Ralston takes second at FCCLA competition

You are a restaurant manger and you need to stop a baby from crying so that you don’t have to reseat a table irritated by the child’s noise, what should you do?

Brett Ralston, a senior at the Encampment K-12 School, took second place in a Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) hospitality, tourism and recreation challenge by answering this and other questions correctly. The FCCLA cluster meeting, designed to get students in the program to discuss upcoming events and create social interactions, was held in Salt Lake City at the end of November.

Ralston said the competition was based on a 50-question test on subjects mostly on food safety and hospitality management. He said there were questions about how to soothe an upset baby so that you don’t have to reseat customers in a restaurant, food temperature regulations and general tourism industry practices.

Ralston credits his work in the ProStart program for his knowledge of food safety and restaurant practices. According to the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association, the ProStart program is a two-year industry-based curriculum that prepares high school students for careers in the restaurant and food service industry. Students in the program can be certified nationally and become eligible for food industry college scholarships.

The FCCLA has helped Ralston with his education in the hospitality industry and outreach and networking with other students.

Ironically, Ralston does not plan to pursue the hospitality career path once he starts college. Instead, he hopes to focus on a medical career. He has been accepted to the University of Wyoming and Michigan State already and plans to apply to the University of Washington for it’s highly regarded medical program.

Before he leaves for college Ralston will attend the FCCLA state meetings and probably compete for other awards.

By the way, in answer to what to do with the baby, offer the child a snack, like a saltine and see if it calms down.