PRAIRIE CITY – Members of Prairie City School’s FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Chapter participated in the FCCLA State Conference on March 13 in Portland.

State officers from the local chapter, Caitlin Patten, State FCCLA Eastern Regional Vice President, and McKenzie Purnell, State FCCLA President, helped organize and conduct the leadership conference.

Prairie City FCCLA members competed in STAR Events, bringing home six gold medals and one silver medal in the competition. Caitlin Patten, Skylar Fast and Sherree Wright received gold medals in Chapter Service Project, Sara Harig received a silver medal in Illustrated Talk, Katie Cary earned a gold medal in Chapter Showcase, and Katie Hoberg and Julie Gray earned gold medals in National Programs in Action.

Katie Cary, with her project, “Dare to Live with FCCLA,” and “Beanies for Babies” by Julie Gray and Katie Hoberg, qualified to attend the National FCCLA Conference in Orlando, Fla., in July.

The Prairie City FCCLA chapter also was awarded first place in state in “Community Service” and received a plaque for all their citizenship projects.

After Prairie City Chapter performed the flag ceremony in the opening session, the guest speaker, Mike Donahue from R5 Productions, gave a moving and inspirational presentation entitled “Walk a Mile” about how to treat others and staying drug- and alcohol-free. He stressed the importance of treating people respectfully and understanding the pain of others.

Mrs. Muffet Ricco was named an “Honorary Oregon FCCLA Chapter Parent” for giving unselfishly of her time, effort and talents to support the Prairie City FCCLA Chapter and the state organization. She has provided transportation for state and national conferences, organized workshops for the regional conference, coordinated fund-raisers and FCCLA participation in community events, regularly attended the state conference, served as an evaluator for STAR Events at the state level, and supports the Family and Consumer Studies program locally.