State Leadership Conference 2026
NEW Location! Hyatt Regency & Century II in Wichita!
March 2-3, 2026
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Advisor/Member/Attendee Event Information Document HERE.
Expo/Speaker Event Information Document HERE.
The above documents utilize tabs on the left hand side to help with organization.​
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The Event Information documents linked above have all current information about our State Leadership Conference, please refer to those for dates/deadlines, venue/hotel information, and more!
Recognition, Scholarships, & State Officer Candidates
For access to all applications and information, see this Google Folder.
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ALL Recognition and Scholarship Applications are due to tgoosz@kumc.edu by 11:59pm on January 23.
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State Officer Candidates must submit their completed application to tgoosz@kumc.edu by 11:59pm on January 23 and ensure you have taken the online State Officer Exam Kansas by 8pm on January 30.
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Recognition:
Chapter Advisor of the Year - can be submitted by members, colleagues, and self-nomination. All those nominated will be recognized at SLC 2026 and the top scoring advisor will be awarded the Kansas HOSA Outstanding Chapter Advisor of the Year and will be recognized at the International Leadership Conference.
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Chapter Member of the Year - submitted by the local chapter advisor. Each chapter can nominate one Chapter Member of the Year to be recognized at SLC 2026 for their outstanding service to their local chapter.
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Scholarships:
Kansas HOSA Scholarships (2-4 offered, $500 each, seniors and current post-secondary students are eligible)
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KU School of Nursing Scholarship - Thanks to a generous sponsorship this special $500 scholarship will be available at SLC 2026. Please use the Kansas HOSA Scholarship to apply for this.
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Rob Fields Scholarship (1-3 offered, $300 each, seniors only)
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State Officer Candidates:
Please review the information in the folder carefully. All information you need for candidacy, preparation, and applying is located in the application packet.
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Dates:
- Jan. 6, 6pm: Officer Candidate Informational Zoom
Officer Candidate Informational Zoom (for candidates and advisors): Tuesday, Jan. 6, 6pm
Tina G. - KU AHEC / Kansas HOSA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 996 2026 2844
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- Jan. 23 by 11:59pm, submit application to tgoosz@kumc.edu
-Complete the online State Officer Exam Kansas during the online testing window (Jan. 12, 8am - Jan. 30, 8pm) at your school.
- Week of Feb. 2: Officer Candidates notified of qualification for next round.
- Week of Feb. 9: Officer Candidate Zoom Interviews begin
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Candidacy Details:
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You will take the online HOSA State Officer Exam during the testing window (Jan. 12, 6am – Jan. 30, 8pm) at your school. The test will be timed (50 minutes maximum allowed) and consist of 39 multiple-choice questions on HOSA-Future Health Professions current facts and information, the history of HOSA, leadership qualities and parliamentary procedure. Information on preparing for the test is on the next page. You will need to score a 70% on this test to move forward in the candidacy process. Qualification notifications will not be released until after the testing window closes.
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Complete the application and return to tgoosz@kumc.edu by 11:59pm January 23. Failure to meet this deadline will result in penalty points on your application. This means candidates must submit their application before finding out the results of the online test.
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Selected candidates (based on test results and the application score) will have a Zoom interview with the State Advisor and the State Officer Coordinator prior to SLC. This will be a scored interview and is part of your overall application process.
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NEW for 2025-2026: A maximum of 20 candidates will be invited to present their two-minute speeches at SLC. This will be determined by the scoring on the questionnaire in this application packet and the interview score.
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Prior to SLC, a current State Officer will coordinate with those giving speeches at SLC for a social media feature prior to SLC. This is not scored but will allow for membership to “meet” you ahead of the conference.
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At SLC, invited candidates will be allowed a two-minute (strictly timed) window to give a brief speech to the membership. Use this to showcase who you are, your HOSA story, and why you want to be a State Officer. Be creative!
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For SLC, you will be expected to be in business professional dress. If you have official dress, that would be great! If not, business professional is fine. If elected, you will be expected to have official dress. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out (tgoosz@kumc.edu).
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For selection of officers, State Staff will use the scores from your candidate questionnaire, your interview, and votes received from voting delegates.
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Speaking Opportunities, Judging, and Expo
We are excited to announce that all registrations are open for the KS HOSA State Leadership Conference 2026. We have a NEW venue this year and will be at the Hyatt Regency / Century II in Wichita on March 2-3, 2026. We currently estimate 1,200 attendees for this conference based on previous growth. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact State Advisor, Tina Garetson, at tgoosz@kumc.edu.
More information about the venue, hotels, etc. can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hkeOY26IclwABMNNviUbgV1E0Z45Ur4uMsQ0QiXVe-A/edit?usp=sharing
Judges/Volunteers
Kansas HOSA currently has over 60 competitive events that have on-site and/or virtual judging needs. We also have needs for event managers, timekeepers, mock patients, etc. Virtual judging will take place from Feb. 4, 8am – Feb. 10, 8pm at your leisure during this time. On-site judging and staff needs will be on March 2 from approximately 10am – 6pm and March 3 from 8am to approximately 12pm. Each judge will judge one to two events, for smaller events (small number of competitors) judges may judge three similar events.
Judge Recruitment closes on January 23.
Event information can be found at http://www.hosa.org/guidelines. This includes the structure for each event, rubrics that you will be provided, and skill scenarios for events that include a skill round two.
If you are interested in judging/volunteering, please complete our registration form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdbwjjMnoYJBnLN_ncoFIwqbxOEbgoxuLKxEDMOJDjpLPXrw/viewform?usp=header
Follow-up for judges and volunteers will come from State Advisor, Tina Garetson, or Judge Coordinator, Nikki Cooper at ncooper3@kumc.edu.
Speakers
With an estimated 1,200 attendees, we have needs for speakers, hands-on trainers, etc. Sessions will be scheduled on March 2 from approximately 10am – 6pm and March 3 from 8am to approximately 12pm and staff will work with your availability to schedule your sessions. With the State Leadership Conference, we also encourage sessions that allow members to destress, are shorter rotations for skills, are community service based, etc.
Speaker registration will close January 30.
If you are interested in speaking at our conference, please complete our registration form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc73zNzI72dBIClNEoJQm_hHnjwzrioPHbQ03Rfyly89rFVzg/viewform?usp=header
Follow up for speakers will come from the State Advisor, Tina Garetson. Scheduling of sessions will occur in February.
Expo
The Kansas HOSA State Leadership Conference will be held March 2-3, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency & Century II in Wichita, KS. We invite you to join us as part of the Expo at this year’s conference.
Expo Registration Fees:
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1 day: $225 ($125 for non-profits)
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2 days: $400 ($200 for non-profits)
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Kansas HOSA Sponsors: Fee waived for one day; $75 to add a second day
Registration includes one 6-foot table and two lunches. Over 1,000 students are expected to attend. Unless a sponsor, parking is not included.
Please register online by January 30, 2026, to secure your spot – space is limited. A confirmation email and invoice will follow once registration is complete. Registration Link
We hope to see you at the conference. Follow-up for the expo will come from our Expo Coordinator, Niki Dinkel at ndinkel@kumc.edu.