Hello Missouri FCCLA! Now that we have finished our Fall Leadership Conference and the affiliation deadline has passed, let’s talk about how to create and maintain an active membership within FCCLA this year!
Now that you’re officially affiliated with FCCLA, you may be wondering what’s next; for starters, ensuring you are active is ESSENTIAL. Being an active member is crucial because you get to experience everything and reap the benefits, but if you are an inactive member, you won’t get anything out of what FCCLA has to offer. Staying active will benefit you not only in the present but also in the future. Remaining an active member is essential because there are many opportunities that FCCLA offers to ANYONE who is a member, and being active opens you up to those opportunities. If you are an inactive member, you risk missing out on all of these opportunities that are not only beneficial but also fun.
In your current life, being an active member will open you up to scholarship opportunities, local, regional, state, and national office positions, learning possibilities, and unique opportunities to meet and interact with people from all over. Even if you want to avoid moving up in ranks within FCCLA, you can still experience these things as a member, so it’s for more than just officers.
If you do choose to move up within FCCLA and run for different office positions, being elected to them is an excellent opportunity to buff up your resume for college. Colleges are always looking for applicants who stand out; having different office positions within FCCLA can help you do that.
Chapter-wise, increasing your membership is essential because, without members, your chapter and region aren’t being used to the best of their ability. If you increase your members, you also increase your FCCLA family, which is what FCCLA is all about:) The more members you have, the more successful your region/chapter will be; in return, the more successful FCCLA will be! Even if it is just an increase of one or one hundred, any number counts, no matter how big or small!
If you are a new member and this is your first time in FCCLA or any club in general, and you are still trying to figure out what to do or how to get involved, here are five ways to help. 1. Volunteer: if your adviser says she needs someone to help with something, HELP. You can’t become an active member without becoming active. Even if you do something small, it will still help you to become an active member. 2. Run for office: whether at your school, regional, state, or national level, run for an office position. 3. Attend your regional meeting: at your regional meeting, you can receive vital information on things happening within your region and even things that will help you in the future. 4. Try to go to either our fall or state leadership conference. I have been to our fall and state leadership conferences all four years of high school, and those have been some of the best experiences of my life. 5. Compete in a STAR event. Competing in a STAR event is an AMAZING way for you to get active because that way, you will be competing against other people for a chance to hopefully go all the way to Nationals!
Examples Of Things You Can Do To Increase Membership
- You can recruit new/more members via social media.
- Going door to door or classroom by classroom.
- Getting on your school’s intercom and offering special rewards or treats to new and outstanding members.
- An incentive to your officers who recruit the most members gets their dues paid.
- Instead of asking for your members to volunteer at events, assign it to them.
- Set goals at the beginning of the year of how the year should plan out and what you expect from members.
- Participate in Star Events or Show-Me Skill Events.
After reading this blog whether as an advisor or member, I hope that you have found some key notes to take away from this and help out with creating and maintaining an active membership! In the end, FCCLA thrives through our members because without you, there is no us!
Aleigha Jackson
Vice President of Membership
