Bulldog Honored at FCCLA Event

Kearney High School student Lexie Barton has vaulted to elite status in the FCCLA organization after earning the top award at the 2023 Missouri State Leadership Conference.

Barton, who will be a junior at KHS starting next month, recently earned a spot in the top 10 at the FCCLA National STAR Events competition in Denver, Colo.

Lexie Barton

“Kearney FCCLA is so proud of her!!” KHS FCCLA sponsor Kassidy Robertson said. “She is a true leader!”

Barton’s achievements at the state event garnered a coveted invitation to the national FCCLA conference this summer. Only about 100 students from across the country are allowed to attend.

“This means a lot to me because I’ve wanted to be a leader for a long time,” Barton said. “It feels amazing to accomplish this goal.”

FCCLA stands for, “Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.” Founded in 1945, FCCLA offers intra-curricular resources and opportunities for students to pursue careers that support families, according to the organization.

“It’s focused on family and leadership development,” Barton explained. “They want to help train young people to support their entire community in many different ways.”

Barton set three goals for herself in the lead-up to the state FCCLA conference. She wanted to become more organized, get better at asking good questions and learn how to talk to a wide variety of people.

Barton kept a portfolio to document her work to address each of the three goals. She then presented her project to three judges, who were clearly impressed.

“Everything worked together for me,” Barton said. “I had a paper planner that helped me stay organized, and I would keep notes of things that I wanted to understand better. At lunch, instead of just sitting by myself, I would get out of my comfort zone and ask people questions every day.”

KPGZ News - Ray Weikal with the Kearney School District contributed to this story