#34 FHA

Country girls enjoy participation in what is referred to as the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) throughout their high school career. The organization was officially renamed Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America in 1999 but few country people have adopted the name. There are no membership requirements for FHA; all country females are de facto members of the organization. Members of the FHA carry out several very important responsibilities throughout the year. The largest of these responsibilities is organizing the annual “Sweetheart Dance.” This requires the Future Homemakers to decorate the multipurpose room for the dance, prepare 7-Up and Sherbert punch and serve it at the dance, create an elegant background out of cardboard to enhance the photos taken by the art teacher, and supervise the election of a “Sweetheart King” selected from the membership of the Future Farmers of America. Girls in FHA are also responsible for hosting the annual Armed Services Pancake Breakfast. This event provides Future Homemakers an opportunity to prepare food for men, provide table service to men, and clean up after men. In alternate years the event is co-hosted by the Advanced Foods class at the high school. Girls who participate in all of the FHA events earn the privilege of traveling to the city mall for a “shopping trip.” The trip is of great importance because one of the three pages that the FHA is alloted in the yearbook is devoted to pictures from the shopping trip. The other two pages are devoted to photos of “FHA Members,” “FHA Officers” and “FHA Seniors.”