On Friday March 7 2014 the skies cleared and the 2014 West Virginia Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference was in full bloom.
A variety of the secondary and post-secondary students looking forward to a future in healthcare ventured out of hibernation and made their way to Marshall University, the host for the 19th annual State Leadership Conference, in Huntington, WV. The 2014 HOSA National Leadership Conference theme is “The Future Starts Now” and is designed to inspire students to strive for achieving their personal goals. The weekend event began with a spirited opening general session followed by a day of fierce competition on Saturday March 8. The closing award’s ceremony was filled with thrills and excitement as the top three competitors in each category was recognized for their achievements. Those competing from Tucker County HOSA included, WV HOSA State President, Ben Flanagan, Emily White, Emily Dent, Skyler Lamb, Madison Mullenax, Bayli Helmick, Shasta Pifer, Cheyenne Phillips, Sierra Bennett, Lexi Roth, Amanda Pennington, Abbey Eye, Gary Meloy and Slayter Liller. TC HOSA received four first place medals including, Flanagan-Biotechnology, Lamb-Pathophysiology, Mullenax-Veterinary Science, Pifer-Extemporaneous Writing. They also brought home four third place medals including, Dent-Job Seeking Skills, White-Pharmacology, Helmick-Medical Photography, and Phillips-Human Growth and Development. Bennett and Roth received the Barbara James Service Award for their community service hours. Flanagan received the Outstanding State Leader award and the Tucker County HOSA advisor Stephanie Burns received the WV HOSA Advisor of the Year award. This has been Tucker County HOSA’s biggest award-winning year to date. They will help represent WV HOSA at the HOSA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, FL in June. The students will be holding many fundraisers in the next few months to help pay for their trip. Each student will need to raise about $1,500.00 each to attend. Any donations may be sent to Tucker County High School. Congratulations to all competitors and everyone involved for a job well done.