Students at Elizabethton High School were recognized for a range of achievements during the school year at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
Many of the students were in the school’s Career and Technical Education program, and had competed in local or state competitions to show the skills they had acquired in the classes.
Students in the EHS Future Business Leaders of America, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, criminal justice program, Future Farmers of America and Health Occupations Students of America were honored for their performance.
In the FBLA, several students competed at the state competition and were either recognized as new state officers or outgoing state officers.
FBLA students Sydney Elliott, Kelsi McKamey, Chelsea Williams, Chrissy Baker, Josiah Thomasson, Preston Davis and Kaeyln Bishop recently attended the state FBLA conference. Elliott and McKamey placed first in digital design promotion and hard copy scrapbook. Williams and Baker placed first in electronic scrapbook. Thomasson and Davis placed second in digital video production. Elliott placed third in the annual business report and Bishop placed fourth in electronic career portfolio.
Also, McKamey was named to the 2014-2015 FBLA state officer team as webmaster. Thomasson and Rena Baker served on the 2013-2014 FBLA state officer team as webmaster and president, respectively.
“I can’t say enough about this group this year,” said FBLA faculty advisor Robin McKamey. “This is an outstanding group of leaders. They not only excelled at the state level, but at the local level.”
Thomasson said his experience in the FBLA was very valuable to his future.
“It gave me the opportunity to network with some amazing people and get involved in a business-type setting more than I ever thought I would be able to in high school,” he said. “I got to public speak in front of over 2,000 people at our state conference, and helped to lead that same conference. It was an amazing experience.”
In the FCCLA, J.P. Mitra won the design competition for the Tennessee FCCLA pin. Joseph Byrum, Ezra Leger and Kelsi McKamey, the EHS Culinary Team, placed fourth in the state competition out of seven teams, receiving silver medals. Megan Dula Elliott placed second in sports nutrition at the FCCLA state competition.
“I am very proud of all of these students,” said FCCLA Advisor Joy Jarrett. “They have not only shown the skills they gained in culinary arts, but academically and athletically, they are involved in so much that I think that speaks highly of them.”
Jarrett said Mitra’s win in the pin design competition came as a surprise to the group. She said the FCCLA organization asked students from across the state to design the pin that will be worn by delegates at the national competition. The designs were submitted and a winner was chosen.
“We didn’t even know until we opened up our programs,” Jarrett said.”No one had told us that his design had won for the state. That was a remarkable accomplishment.”
Mitra’s design featured the FCCLA logo in the shape of Tennessee and included an iris, the Tennessee state flower; a mockingbird, the Tennessee state bird, and a guitar.
“I thought it represented Tennessee well,” Mitra said.
Students in the criminal justice class were recognized for taking part in the Northeast Tennessee CSI competition that was planned by EHS teachers Ken Hardin and Ryan Presnell.
Students in the two teams placing first in the competition were Dylan Davis, Dylan Smith, Tristan Causby, Logan Ritchie, Lindsey Fowler, Michael Fowler, Miranda Isaacs and Hailey Collins.
Presnell said he developed the competition as a way for them to learn about crime scene investigation in a hands-on way. He said the plan was to have a bigger competition next year.
“It was impressive, even to me and I trained them, and I think I trained them pretty good,” Presnell said. “We conducted an after action review and had agents from the FBI, the TBI, investigators from the sheriff’s department and the police department, and the consensus was they would take any of the EHS teams to a crime scene and have them work that crime scene with them.”
Other CTE students recognized were Andy Johnson for receiving second place in prepared public speaking with HOSA, and Lucas Reed for receiving his FFA state degree.
Outside of the CTE department, English teacher Andrea Payne recognized Grace Jackson for receiving the National Council Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing and Anna Thomason for being a nominee for the National Council Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing.
Jackson was one of 164 high school students who received the award. Thomason was one of 632 who received certificates of nomination for the award.
“The achievement award in writing is considered the highest award a high school student can receive for writing,” Payne said. “Tennessee only had six recipients and only two were from public schools.”