Woodland Betas represent Missouri across state lines

Woodland Senior Betas are used to traveling. At the very least, they trek to Branson for the Missouri State Convention every winter. If they do well there, the summer holds a fun out-of-state trip for National competitors. This year, a few Betas added even more travel to their itinerary.

Sponsor BJ Braswell explained, “This is the first time we have a regional officer and a state officer in the same year.” Regional Beta Representative Skyler Hinkle went to Georgia for the Beta Leadership Summit.

“It was amazing!” Hinkle reported. “The other representatives were so welcoming. I mainly judged group events, but I got to sit in a leadership meeting for new Beta officers, which was truly inspiring.”

The summit was marked by the effects of Hurricane Helene. The meeting had only about a third of its usual participants.

“Yet some of the Beta kids that had their homes damaged still came and shared their stories and how their club was contributing to making a positive impact within the chaos,” Hinkle marveled.

A few weeks later, another group of Betas headed to Tennessee’s state Beta convention. They were traveling mainly to help and support senior Ben Gabriel, who was fulfilling his duties as Missouri’s state Beta president. He helped judge events, guide people to the correct areas, staff doors during competitions, and help backstage during awards. He and his entourage of Woodland Betas who came to help also had time to enjoy each other’s company. Classmate Tenielle Melendy was along and enjoyed the experience. She also noticed differences in the Tennessee convention compared to Missouri conventions she has previously attended.

“It was a very different energy. The speakers were able to get involved with the crowd.”

She also noticed that the Tennessee event featured religion more prominently than Missouri. And they had a fun tradition of bursting into Rocky Top any chance they had.

“Personally, I think Missouri needs a theme song, too! It was a great learning experience. It was also just a fun trip in general. We got to shop and play games and hang out with my favorite Beta president," she said.

Melendy’s favorite Beta president, Gabriel, agreed with her assessment, “We had a lot of fun and it was a great experience. I met so many people, and so many people knew me from our convention. I also got to see all of the other Beta officers, which was fun.”

In January, he will serve an even more prominent role as he presides over Missouri’s convention.

“I’ll have a lot more jobs. I’ll be judging more and speaking at every general session. I will also introduce the new president and do work with the state service project," he said.

After his home convention, Gabriel will also serve at Louisiana’s state convention.

Beta is a club dedicated to providing leadership and service opportunities to high-achieving students. Woodland Betas have been capitalizing on these opportunities at home and afar.