(FRESNO, Calif.) Forty student delegates attended the Region Officer Training Conference of FHA-HERO at California State University Fresno July 28-31.

FHA-HERO is a career technical student organization for young men and women who are currently or have been enrolled in a Home Economics Careers and Technology program in middle school or high school. In California nearly three thousand students annually participate in region and state-level leadership and career development activities.

"The purpose of the conference is to assist FHA-HERO Region Officers from throughout the state develop leadership skills and gain knowledge about their organization," said State President Emily Mastrolia, a student at Deer Valley High School in Antioch. "We participated in workshops that focus on topics such as speech writing, public relations, leadership development, parliamentary procedure and communication skills. In addition, the officers participated in team-building activities."

The 40 student officers will provide leadership for the FHA-HERO members in their geographic area. Each of the students represents one of 10 areas in the state.

In addition to completing a variety of elected duties, the region officer team is also responsible for planning and conducting region-level activities for the coming school year. This includes competitions, planning community service projects and projects to increase membership at the chapter level.

The Home Economics Careers and Technology Education staff of the California Department of Education sponsors this training.

For more information, call Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.

Participating students were from the following cities:

Apple Valley: Trista Cowlishaw
Chino: Sarah Rosendahl
Victorville: Candice Green, Aprille Garcia

--Carl M. Dameron
Dameron Communications