Reynolds named FCCLA president REYNOLDS

Taylor Reynolds has been a member of the FCCLA for four years and, in the last two of those, she has taken her appreciation of the organization beyond simple membership to serving all the Wyoming chapters as a state officer. Last year, she served as secretary/treasurer, and this year, out of six candidates, she was chosen to lead as state president.

FCCLA advisor Felicia Sams noted that Reynolds receiving the requisite two-thirds vote for office for two consecutive years "is pretty awesome".

Reynolds first joined FCCLA "because my sister told me to join because she thought it would be something that I would be interested in". The path to become an officer is arduous, involving an application and attending the state conference where one must pass a knowledge quiz, interacting with members, attending a delegate reception to answer more questions and, finally, public oration before the entire assembly. The assemblage votes at the end of the week.

The demands of serving are president are varied and include leading meetings like the planning meeting in Casper in May; leading activities for the state chapters; writing the "scripts" ensuring that all necessary points are covered at the convention; and "and it's important for the president to keep in contact with all of the other chapters and make sure that they are doing okay". Reynolds is prepared for this responsibility and plans to address the issue of declining numbers at the convention this year.

"I want to bring those kids back," she says. "I think that it's important to do chapter visits and I want to utilize that and do a lot of chapter visits to help the chapters get excited about the FCCLA."

Reynolds' family is happy that she is doing something she so obviously enjoys, "But they'd never even heard of FCCLA, it's kind of something they've never done and they think it's really cool."

The adventures are one of the reasons Reynolds says that she really likes the FCCLA. "I have been through so much that I probably would not have been able to do without FCCLA, like getting to fly and meeting people," she says.

She admits to being a bit nervous as she steps into the presidency, “But I’m excited and ready to go; I think it will be fun!”

Reynolds could possibly seek office at the national level if she does well at the state level, but she’s not sure if she is interested, “Because of how much college work I’m doing now so I can graduate with my associates [degree] and I don’t know if that would be too overwhelming.”

“FCCLA has been good to me and life changing,” says Reynolds. “It’s something that I would recommend to other people looking for a new experience, who want to try new things.”