FCE clubs offer opportunities

The Messenger 02.21.12

By BENITA GIFFIN
Special to The Messenger
If you are interested in health issues, nutrition, cultural arts, quilting, family economics, crafts, sewing, essay writing, volunteering in the Women’s Building at the Obion County Fair, raising money for charities and making new friends, then FCE is for you.
By being a member of our local Family and Community Education clubs, you can make a difference in your county, state and nation. The Obion County Family and Community Education clubs offer you the chance to participate in a wide array of workshops and state/national conferences.
The Obion County Fair Women’s Building gains strong support from the Obion County FCE club members every year. FCE members sell homebaked foods at the Old Country Store during the Obion County Fair to raise funds for their organization. FCE club members volunteer and take in women’s building entries, display items and work to see that all items are judged and picked up at the end of the fair, too.
FCE membership is open to anyone who wants to join. Currently, Obion County FCE has 60 members and they are very active. Through shared opportunities, participants learn skills and make new friends. These experiences bring growth to the community, church, local government, state and family.
Any program offered by UT Extension is open to all eligible people regardless of race, color, age, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status or religion and Extension is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
In March, all clubs will meet for their Annual FCE Spring Achievement Day. This year, the event will be held on March 12 at the Mason Hall Community Center. Members will be recognized for their achievements and literacy accomplishments. In 2011, our Obion County FCE members volunteered 6,575 hours and reached 46,007 people.
Obion County FCE clubs are always helping someone in need, like Reelfoot Rural Ministries and our military. Assistance from our FCE clubs is delivered in the form of food, clothes, personal items, lap blankets and monetary donations. These are just a few of the many ongoing projects that occur throughout the year.
Leadership development is another FCE focus. Every spring, FCE officers participate in Leadership in Action.
Monthly meetings are held by each club and I present programs monthly on a variety of subjects that relate to nutrition, budgeting, health care and more. All meetings have lunch provided by members.
Mason Hall FCE meets in the Mason Hall Community Club Center the first Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. Crystal FCE meets at the Obion County Museum the second Wednesday of each month at 10:30 a.m.
To learn more about how to become an FCE club member, call me at the Obion County University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service at 885-0742.
Editor’s note: Benita Giffin is a UT Family and Consumer Science Extension agent in Obion County.

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