District 6 FBLA Conference: February 19, 2010

I am so proud of my son Connor, he took 1st place in THREE FBLA events on February 19, he advances to state!


Thirteen Hickman students and advisers Jeaniene Thompson and Colleen Goss attended the conference. There are 22 schools in the district. Seven students will represent Hickman High School at state competition competing in 6 different events. In addition, Hickman won 5th place in total points.

Hickman had the following winners:

Event/Rank/Student
Accounting II/1st/Connor Hollrah*
Banking and Financial Systems(team performance event)/1st/Gavin Hart*, Jorie Neech*, Ashlie Anderson-Rice*
Business Calculations/1st/Connor Hollrah*
Business Calculations/3rd/Noble Carpenter
Business Calculations/4th/Gavin Hart
Entrepreneurship (team performance event)/1st/Connor Hollrah*, Charles Chau*, Skye Ramseyer*
Impromptu Speaking/4th/Skye Ramseyer
Job Interview/4th/Ashlie Anderson-Rice
Management Decision Making (team performance event)/3rd/Tori Griggs, Noble Carpenter, Andrea Thames
Marketing/1st/Gavin Hart*
Marketing/2nd/Katie King*
Marketing/5th/Jorie Neech
Personal Finance/1st/Gavin Hart*
Sports Management/5th/Andrea Thames
Total Points/5th/Hickman FBLA


* Students who will advance to state competition

Hickman High School FBLA Winners

District 6 Future Business Leaders of America Conference
February 23, 2009
Jamestown, Missouri

Twenty Hickman students and advisers Jeaniene Thompson and Colleen Goss attended the conference. There are 22 schools in the district. Ten students will represent Hickman High School at the state competition competing in 11 different events; these students' names are indicated by an asterisk. In addition, Hickman won second place in total points. Hickman had the following winners:

Accounting I -1st Place, Kristen Bailey*
Business Calculations - 5th Place, Melissa Green
Business Communications- 1st Place, Ben Hoffman*
Business Ethics (team event)- 3rd Place, Ashlie Anderson-Rice, Connor Hollrah, Brock Loesing
Business Math - 4th Place, Connor Hollrah
Business Procedures - 5th Place, Charlie Chau
Computer Problem Solving - 1st Place, Alan Gatica*
Computer Problem Solving - 3rd Place, Skye Ramseyer
Economics - 2nd Place, Joe Langworthy*
Economics - 5th Place, Josh Jacobi
Electronic Career Portfolio - 1st Place, Erin Chambers*
Entrepreneurship (team event) - 2nd Place, Yohana Ghirmazion, Connor Hollrah, Avy Kea
Global Business (team event) - 1st Place, Kristen Bailey*, Joe Langworthy*, Trey Nelson*
Help Desk (individual event) - 2nd Place, Kyle Bogden
Management Decision Making (team event) - 2nd Place, Grace Cripps, Alan Gatica, Josh Jacobi
Marketing - 4th Place, Trey Nelson
Network Design (team event) - 1st Place, Kyle Bogden*, Josh Boyer*
Networking Concepts - 1st Place, Kyle Bogden*
Personal Finance - 1st Place, Grace Cripps*
Personal Finance - 3rd Place, Gavin Hart
Sports Management - 1st Place, Gavin Hart*
Technology Concepts - 2nd Place, Alan Gatica*
Hickman FBLA Total Points - 2nd Place

A Boy with a Driving Permit

On January 17th, my oldest son turned 15 years old. Well, here in Missouri, that means driver permit time! On January 18th, we went to the Missouri Motor Vehicle Driver's testing office and Connor took the written exam and passed! He now has a Missouri Driver's Permit License in his wallet! Oh boy! I feel so old! I have a son who will be driving on his own in 11 short months.....YIKES!

On the 18th, he asked me if he could drive home after he got his permit. The answer was a firm, NO. I needed to have a drink and relax before getting in the car with him behind the wheel. No really, I wouldn't think about drinking and letting my son drive! My dad was at my house when we got home & Connor talked his poppy into taking him to Cosmo Park and letting him drive through the park. They came home and Dad told me, while trying not to laugh, that he did very well.

I got the nerve up to let him drive that afternoon and evening around town, trying to avoid any roads that had traffic or vehicles on them. In Columbia, that's not possible! Maybe at 2:00 am in the morning but not during day light hours! He drove down Stadium, while I braced myself in the passengers seat with my foot on the pretend break! He did pretty well. We need to work on the stopping and starting. I am sure that a couple of times I was close to having whiplash! The most exciting part of our driving experience that day was driving into our garage! As we pulled into our driveway, I told Connor to make sure that he clears both sides of the van and make sure that he doesn't hit the mirrors. He got a little close and I told him to back up a little and straighten out the vehicle some, well, instead of backing out a little, he backed out all the way to the road! While we were driving back up the drive into the garage door, I proceed to tell him to take it slow and when he reaches the ball hanging down to STOP!!!! He reached it before I could finish telling him what to do! He comes to a screeching stop and I am relieved to be stopped and getting out of the vehicle at that time!

The next day we were going to KC to a soccer tournament. He asked me several times if he could drive some more. Well, it will be a very long time before he is allowed to drive on I70 but I would consider letting him drive on Highway 50 when we head to Sedalia on Sunday evening from KC. I do let him drive from Warrensburg to Sedalia. We had 2 very exciting moments on that little trip! One a car was turning right off of the highway onto a side road, Connor is driving full speed and I'm trying to tell him that he can get in the passing lane and pass him but make sure their are no cars in that lane....well he had to put on the breaks before he could look and get over! Second, we have a little trouble when we come up on a big curve. He is driving with the cruise control on and as we approach this curve, I start to tell him that he will want to put his foot of the pedal so he has control over the vehicle and the speed of the car because sometimes it picks up speed around curves. We picked up speed until he put his foot on the break to slow down.

The really awesome thing about the drive from Warrensburg to Sedalia is that each time he was tested in his driving skills, we smelled a skunk! You may ask-soo? What's so great about that? My grandfather, who was killed in a car wreck when I was in 8th grade, loved the smell of a skunk-he said it clear his nostiles! Everytime I am on the highway driving and I smell a skunk, I think of my grandfather and smile and know that my guardian angel is with me on the road. My grandpa was with Connor and I and I felt a little more secure after smelling the skunk. When we got to my Mom & Dad's, I asked them if the smelled the skunks coming home and they didn't! Just a little more proof that I have a guardian angel :-)

I am sure that I will have some more stories about riding in the vehicle with my son! Just keep us in your prayers! I am so nervous and scared about letting him drive on his own when he turns 16 and get's his license! I am thankful that he has a whole year to become comfortable with a vehicle.

Life on the Road

by Connor Hollrah

(For English, Connor has free writing assignments-his last assignment he wrote about his trip with his Poppy during the summer of 2006. My dad is an over-the-road truck driver and he took each of the boys on a trip that summer. They both had a ball and they got to see lots of wonderful country and got to spend some quality time with my dad. Here is what Connor wrote about....)

I will always remember the time when I went on a road trip with my grandpa in his truck. He had been driving semi-trucks for his entire life, but had just started driving all over the country. He would go away for long periods of time and sometimes got lonely. So, my grandpa and I decided we would go for a week on the road.

In the summer of ’06 I went on a road trip with my grandpa. It started at 5 O’clock in the morning when we left his house in Sedalia. I didn’t know that this would be one of the greatest vacations of my lifetime. I will never forget the time I went on the road with my grandpa because of the places we went, the living accommodations, and the fact I got to spend time with him.

My trip started when we went Joplin. It started in disappointment. While we waited for our truck to load up we were bored because we had nothing to do. It took an hour just to load the stuff onto the truck. I had thought the next week would be really boring and I had a mistake in coming. Little did I know it would be excessively exciting.

The second day of the trip I became sick and felt like I wanted to go home. I spent the entire day sleeping and throwing up because whenever I would not be sleeping I felt sick. I thought about going home, but I I thought better of it because I knew something good was bound to happen.

Our first stop was in South Carolina, right off the ocean, near Myrtle Beach. We arrived in the morning with the sight of a pink and orange sunset that covered the sky. We ate breakfast at a truck stop and enjoyed each other’s company over a plate of sizzling bacon, hearty scrambled eggs, and jelly-spread toast, a breakfast I would be thrilled to have any day. The third day of the trip was very enjoyable.

Late that night, we received the news that we would be going to Wisconsin for out next stop, but would first have to stop in North Carolina. I was excited we would be going through North Carolina because at the time the Tar Heels were my favorite college team. When we arrived in North Carolina we missed the exit to the stop. It was then very hard to find out way back. After about an hour of wandering around lost we found the stop and were still two hours early! We were surprised to find out that. The fourth day was very crazy.

On our way to Wisconsin we were held up by traffic in Indiana. It was amazing to just be sitting there over a rock quarry that was a long way down. I felt adventurous because I thought the bridge could fall at any time.

Wisconsin welcomed us with lots of clouds and plenty of rain. Our time In Wisconsin was long because we did not receive any instructions for the next delivery. By the time we got our load to Texas, I had to go home for soccer. I was disappointed that the trip had been so short and couldn't wait to do it again.

I will also remember the living conditions while on the trip. The biggest thing I wild remember was bed. My grandpa and I had to share a bed in the back of the truck which squeezed us together close. I was mesmerized by the fact we slept well each night. Also, we only took a shower twice because the showers could only be found at truck stops. Finally, whenever there was not a restaurant nearby we would have to eat soup or sandwiches. The soup took an average of one hour to make and the sandwiches were always the same. However, both were very delicious.

My time with my grandpa brought us close together and I now appreciate him more. Whenever I see him we always have something to talk about. I love him a lot and am glad we are so close.

Honors English Writing Assignment-CSH

My oldest had a writing assignment this week. They were assigned a time frame & they needed to write a poem about that time. Connor was assigned 8:00 pm. Here is his poem:

8 P.M.
by Connor Hollrah

8 P.M.
The wind dies down to a light, serene breeze and the wolf howls at the moon.
8 P.M.
The sunset clashes orange and pink with the transforming blue to black sky.
8 P.M.
The young child is ready for bed, while the old child is finishing put off homework.
8 P.M.
The athletes celebrate with friends after their last minute win.
8 P.M.
The old man returns from work and collapses on the sofa to watch late night television.
8 P.M.
The quiet hour with crickets chirping speeds by like a racecar.
8 P.M.
The wind dies down to a light, serene breeze and the wolf howls at the moon.