Local students attend national HOSA conference

By Staff
Kim West
Seven Franklin County students had more than sightseeing on their agenda during a recent trip to Texas.
Shelby Smith, Allison Morrow, Phillip Pearson, Joy Phillips, Dena Deaton, Jonathan Hill and Jon Campbell, all members of the Franklin County chapter of the Health Occupations Students of America, attended the HOSA national leadership conference June 17-21 in Dallas and came home with two national awards.
The chapter, advised by Franklin County health science instructor Kay Hargett, received the National HOSA Cup and Outstanding HOSA Chapter award at the conference and will also be honored as the Health Science Program of the Year by the state health department in a ceremony this week.
"The state award shows that our chapter is really active in HOSA and willing to do volunteer work to help out the community," said Morrow, a first-year member of HOSA who was elected state president in February. "This year we did a sock drive for elderly patients, collected canned food, visited the Sarah Densmore Center and raised money for the leukemia fund."
Pearson and Morrow, rising seniors at Red Bay High School, competed in individual events at the conference, while Smith, a rising junior at Belgreen and the state vice president, and Morrow were selected to attend the National Health Care Leadership Academy.
Hill and Campbell, recent Red Bay graduates, each ran for national office during the conference. Candidates were required to write an essay, complete a community service project, pass an exam, interview with the national board and campaign for voting delegates.
Both students qualified for the final round of voting, and Campbell became the first student from Franklin County to hold a national HOSA office after he won the election for Region II national vice president.
Morrow, who plans to run for national office next year, said the trip more than lived up to her expectations.
"There's really no comparison to this trip because the conferences were great and the people were amazing – some of the nicest people you'll ever meet are in HOSA," said Morrow. "We had so much fun on this trip, and it was a major accomplishment for our chapter."