Thank you for serving as a District Consultant for Colorado Family, Career and Community Leaders of America! John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Your actions this year will greatly influence your district members and advisers as you will be taking on the leadership responsibility of running your district. It takes commitment and dedication, but it’s also a lot of fun. Good luck this year as you help your district with the Ultimate Leadership Experience!
June 2018
- Attend the State Advisory Board Meeting at the Keystone Lodge
- Take notes from meetings
- Delegate responsibilities between the two consultants
- Select planning meeting and conference dates
August 2018
- Update the chapter database with any changes in teacher contact info
- Create an email group of all the teachers in the district
- Email them any updates from the summer State Advisory Board Meeting, planning meeting and conference dates, and the membership information
- Attend the Officer Training August 29 with your district officers
September 2018
- Send Call to Conference for Fall District Conference
- Host a planning meeting for the Fall District Conference
October 2018
- Fall District Conference: date/time, location, agenda, speakers/workshop presenters, snacks, etc.
- Fall State Advisory Board Meeting at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel (Oc)
- Bring District Consultant Report
- Sign up chapter advisers for event lead consultants
- Attend the FCS Career Day on October 29 at the Pepsi Center
December 2018
- Email advisers the process for state officer candidates
January 2019
- Hold interviews and test for state officer candidates
- Host a planning meeting for the Winter District Conference
- Send Call to Conference for the Winter District Conference
February – March 2019
- Winter District Conference: date/time, location, agenda, speakers/workshop presenters, snacks, etc.
April 2019
- State Leadership Conference at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel (April 17-19)
- Determine the 2 District Consultants for next year
| District | Bylaws | Policies and Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Valley | ||
| Mountain Shadows | Mountain Shadows District Bylaws | Mountain Shadows District Policies |
| Mountain View | Mountain View District Bylaws | |
| Northeastern Plains | Northeastern Plains District Bylaws | |
| Northern | ||
| Pine Meadows | ||
| San Juan Basin | ||
| San Luis Valley | ||
| Scenic Country | ||
| Spanish Peaks |
District Officer Selection Overview
Each district’s bylaws and/or policies and procedures outlines the selection and roles of your district officer team. Please be sure to read these in order to be in compliance. Remember that some districts elect their officers during the spring while others elect their officers in the fall. There is no correct time to elect officers but the sooner you have your team the sooner you can get started on their development. As you start to plan the selection process, use the information below as a guide.
1. Establish the Selection Process. Look at your calendar and your districts activity calendar(s) to determine eligible dates for the selection to occur. Be sure to leave plenty of time for application submission and review but also keeping with state deadlines. Select a location for the interview process that is centralized in the district and a time that meet the needs of the district applicants and interview panel. The district interview panel can be made up of any individuals of your choosing but the state office recommends the following for the committee:
- Chapter adviser without an applicant
- Current or former state officer
- School administrator or CTE Director
- Business representative
- Current or former district officer
- Community stakeholder
2. Create Selection Packet.You will need to update or create the District Officer Application, Recommendation Form, and District Officer Duties for the process. Be sure to create these in Microsoft Word or similar to allow the most user access. Make the application with clear expectations and highlight when and where the application is due.
3. Communicate with Chapter Advisers. You can never communicate with your chapter advisers enough. Yes, they receive many emails/ calls a day but it is better to over-communicate then under. Communicate with your advisers at least 2 months before the selection process begins to establish deadlines, review the process, and encourage them to encourage their students to apply. Communicate with them throughout the process with reminders and due dates. Be sure to email after the process with the results and to thank them for their help.
4. Set Up the Day Of. The day of selection process is stressful for everybody involved but it can also be fun. Communicate with the candidates and their advisers about what to expect the day of and how they can reach you in case of an emergency. The more you do beforehand, the easier the day will go. Below are some suggested tasks to be completed to help you prepare for the day of:
- Make directional signs to help the panel and candidates find the room in the building
- Set up the room for the interview
- Provide refreshments for the panel and/or candidates
- Assign interview times to candidates
- Make a list of interview questions
- Copy the FCCLA Information Sheet, FCCLA Creed, FCCLA Purpose, FCCLA Mission, and Officer Duties for the panel
- Have a writing utensil, scratch paper, and Kleenex available for the panel
- Have a thank you card and/or gift for the panel
- Plan enough time for deliberation for the panel
- Take pictures of the process
Some districts have the panel select the officers and slate them in positions while others have the panel select the officers and then the team decides on their positions. However you select your officers, remember to keep in mind that you are selecting the candidates that has leadership skill potential and can grow into their role. Make the announcement of officers as soon as possible. Make sure you personally communicate with the candidates not chosen and offer suggestions on how to improve as this is a learning process for them. Send your list of officers to the state office as soon as possible for state records.
5. Install District Officers. Installation of officers is a joyous and solemn occasion as it demonstrates the seriousness of their role as an officer. Installation ceremonies can be done at State Conference, district conferences, or at another time. Be sure to invite parents, chapter advisers, CTE Director(s), building or district administrators, state officers, the state adviser, the FCS Program Director, and other key stakeholders. Below are some suggested tasks to be completed to help you prepare for the ceremony:
- Request the ceremony candles/ gavel from the state office if needed
- Send out invitations to attendees
- Practice the Installation Ceremony with the new officers (starts on page 5)
- Create a Installation Program for attendees
- Order officer pins from the FCCLA Store if necessary
- Offer refreshments
- Take lots of pictures
Working With District Officer Overview
Leadership is the primary focus of FCCLA! As officers take responsibility for planning, implementing, and evaluating projects and activities, members develop skills needed to take the leader in their families, careers, and communities. All members have leadership potential whether or not they hold formal leadership positions. It often comes down to exploring abilities, taking risks, and developing a personal leadership style. A successful district will recognize that it needs different kinds of leaders for different experiences and will encourage leadership diversity. Shared leadership is the process through which district officers hold joint responsibility for the district. This involves the use of group decision-making, teamwork, and democratic processes and helps officers develop initiative, creativity, and maturity. The district officer experience develops leadership capabilities and helps promote FCCLA on a greater level.
Your district officers will come from a variety of different backgrounds and ability levels and it is your job as the district consultant to help make their officership successful. You can support you officer’s growth by:
- clarifying expectations
- holding officers accountable for agreed-upon obligations
- guiding officers to consider alternatives, then allowing them to make their own decisions
- being available to review workshops and other materials, but allowing the officer’s ideas and creativity to shine through
- serving as a role model for business etiquette, poise, image, and professionalism
- gradually letting go as officers prove themselves ready and capable
- provide leadership training and resources for officers
1. Enroll Officers in the Leadership Institute. The Colorado FCCLA Leadership Institute is a training and development program for all affiliated members. The District Officer Program is designed to give district leaders the skills they will need to lead their district throughout their term in office. The program includes four courses that teach district leader large scale leadership skills, how to plan and host district leadership trainings, and how to advocate for FCCLA. Each district officer participant will be assigned a current state officer who will serve as a mentor and resource. This is free of charge and a great tool to help develop your officers.
2. Attend the Officer Training. The 2016 District Conference Training will be August 30 at Johnson & Wales University. This is an opportunity for your officer to develop as a team and learn key skills they will need to be a district officer from alumni, state officers, and state staff. The cost is $10 which includes all lunch and registration materials.
3. Develop a Program of Work. Being a district officer is more than just planning district conferences. District Officers should take their leadership to the next level to complete larger projects, advocate for FCCLA, and promote student leadership throughout the district. Each district should develop a Program of Work (POW) to help guide all district activities. A POW is a detailed map that serves to direct our efforts toward outlets that better our members, our chapters, our schools, families and our community. The State Officers develop a statewide thematic POW that details goals and programs for districts and chapters. Work with your officers to map out activities, conference, events, and programs they would like to complete this year using the FCCLA Program of Work Template.
4. Plan Successful Meetings. One of the best ways to manage student leaders is to plan successful meetings. Officers prepare in different ways, but all meetings and student-led sessions require one thing: advanced planning. The first step is to plan. The following checklist may help you address the basic questions to be answered in planning any meeting.
- Who will preside?
- Who is in charge of planning the session?
- Are all program/activity preparation plans complete?
- Will a ceremony be a part of the meeting?
- Have all necessary resources (speakers, videos, flyers, etc.) been located and secured?
- Have members been notified of the meeting?
- Who is in charge of getting the meeting room reserved, ready, and cleaned up?
- Has someone been assigned to great and introduce guests?
Once the meeting is planned and questions answered, a final agenda (sample agenda) should be prepare and approved by you. The agenda should help the officers cover all necessary items of business, but also be flexible if other items of business come up.
- Be prepared. Make sure you have thought out every part of the meeting.
- Invite the right people and use their abilities. Team members will not want to miss your meetings when they know they are valued.
- Start and finish on time.
- Always begin on a positive note. A great way to start is with a recognition or celebration, an icebreaker or fun activity.
- State the meeting purpose early.
- Stick to the agenda.
- Always review actions from the last meeting.
- Include members and share the wealth. Try to get everyone involved. Don’t just talk at officers but offer them the opportunity to help out or serve on a committee.
- Get commitments. never make assumptions; make sure you get verbal agreements.
- Follow up on team member commitments. “Great. Email me by Tuesday to tell me if you need help.” Then write it down so that you keep track of commitments.
- Make decisions by getting agreements instead of voting.
- Keep meetings short and full of activity. Nothing is worse than a boring meeting that drag on.
- Remember to have fun. You can keep team members coming back if your meetings are fun, positive, fast paced, and chuck full of action.
5. Recognize Officer Accomplishments. Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Recognize your officers accomplishments throughout the year. Below are a few ways to recognize officers. Get creative and encourage your members.
- Send a red rose to their school
- Decorate lockers
- Press release to community newspapers
- Use social media
- End of Year Banquet
Resources
District Conference Overview
The state office strongly requests that each district provide a Fall and Winter Conference for the chapters within your district. District conferences allow members to learn new information, network with members from around the district, develop a greater passion for FCCLA and leadership, and gain membership recruitment and retaining techniques. Besides, conferences are fun for members!
1. Set Conference Logistics. Work with your officers to find a venue, date, and time that is suitable for your district conference. As soon as the logistics are set, send a Save the Date to your chapter advisers. You will then need to develop a Conference Budget to keep you all on track financially. This budget will also help you determine registration costs for attendees. Dealing with facility planners can be really challenging but remember to ask for everything you want but be willing to settle for what you need. Remember the answer is no unless you ask politely.
2. Send Out Call the Conference. You will need to update or create a Call to Conference to send to your chapter at least 2 months in advance. You will also need to registration method for chapters.
3. Plan the Conference. Planning the conference is the fun part. District conference look different around the state. Your district can be traditional by offer an opening keynote address and selection of workshops or you can get creative by offering intensive leadership training or National Program activities. The conference will be successful no matter the format as long as you and the officers plan it together. Below are some tasks that need to be completed as you plan the conference.
- Find a keynote speaker
- Get a small biography and introduction
- Find out the AV needs of the speaker
- Write a small thank you and/or give a gift
- Find workshop presenters
- Get a small biography and introduction
- Find out the AV needs of the speaker
- Find out how they want their room setup
- Write a small thank you and/or give a gift
- Order meals if applicable
- Develop conference documents
- Sample script
- Door prize donation letter
- Sample conference program
- Name tags
- Conference certificate
- Session PowerPoint
- Practice the scripts several time with the officers
- Invite a state officer to help with choreography and stage presence
- Order awards if applicable
- Plan and purchase decorations
- Assign officers duties for day of tasks
- Registration check in
- Greeting/ directions
- Workshop host(s)
- Decoration set up
- Decoration tear down
- Pre-write any thank you notes and send immediately after conference
- Invite all key stakeholders (including the state adviser and FCS program director)
The State Advisory Board shall meet at a Summer and Fall Planning Meeting or at the call of the State Adviser. You are now a member of the State Executive Council and your district has 1 vote. Please make every effort to attend as operational decisions for local chapters, districts, and the state organizations are made during these meetings. Please bring a completed District Consultant Report to each meeting.
| Summer State Advisory Board | Fall State Advisory Board |
|---|---|
|
Location TBD June 2020 |
Location TBD October 2020 |
|
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The largest task from December – February 15 is coordinating state officer candidates in your district. The state office sends out an information packet to the district consultant with specific instructions and deadlines for the process. Your job is to set up the processes in your district. This is extremely similar to selecting district officers but have a couple different steps.
1. Read the Details. The process can be a little overwhelming of you and the candidates. Please be sure to read the District Consultant Guidelines about the process and the State Officer Candidate Guidelines as your chapter advisers will ask you questions about the process. Feel free to reach out to the state office for clarification. Below are just a few highlighted reminders about the 2020-2021 selection process:
- Each district can send 3 state officer candidates and 1 alternative candidate
- The alternative may be selected to continue if less than 30 candidates are presented to the state office
- Each district must send 1 interview panel member
- The District Consultant from Northern District will serve on the state interview panel
- An Administrator from Spanish Peaks will serve on the state interview panel
2. Establish the Selection Process. Look at your calendar and look and your districts activity calendar(s) to determine eligible dates for the selection to occur. Be sure to leave plenty of time for application submission and review but also keeping with state deadlines. Select a location for the interview process that is centralized in the district and a time that meet the needs of the district applicants and interview panel. The district interview panel can be made up of any individuals of your choosing but the state office recommends the following people for committee:
- Chapter adviser without an applicant
- Former state officer
- School administrator or CTE Director
- Business representative
- Current or former district officer
- Community stakeholder
3. Communicate with Chapter Advisers. You can never communicate with your chapter advisers enough. Yes, they receive many emails/ calls a day but it is better to over-communicate then under. Communicate with your advisers at least 2 months before the selection process begins to establish deadlines, review the process, and encourage them to encourage their students to apply. Communicate with them throughout the process with reminders and due dates. Be sure to email after the process with the results and to thank them for their help.
4. Set Up the Day Of. The day of selection process is stressful for everybody involved but it can also be fun. Communicate with the candidates and their advisers about what to expect the day of and how they can reach you in case of an emergency. The more you do beforehand, the easier the day will go. Below are some suggested tasks to be completed to help you prepare for the day of:
- Set up schedule for candidates to present their prop speech (or write time in conference script)
- Plan a 1 hour time for candidates and panel member to take state test
- Set up the room for the interview
- Provide refreshments for the panel and/or candidates
- Assign interview times to candidates
- Make a list of interview questions
- Copy the FCCLA Information Sheet, FCCLA Creed, FCCLA Purpose, and FCCLA Mission
- Have a writing utensil, scratch paper, and Kleenex available for the panel
- Have a thank you card and/or gift for the panel
- Plan enough time for deliberation for the panel
Remember that you grade the interview panel test but don’t grade the state officer candidate test. However, please look over the candidate’s test and encourage them in the right direction… if you get my meaning.
5. Send Materials to State Office. The following materials are to be postmarked by February 15 to the state office:
- State Officer Candidate Nomination form
- State Officer Application folder(s)
- Interview Panel Application and Essay
- All completed tests
You may also hand deliver them to the state office or state adviser at other meetings.
Resources
District Consultant Guidelines
State Officer Candidate Guidelines
Interview Panel Candidate Application