Mission
To promote personal growth and leadership development through family and consumer sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner and community leader, members develop skills for life through--character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge and career preparation.
We Are Michigan FCCLA!
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) that provides opportunities for over 275,000 students across the nation to build leadership skills, explore careers, serve their communities, compete, travel and put what they learn in the classroom into action.
In Michigan, FCCLA serves students enrolled in Education General/Teacher Cadet, Culinary Arts, Hospitality Administration and Management, Home Furnishings, Fashion Design, Visual and Performing Arts, Middle School programs, and Family & Consumer Sciences courses. Through local chapters, leadership conferences, competitive events and statewide opportunities, students turn what they learn in the classroom into real-world experience while developing skills for success in their careers, families and communities.
Michigan FCCLA supports chapters and advisers across the state and provides conferences, competitions, leadership development and other student experiences throughout the year.
Michigan FCCLA is hosted by the GameAbove College of Engineering & Technology at Eastern Michigan University and is recognized by the Michigan Department of Education as one of Michigan’s six official CTSOs, along with the support of partners and donors.
Our Core Values
Leadership - Character - Excellence - Teamwork - Service
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Toward New Horizons
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To provide opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life.
To strengthen the function of the family as a basic unit of society.
To encourage democracy through cooperative action in the home and community.
To encourage individual and group involvement in helping achieve global cooperation and harmony.
To promote greater understanding between youth and adults.
To provide opportunities for making decisions and for assuming responsibilities.
To prepare for the multiple roles of men and women in today's society.
To promote Family and Consumer Sciences and related occupations.
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We are the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. We face the future with warm courage and high hope. For we have the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious values. For we are the builders of homes, homes for America's future, homes where living will be the expression of everything that is good and fair, homes where truth and love and security and faith will be realities, not dreams. We are the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. We face the future with warm courage and high hope.
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The Ultimate Leadership Experience®
History
FCCLA’s story began on June 11, 1945, when 29 home economics teachers gathered in Chicago with a shared vision for a national student organization centered on home economics education. From that work, Future Homemakers of America (FHA) was established, creating new opportunities for students to develop skills for their homes, families, and communities. Michigan has been involved from the very beginning - Michigan State University was one of the universities represented at that initial Chicago meeting.
As education, careers and family life changed, the organization evolved with them. Programs expanded beyond the traditional view of homemaking to address leadership, career preparation, financial management, healthy relationships, community service and the challenge of balancing family, work and life. In 1994, Home Economics became Family & Consumer Sciences, representing a new career-connected approach that bridges CTE technical training with life literacy education.
In 1999, members voted to change the organization’s name from Future Homemakers of America to Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). The new name reflected what the organization had become: a place where all students could prepare to lead in their families, careers and communities.
Today, FCCLA continues to build on that legacy by giving students opportunities to lead, compete, serve and prepare for their futures. Through Career and Technical Education, members develop practical skills in communication, decision-making, goal setting, problem-solving, and leadership that they can carry into their careers and throughout their lives.
Pictured: Lucy Ann Wilkinson, believed to be the first Michigan FCCLA member to attend a conference, at a Home Economics gathering in 1944. In 1945-1946, she became Michigan FCCLA’s first State President. While she did not host a state conference, her work culminated in Michigan becoming the 31st State to join FCCLA on May 23, 1946. Lucy Ann also served as the keynote speaker for the 1946 Michigan FFA Convention, a landmark moment in the organization’s early history.
Photo courtesy of Lucy Ann Wilkinson, acquired May 2026
The Red Blazer
Few things represent FCCLA as instantly as the red blazer. Worn by members and leaders for generations, it has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the organization and the pride that comes with representing FCCLA.
It represents leadership, professionalism, and belonging. Whether a student is stepping onto a competitive event stage, attending a leadership conference, meeting with elected officials, or representing their chapter in the community, putting on the red blazer means representing something larger than themselves.
For many members, wearing the blazer for the first time is a milestone. Over time, the pins, name badge, and experiences that accompany it tell the story of a student's FCCLA journey.
