By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Chilton County High School FCCLA students recently participated in the state-level Star Events competition.

FCCLA stands for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.

Students are ranked by points they receive and several of the CCHS students were in the 70-90-point range needed to be ranked silver.

It was the first year for the club to compete, but they are planning on returning next year.

“It was a good learning experience for us,” Xavier Rogers said.

Rogers competed in the promoting and publicizing category. As a part of the competition, Rogers created a poster highlighting club activities and volunteer events.

Cayleen Wakefield and Makayla Horner competed in food innovations.

“We had to create our own dessert, and we created gummy bears that were healthy,” Wakefield said.

Horner said they had wanted to do something “nostalgic.”

“At first, we did fruit roll-up, then we decided on something a little smaller,” Horner said.

Meeting all of the competition requirements proved challenging. Wakefield said it took three times to get it right.

Jordan Johnson competed in the environmental ambassador category.

“In that event, we had to basically choose from like five different categories about the environment, and I chose to promote energy efficiency and reduce air pollution,” Johnson said.

His project was a remote-controlled, electronic skateboard that could be used instead of a car for short distances to reduce carbon emissions.

Johnson said he had been looking for a way to use his STEM skills in the competition.

Elizabeth Warren completed a project for the illustrated talk competition, but her portfolio was misplaced so she could not enter.

Warren said her topic was community hunger and a program, Backpack Buddies, to address the need.

Through the program, small bags of food are slipped into backpacks by teachers when none of the students are in the classroom.

Warren said some of the students in the two schools where the program was implemented said the Backpack Buddies day was their favorite day of the week. More than 30 students benefitted from the program, and Warren hopes it can be expanded through FCCLA and her church.

“I still feel like I did amazing because not only are we giving children what they need now, but we really made an impact into the situation,” Warren said.