LEXINGTON, Ky. — Students from Fayette County Public Schools demonstrated strong competition skills at the 2026 FCCLA National Leadership Conference held July 6-10 in Washington, D.C., bringing home multiple medals and awards from the event that drew over 10,000 participants. Family, Career, and C ommunity Leaders of America club members from three county schools competed under the theme “ConneCTed,” participating in general sessions, workshops, and contests designed to develop career readiness and leadership skills. Lafayette High School led the local schools with two top finishes. Emily Bethel and Claire McNees earned 1st place in Interior Design, Level 3, while fellow Lafayette student May Dihn placed 2nd in Digital Stories for Change. Mame Sakho also finished 2nd in Teach Train, Level 3, and Marisa Presley earned Top 10 recognition in Leadership, Level 2. Jessie Clark Middle School students competed across multiple categories. Skye Pendleton claimed 3rd place in Hospitality, Tourism, Recreation, while Kira Chornobai and Katy Lyne made the Top 10 in Promote and Publicize FCCLA. The school’s students earned several medal-level finishes, including gold recognition for Ava Watts and Jenny Winstead in Repurpose and Redesign, Ben Winstead in Career Investigation, and Charlotte Brown and Sarah Claiborne in Sports Nutrition. Beaumont Middle School also achieved multiple placements at nationals. Emma Ball, Hannah Lacefield, Liya Paul, Hadley Stansbury, and Evelyn Vest finished 4th in Parliamentary Procedure. Avery Moore and Ivan Hernandez Nanguelu earned Top 10 honors in Instructional Video Design and Job Interview, respectively. Other Beaumont competitors earned silver and bronze recognition across several events. According to FCCLA, the organization is a national career and technical student organization that helps students develop skills necessary for success in families, careers, and communities. Members participate in competitive events, community service initiatives, and leadership development activities. Sources Fayette County Public Schools FCCLA official website 2026 FCCLA National Leadership Conference information This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Fayette County Public Schools, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/club-members-shine-in-2026-fccla-nationals. View in feeds The post Lexington students excel at FCCLA national conference appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less