Lovelady Brings Home the Silver from National HOSA Convention!
Upcoming junior, Hayle Lovelady has achieved something no other Towns County student has ever accomplished. She was not only the first student from Towns County to compete at the National level in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Future Health Professionals competitions, but she brought home the silver medal! Over 7000 HOSA Future Health Professionals descended upon Orlando, Florida last week in their annual conference at Disney World. Students from all across the country from Alaska to Hawaii to Puerto Rico participated in the health-related competitions. With Principal Roy Perren’s strong encouragement, Hayle Lovelady and Health Occupations Teacher and HOSA Advisor Suzanne Crews, both from Hiawassee were there representing the State of Georgia.
“We are extremely proud of Hayle’s accomplishments for the State of Georgia.,” says Georgia Executive Director Allen Seigler. Hayle not only won the silver medal for Georgia in her competitive event, she came out of the national conference as the top placing Georgia student in any event. Phyllis Johnson with the Georgia Department of Education stated they were enormously pleased with the level at which Towns County was able to perform their first year at competitions.
Miss Lovelady competed in the Personal Care event. About half the events at the competition are strictly knowledge based, while the other half are knowledge and performance combined explained Mrs. Crews. Some events are team events, where students share the rigor of competition with a partner or partners. Hayle’s event was an individual knowledge and performance based competition. She worked very hard by staying after school several days a week for several months with her teacher to learn the skills necessary to compete at the national level. This win will help Hayle in numerous ways on her path to having a career in Pediatrics after high school graduation. Hayle and Mrs. Crews would like to thank all of their supporters from the local community, without whose help the trip would not have been possible.
Towns County Superintendent Melissa Williams stated, "We are extremely proud of this outstanding accomplishment for Hayle. This is a wonderful testament to her hard work and dedication. We are proud to have her represent the Towns County HOSA Club, our school system and our community. This is also a wonderful reflection on our club advisor, Mrs. Suzanne Crews, as this is her first year teaching and sponsoring the club."
HOSA has been in existence since 1976 and has grown to over 120,000 members. Georgia has the largest membership of any HOSA state or territory with over 8000 members. With the passing of Georgia House Bill 186, vocational education has come back into focus. State Superintendent John Barge states, “"I believe our greatest challenge, is to find out from children what they are passionate about and design an educational opportunity for them around that passion so they can be the best prepared to be successful when they leave us.” The Health Occupations pathway and HOSA competitions are certainly fulfilling that goal for Towns County students!
“We are extremely proud of Hayle’s accomplishments for the State of Georgia.,” says Georgia Executive Director Allen Seigler. Hayle not only won the silver medal for Georgia in her competitive event, she came out of the national conference as the top placing Georgia student in any event. Phyllis Johnson with the Georgia Department of Education stated they were enormously pleased with the level at which Towns County was able to perform their first year at competitions.
Miss Lovelady competed in the Personal Care event. About half the events at the competition are strictly knowledge based, while the other half are knowledge and performance combined explained Mrs. Crews. Some events are team events, where students share the rigor of competition with a partner or partners. Hayle’s event was an individual knowledge and performance based competition. She worked very hard by staying after school several days a week for several months with her teacher to learn the skills necessary to compete at the national level. This win will help Hayle in numerous ways on her path to having a career in Pediatrics after high school graduation. Hayle and Mrs. Crews would like to thank all of their supporters from the local community, without whose help the trip would not have been possible.
Towns County Superintendent Melissa Williams stated, "We are extremely proud of this outstanding accomplishment for Hayle. This is a wonderful testament to her hard work and dedication. We are proud to have her represent the Towns County HOSA Club, our school system and our community. This is also a wonderful reflection on our club advisor, Mrs. Suzanne Crews, as this is her first year teaching and sponsoring the club."
HOSA has been in existence since 1976 and has grown to over 120,000 members. Georgia has the largest membership of any HOSA state or territory with over 8000 members. With the passing of Georgia House Bill 186, vocational education has come back into focus. State Superintendent John Barge states, “"I believe our greatest challenge, is to find out from children what they are passionate about and design an educational opportunity for them around that passion so they can be the best prepared to be successful when they leave us.” The Health Occupations pathway and HOSA competitions are certainly fulfilling that goal for Towns County students!