Candy Kitchen co-owner Lynn Ochiltree was honored to be a guest speaker at the Mississippi Bend District meeting of the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America).
Lynn’s presentation, titled “The Power of Showing Up,” focused on the importance of community involvement—both in life and in the workplace. He spoke to an audience of approximately 150 students from FCCLA chapters across eastern Iowa, encouraging them to find purpose and connection through participation, service, and leadership.
FCCLA is a national career and technical student organization that helps young people become leaders in their families, careers, and communities through personal growth and civic engagement.
We’re proud to support organizations like FCCLA that inspire the next generation to get involved and make a difference right where they live. Here is Lynn's remarks...
The Power of Showing Up
Address to the FCCLA Leadership Conference
By Lynn Ochiltree
Good afternoon, everyone. It’s truly an honor to be here with you today and I would like to express my gratitude for having been asked to address you today…
When I look around this room, I see future leaders — young people who are already taking steps to make your schools, your families, and your communities stronger. And that gives me a lot of hope.
My name is Lynn Ochiltree, and I grew up right here in Wilton, Iowa. I graduated from Wilton High School back in 1986.
I went on to college and eventually became a licensed funeral director, a career I pursued for 28 years. Along the way I married my wonderful wife, Brenda and we have a son Christian who is currently a junior at Wilton High School.
I remember sitting where you are — full of questions about the future, but also full of possibilities.
I remember being asked over and over again, “So what are your plans? Where are you going to college? What are you going to do with your life?” And quite frankly… it was a bit much, but remember people ask because they are interested in you and seeing you succeed.
If you’re feeling that same kind of pressure right now — just remember, you’ll figure it out.
Take a breath. Give yourself some grace. The truth is, most of us don’t have it all mapped out at seventeen or eighteen, and that’s perfectly okay. Life has a way of unfolding exactly as it should, even if the path takes a few unexpected turns along the way.
After high school, I attended Simpson College, where I earned a degree in History with a minor in Business, and later went on to earn a degree in Mortuary Science becoming a funeral director.
That decision — to go into funeral service — shaped much of my professional life. I became a funeral director and eventually opened my own funeral home at the age of 28.
Starting a business at that age was a big leap. It wasn’t in my hometown, and I didn’t have a built-in reputation there. I was literally building a business out of a cornfield — and let me tell you, it took more than bricks and mortar. It took trust.
And trust isn’t given — it’s earned.
So I started small. I volunteered. I got involved. I showed up — at community meetings, at events, in conversations. I listened, I helped, and I served.
Slowly, people began to know me, and I began to know them. And that’s how a business — and a life — grows. One handshake, one act of kindness, one show of consistency at a time.
My parents and grandparents had modeled that for me when I was young. I’d watched them volunteer for our church and the Masonic Lodge and other organization in our community. They never did it for praise — they did it because that’s what you do when you care about where you live and the people you share it with.
That early example of service was the seed for a lifetime of involvement.
As my career grew, I found myself in leadership roles — eventually serving as President of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association and as the National Funeral Directors Board of Directors and Pursuit of Excellence Chairman for nine years.
In those positions, I had the privilege of helping educate fellow funeral professionals about the importance of community involvement and service excellence. I often told them:
“Your business can’t just exist in a town — it has to exist for the town.”
Because when you serve your community well, it not only builds trust — it builds purpose.
After 24 years in that business, I made a big change. In 2019, I sold the funeral home and moved back to my hometown of Wilton, where my family has lived for seven generations — since 1849.
Now, I’ll be honest — by that point, I’d done just about every volunteer thing I could fit into my schedule. I thought maybe I’d earned a break. I was ready to just focus on running The Candy Kitchen full time — a place my family and I had bought a few years earlier.
But you know how small towns work. It wasn’t long before people started asking me to serve again. And before I knew it, I was dusting off my volunteer hat and jumping back in headfirst.
And you know what? It felt different this time.
Being able to serve in my hometown, alongside people who knew my parents and grandparents, and knowing that my family had helped build this community over generations — that made it deeply personal.
It reminded me that volunteering and community involvement aren’t just about helping others. They’re about honoring the people who came before you and investing in the people who will come after you
And that’s really what I want to leave you with today.
Whether you’re thinking about college, a trade, the military, or jumping straight into work — the way you live, serve, and lead in your community will shape not only your own success but the success of everyone around you.
It’s the same principle I learned building a business and a life:
Nothing worthwhile happens overnight.
Success — in business, in family, in leadership — comes from persistence, consistency, and simply showing up.
You show up when it’s hard.
You show up when no one else does.
You show up because you care.
That’s how communities thrive. That’s how families grow strong. And that’s how you build a meaningful life.
Now, you all are part of FCCLA — an organization built on the very principles of leadership, responsibility, and service. You’re not just learning skills for a career — you’re learning how to be the kind of person who makes things better wherever you go.
The FCCLA mission talks about “developing skills for life” — and that’s exactly what community involvement does. It teaches you character, communication, empathy, and teamwork — the kinds of things that will carry you far beyond any classroom.
Many people came before you in this organization just like the communities where you live or will choose to live… each generation laying the foundation you’re now standing on. And today, you are building on their work. You’re shaping the FCCLA for the next generation of students who will one day sit where you are.
If you asked ten people what “success” means, you’d probably get ten different answers.
For some it’s money, for others it’s recognition, or freedom, or happiness.
But I’ve learned this — and I hope you’ll remember it:
True success isn’t about what you have; it’s about what you build for others.
When you invest in your community — when you help create opportunities, when you serve with integrity — you’re building something that lasts far longer than your lifetime.
So as you move forward, wherever life takes you — take your skills, your compassion, and your leadership, and use them to make a difference right where you are.
Keep showing up. Stay consistent. Lead with kindness. And never underestimate how much good you can do simply by being part of the place you call home.
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