness and nutrition.
Grifka is a veteran of the Ubly FCCLA chapter and currently serves as its president. The daughter of Barb and Greg Grifka, she has been involved since the eighth grade, when she earned a trip to nationals in San Diego, Calif., along with a partner for their award-winning entrepreneurship project.
"I kind of like to choose something that's different. I wanted to stick it out," she said of her involvement in FCCLA.
This is Messing's second year in FCCLA. The daughter of Jeff and Tammy Messing, she said it was Laurie that encouraged her to get involved. "(She's) also my cross country coach and she brought it up one day," recalled Messing, who serves as treasurer of the local chapter.
"I like being involved in a lot of things," she said, adding she was attracted to the competition as well as the community service aspect of the organization. "And there's a lot of good people in the group, so I stuck with it. It's a good time, good leadership opportunities, too."
"I like how it has so many different (activities)," added Grifka, who said the local FCCLA chapter has been involved in organizing blood drives and promoting the Ubly Community Schools' on-going "Ubly PRIDE (Prepared, Responsible, Integrity, Dignity, Effort)" campaign.
Both she and Messing indicated they're looking forward to their upcoming trip, and the opportunity to represent Ubly at a national event.
"I would like to bring back another medal - just to work hard and make my presentation better," Messing said.
A lot of people might be thinking that Ubly is just a small school in Michigan, Grifka said, "but really, we have a lot of potential. We just have to put ourselves out there," she added.
Editor's note: the cost of attending the 2008 National Leadership Meeting is $1,500 per member. Anyone interested in making a contribution towards Grifka's and/or Messing's expenses can do so by contacting Ubly Community Schools at (989) 658-8554 (ext. 210).
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