Missouri students brought home a total of 74 gold, 57 silver and eight bronze medals from the National Leadership Conference for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) in Atlanta, Ga. The students were among more than 7,500 student leaders, members and advisors who participated in the conference earlier this month at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Nearly 140 Missouri students participated in one of 30 Family and Consumer Sciences-related competitive events offered at the conference. These events support foundational, leadership and workplace skills in areas such as advocacy, culinary arts and entrepreneurship. Missouri had 10 first place finishes:

• Elizabeth Schierhoff, Montgomery County R-II Middle School, Chapter Service Project Display
• Maddie Silver and Max White, Maysville R-I, Entrepreneurship
• Ruby Roisum and Jessica Stinson, Hannibal 60, Food Innovations
• Misty Mason, Scott City R-I, Illustrated Talk
• Hannah Bretz and Tage Young, Savannah R-III, National Program in Action
• Lexi Lakey and Macey Sappington, Dadeville R-II, Sports Nutrition

Roisum and Stinson, from Hannibal, were awarded full-ride scholarships to Sullivan (Ky.) University as well as $1,000 scholarships to Life (Ga.) University. Students from Montgomery County Middle School earned recognition as a first-place winner in the national programs of Families First and Financial Fitness, as well as a runner up in Student Body. These awards come with $1,000 for each first place and $500 for the runner-up.

Two Missouri advisors received special recognition at the conference. Ashley Witte, Tipton R-VI High School, received the distinction of Master Advisor, and Andrea Tarro, Troy Buchanan High School (Troy R-III), received recognition for the Spirit of Advising Award.

About FCCLA

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education. FCCLA has more than 160,000 members and more than 5,300 chapters from 49 state associations, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.