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Waterford senior aiming high with FFA

By Kristen Hainkel 3 min read

WATERFORD -- Waterford High School senior Lanee Heiss is a member of a district champion team.

Heiss participates in a FFA event called Parliamentary Procedure, which teaches students how to conduct a business meeting based on the book "Robert's Rules of Order" by Henry Martyn Robert. The six-member team consists of three different roles: four debaters, a secretary, and the meeting chair.

The meetings must be kept under a 12-minute time limit. As a part of the curriculum, students learn and utilize more than 20 actions such as introducing and seconding motions, appealing a chair's decision and postponing indefinitely.

Waterford placed first among seven teams during the district competition at Waterford High School Tuesday. Heiss said the first part of the competition included a written test of 25 questions out of a possible 400.

"After that, we run our meeting in front of the judges. We don't see the other teams compete," she said.

Heiss said this is her second year competing in Parliamentary Procedure. She was a member of the team that placed fourth in the state competition last fall.

"We were fourth in the state but were really close to getting second. The scoring was really tight," she said.

The Parliamentary Procedure team will participate in the state competition Dec. 9 at the Delaware Area Career Center in Delaware, Ohio. Twenty teams qualify, consisting of the top two from 10 different districts.

Teams are split into five groups of four during the preliminary round. The winners from each group advance to a final heat. The winner of that final heat qualifies for the National Tournament.

Heiss said she hopes to go Nationals this year.

"I have a lot of faith in our team. I have the expectation that we can make it to Nationals," she said.

She was introduced to the event when adviser Matt Hartline showed her a video of the previous year's team.

"It's hard to know what Parli Pro is until you get a glimpse of it. I saw the video, and it caught my eye," she said.

Heiss said she enjoys the camaraderie she's built with her teammates.

"There's no selfishness. No one tries to one-up each other. We push each other to be better as a team," she said.

The team starts practicing for district competition in early October, getting to school at 6:30 a.m. and practicing for an hour beforehand.

Heiss said participating in Parliamentary Procedure has helped her gain confidence.

"It forces you to get out of your comfort zone. If you sound more confident while talking, the judges will think you are more talented," she said.

For her career path, Heiss is considering studying early childhood education in college.

'"I love spending time with kids. I would love to teach kids how to be a better person in the future," she said,

For now, she is looking to keep up her grades and enjoy the remainder of her senior year.

"In FFA, I've learned how to converse with people and how to build the right friendships," she said.

Kristen Hainkel can be contacted at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com

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