Hannah & Nessie - Michigan NLCSO

On June 20th we landed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for our second NLCSO. After getting set up and settled in, we were excited to be joined by the state officer teams from Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. From the get-go we knew that this would be a fun bunch! We spent the week getting to know each other and learning about how we will perform this year as a team.


We were also blessed with a celebrity visit by the man, the myth, the legend (and aka, the Big Owl) – Dr. Larry Case! Everyone was glad to have the chance to meet and talk with him. Of course, he was chalk full of inspirational and motivational messages and it was truly a treat to have him join us.


During our second evening, we were invited to the home of Mr. Comer Skinner, a past Michigan state officer and a long-time FFA supporter, for a cook-out and wagon rides. It was so cool to see all of Mr. Skinner’s FFA memorabilia from over the years and spend some time with members from the Hopkins FFA Chapter. We owe them a huge THANK YOU for the delicious meal, sincere hospitality and relaxing evening.



Joining us throughout the week to provide some expert advice were several state staff members, including Mr. Chaliff (KY), Mr. Cole (TN), Doug Gilles (TN), Mr. Fletcher (AR), Mr. Draper (AR), Mr. Wyrick (MI) and Mrs. Zimmerman (WI). Thanks for all your help during the conference and with your guidance, we know that your teams will have much success this year!

Our final night in Grand Rapids was spent at Lake Michigan where we were fed an amazing meal by the members and alumni of the Ravenna FFA Chapter. Between eating, swimming, pyramid building, sing-a-longs, smores and the sunset – it was an awesome ending to an awesome NLCSO.





After rounding out our last few sessions in the morning, we left with some slight southern accents and plenty of great memories to go around. Thanks for such a great week and we especially LOVED the videos you all made us! We love you too! :)

P.S. – Hey Turtles, we’ll buy you a coke ;)

God Bless,

Nessie & Hannah

Hannah & Nessie's Travels

Hey Everyone! Nessie and I have had some interesting adventures as we've been traveling to and from NLCSO's this month. From tornados to cancelled flights to being stranded in L.A., it's been quite a journey so far!

Although there are many memories to choose from, one of the most prominent in our minds took place during our flight from Chicago to Grand Rapids, MI last weekend. Nessie and I had prime seating in the very back row of the plane and settled in for the 30 minute flight. When we were getting ready to get off the plane in Grand Rapids though, we noticed a group of servicemen outside of our side of the plane and one soldier that was holding a folded American flag. We learned from the flight attendants that we had traveled to Grand Rapids with a fallen soldier. We watched out the windows until we were the last people on the plane. While leaving, we asked the flight attendants how old the soldier was. They replied that he was only 21-years-old.

As we watched from inside the terminal, we saw his family and numerous soldiers gather on the tarmack to welcome him home and begin the funeral procession. It was a sharp reminder that there are brave individuals fighting for our freedom and risking their lives everyday to keep us safe. Let us never take for granted how blessed we are to be Americans and continue to thank those who have given their lives to protect us.



God Bless,

Hannah & Nessie

Greetings from Hannah and Nessie!

We’re on the road for the season of NLCSO! Our first NLCSO experience was at the Leadership Training Center in Aurora Nebraska. We were both excited to be coming back to Aurora after having spent time there previously this year for Nebraska’s COLT Conferences. Our first few days in Nebraska were spent with Maile and John Boeder. They were tons of fun and made some tasty home cooked meals—yum! (Thank you for the hospitality, tell your miniature horses aka dogs hello).
Soon after our time with Maile and John, we were joined by state officers from Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and Minnesota. What a stellar crowd. The conference kicked off with a bang! The officers really brought their A game and remained energized all week. We were also impressed by how hard each team worked on their upcoming activities whether it be PEAK, SCCL, chapter visits or B. I. and E tours. The week was spent learning about teamwork, the messages we deliver and the many experiences of state officers. We even had a unique bonding experience when a tornado went through Aurora. We all gathered under a board room table for safety. This close of proximity to a tornado was certainly a new experience for both of us. We are thankful for the calm actions and attitudes of everyone. We also have to admit that it was kind of exciting.

Above is one of the houses damaged by the destructive path of the tornado. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected in Aurora.

It was sincerely sad to say goodbye on Friday, though we look forward to seeing our friends again at SPC and National Convention.

Dancing- Love Liberty Disco!! Good times.

We all played pool volleyball! It got pretty intense, still unclear who actually won. You all rock and we can’t wait to hear more about your year!

Riley - Travels...so Far!!!

So I was looking through some pictures of my travels, reflecting on the places I have been and the people I met. Then I thought "Hey! I need to share these."Check out the video!

Riley - Virginia FFA Convention

On June 21st I traveled to Blacksburg Virginia and Virginia Tech to attend the Virginia FFA Convention. I had a great time hangning out with members, taking a look around the beautiful Virginia Tech Campus, and hanging out with friends.

After I landed I met up with Chris, Shasta, Courtney, Amy, Codi Jo, Meredith, Jessica, Erica and Willie, a crazy bunch of state officers who love to work hard and have fun! They were busy preparing for the convention and the week ahead.

Throughout the conveniton, CDE events will happen throughout the day, along with workshops, and a lot of hanging out, then each evening everyone gathers for a convention session. On the first day I had a blast hangning out with members preparing for CDE's. I quizzed a team on pet animal breeds for their small animal CDE, what a cool contest, hang a great time hanging out with the state officer candidates playing Go Fish, eating ice cream and I even scared them once!

The convention was off to such a great start and only more fun followed!

On the second day of the convention I presented a workshop to high school students. We had a blast talking about influence, playing charades, and solving a definition! That evening I gave my keynote and had a blast doing it. Thank you VA FFA for laughing at my corny jokes, and all of the funny situations I have found myself in throughout the years. i.e. - Scooting down a ski trail while sitting down!

The following morning I presented a workshop to middle school members about character and values. A slight bit of chaos broke out as we chased each other through the auditorium trying to pop ballons! We also had a great time drawing our self portraits, and having some good conversation!

The entire convention was a great experience. Ben, past state officer from Illinois, joined us at the conveniton. It was great to meet up with Ben again and catch up on times past.

I was also taken back a few years being on the Virginia Tech campus. Right outside of the session hall is the memorial for everyone who was killed in the Virginia Tech shootings that took place a couple of years ago. It was breathtaking to see the memorial, and hear the stories of the environment during the shootings, and the days following them. It is amazing how a single moment in history can change the future of so many lives.

I am very inspired by the story of Liviu Librescu. Mr. Licrescu was a professor at Virginia Tech, and during the shootings held the door to his classroom shut while his students escaped through the windows while the shooter was trying to enter the classroom. Librescu was shot by the shooter. All of his students except for one were able to escape. Many lives were saved by his heroic actions.

While we may not encounter a shooting massacre within our lives, we have the opportunity to take the same mindset of selfless service each and every day.If we will have a constant mindset like Librescu did, many people will be better because of it. Whether it be through starting a canned food drive, reaching out to the student in your school you don't know, or helping a friend who may be going down the wrong path, we have the opportunity to change lives each and every day.

Paul's thoughts -- Go USA!

A while back while sitting in an airport an event occurred that I will never forget. I started a casual conversation with a gentleman who had done more good for those around him in a few years than most do in a lifetime. I listened to stories of his life and about the many times he had risked his life for those around him. I heard about the preparation he went through and the tough times he faced along the way. I listened to him recall the times where he just wished he could see his family and the times where he couldn’t seem to feel like he ever did enough. One of his stories was so powerful that I will never look at doing good for those around us the same way again. I would share it with you now, but I may save it for another day. Keep on the lookout…


The man I met was a soldier in the United States Army and one who had risked his life time and time again for a nation he loved so much and for people he has never even met…


That day got me thinking of how blessed we all are to live in a nation where we have people who are willing to give their all for us to have the freedoms and the lives that we do. These men and women are the epitomy of servant leadership and we all should follow their examples. Don’t ever for a second forget how lucky you are to live in this nation. Take some time everyday to reflect on the blessings we all have and how proud we all should be of the red, white, and blue…

Go USA!!

Paul's Wyoming NLCSO Starts tomorrow

Wyoming NLCSO starts tomorrow and I am so pumped. State Officers from Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota will all be here and I am sure they will be excited for the week. Its pretty late here but ya know that feeling when you are just so excited for something you cant wait...?! well its kinda like that- only a little more excited.

This place is gorgeous out here! Wish all of you could see it.. be on the lookout for photos in the future!

-PDM

Paul's Indiana FFA State Convention

Indiana FFA State Convention
It felt so great to be coming “home”… or at least Indiana will be my home for the next couple years of college. I met so many students who go to school not too far from Notre Dame so hopefully I will get to go to their chapter, district, and state events in the future!

I was picked up at the airport by Mrs. Cain and four members from the Rushville FFA chapter. They were some fun girls to spend time with and we had some good laughs on the way to Purdue. We may have drove in a few circles but we made it just fine. Apparently I may not be the best navigator of the road.

When I arrived at convention I saw the state officers and watched the first session. That night the State executive committee as well as some members from Shenandoah FFA and Ms. Geisler invited me to a local diner that was once featured on the Food Network. They are famous for serving a hamburger with peanut butter in it. That doesn’t sound too great, but it is really good. I liked it at least!

The next day I spent time going around convention and meeting members. I also sat in at the delegate luncheon and had a great conversation with Marissa who actually lives about 15 minutes from my college. I also talked with Amanda who was the District President right around Notre Dame. I watched some sessions and chatted with some FFA members around the hotel and convention. Again that night we went back to the famous pea nut butter hamburger place. Ms. Geisler and I chatted about life and enjoyed some great curly fries. The night before the exec committee as well as the state officer candidates and I all signed a menu and hung it up on the wall next to all the others.

On Wednesday I delivered a workshop with about 200 students and a keynote as well. The convention was a great time. I was sad that it was my last state convention, but I couldn’t have picked a better one to end on. Thanks Indiana FFA!

Paul's Illinois FFA State Convention

Illinois FFA State Convention
Illinois knows how to have a great convention! The convention was about 3,500 students in a loud arena with some pumped up students. I spent a lot of quality time with Andrew, Annie, Austin, Ben, and Clay during the week. The made some videos for convention that were hilarious. I loved how convention was very professional and at the same time still unique in so many aspects.

I also spent some time with some of my favorite people while in Illinois. Jeremy and Samantha came to visit for a night and it was a blast getting to spend some time with them and catch up. Corey and I chatted it up at breakfast and shared some stories from times in FFA. Kaitlin and I also caught up on old times together. And who could forget about the one and only Mike Funk! What a cool guy… !

The students in my workshop were pretty rowdy and knew how to have some fun. Watching the elections was making me nervous as I knew that 10 people were all qualified to be incredible state officers. In the end 5 were elected, but I know all will make an impact in the world around us. Sometimes things don’t happen as we plan, and later we realize it couldn’t have been better any other way.

I spent some time with the newly elected section presidents and the 5 majors including Caroline, Ellen, Amie, Adam, and Kiersten. Overall it was a great week! I also saw a statue of my 5th great-grandfather Pierre Menard who was the first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. His family was from France and he was born in Canada. His great granddaughter later married a gentleman from Spain. I enjoy looking at my family tree and it was neat to be back “home” in a way so to speak. My friend Thomas Martin and I shared in some good conversation about Pierre and he told me that he has been to Pierre's old home before... How cool right?! That Thomas is a really cool guy!


Thanks for the good times Illinois FFA. Keep it real! Believe that dreams do come true…

Paul's Kansas FFA State Convention

Kansas State FFA Convention
What a great time with 1,300 close buds?! The Kansas FFA State Convention was a great time with some cool students from all across the state. I flew into Kansas City after a mix-up of flights, but I made it into Kansas at almost one in the morning. I was thankful to finally be there as I was excited for the week to come.

Kelsey, one of the convention directors, set everything up for me and was so helpful during the week. Ms. Kane was also a big help and ran a wonderful convention. And who could forget about the amazing Becky Sullivan- it was great to catch up with her too. I met some amazing students at Kansas convention. The staff of about 54 was real cool to hang out with as well as the state officers. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about meeting Brynnifer! Can’t forget about that one… Brandon and Tyler were a couple students who I spent a whole lot of time chatting with. Some great guys who are fun to be around.

I had a fun time with the new state officers too. We went to breakfast together and had a real good workshop too. Thanks Kansas FFA for making it such a great week! Catch up with ya soon!

Riley - Mississippi NLCSO

Regina and I just finished out first NLCSO in Mississippi. Visiting state officers were from Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Puerta Rico!

We had a blast hanging out with the officers during the conference, and discussing what it is going to take for them to be successful over this next year.

Between leadership sessions, funny dancing, late night Sonic trips, and some free time around the pool this was an amazing week. Thank you all for making it special.

After the conference was finished Regina and I loaded up to check out the Vicksburg civil war battlefield. We had a great time driving around and checking out all of the monuments.

It was also neat to see a recovered iron clad battle ship. These are rare to see!

Riley - South Carolina Convention

After the Texas Leadership Conference I found myself in Clemson, SC for the state convention.

The week was full of hanging out with members, state officer candidates, eating white ice cream, and meeting many great people.

During the first session I gave my keynote and had a blast doing it! I was also greatly impressed with the stage set that South Carolina has, check it out!

Amazing...

The next morning we had a blast during the workshop as we learned out influence. Thanks guys for making it a fun time!

I also spent some of the week with Mr. Parris. Mr. Parris is the communications coordinnator for SC FFA, and he had a full schedule of interviews, and dinners. It was great to spend time with Mr. Parris and learn some history of SC FFA!

On my final day in South Carlona, William and I traveled to Stumphouse tunnel. The tunnel was started in the Mid 1800's, but when the civil war started they stopped working on it and never finished it. It was creepy as we were walking into a large dark hole in the side of a mountain. Check out the pictures.

Arizona SLC!

A nice sky view of Tuscan, Arizona!!!! Beautiful mountains, nice warm weather, and lovely people!

We discovered the answer to the great equation and uncovered our true talents in the workshops.

As a grand entry into the conference, the AZ state officers repelled in from the ceiling! It totally got the crowd stoked!

Finally, hundreds of blue jackets say their goodbyes outside of Centennial Hall at the U of A. We had so much fun during those 3 days. Thank you so much to all of the chapters for all of your hard work. I really had a good time riding around, going to eat, and just hanging out with Chino Valley, Red Mountain, Elfrieda, Highland, and many others!!!!

See you soon!

Regina

Wisconsin FFA Convention!!!

Past officers came together to help with convention and to celebrate the success of the Wisconsin Association of FFA.

Wisconsin is known for it's cheese and milk production. While at the Lifework expo, I got to try out some of the famous Wisconsin Cheese. Turns out, it was REALLY good! The Expo is a career fair, where local schools, businesses and supporters come out to showcase their best work at the convention.

Reflections was the kick off to the convention. It was held on Monday night and the theme was a talk show. We had a blast playing the roles of FFA members, supporters and heros of the US. BJ and Tommy served as hosts for the show and added some entertainment.

With 18000 FFA members, Wisconsin knows what's up :) I can't wait to go visit again in the fall!!!

Montana FFA Convention!

I found lot’s of blue and GOLD in the treasure state of Montana! Also often referred to as the big sky state. Which makes sense cause it is the 4th largest state in the U.S. and that means a lot of sky… I think.

Majh ha... lol
Seriously though there are many treasures and talents in Montana. Take for example the state officers. I really enjoyed their reflections encouraging other members and describing the different places they are from. Each of the state officers also delivered motivational RA’s straight from the heart. Very cool. I also met many talented FFA members with exceptional and award winning proficiency and star projects.

(above) Although it snowed while I was there, and many were concerned that this California girl might freeze, I really enjoyed our sight- seeing adventure as we all set out on tours around the Great Falls area. The tour I selected was of a local seed company called Timeless Seeds Inc. Timeless Seeds is a privately owned, 20 year old business that is known nationwide and even internationally for having extremely high quality seeds. Their products include: lentils, peas, flax, and cereal grains. Below are a couple pictures from our tour.


(above) Hanging with some state officer candidates! All of the candidates were a joy to be around. I also liked when they participated in the general sessions from where they were housed in the “hot box” at the back of the arena.


Below is a picture of State Vice President Danny Pratt making good use of some duck tape :)


My tall friends and pep squad- Ryan and Kurt!

Chillin at the dance with Patty Hughes I also met Sean Boden a visiting member from Virginia.

Montana FFA has a really cool and unique educational competition for students with Native American background. I really enjoyed watching the ceremonies and learning more about their culture. The traditions are amazing and the students are equally as intelligent and talented.



We learned how to do the jitterbug! How cool is that? A workshop on dancing! Thanks to all the FFA members who did their best to teach me ha ha. I’ll keep trying :)



Cool theme right! Also Montana is the 4th largest state and their primary agriculture is: Cattle, wheat, barley, sugar beets, hay, hogs. Just a couple fun facts.

Adios for now friends,

Nessie

Hannah’s Happenings – Pennsylvania State Convention

“Success….One Step at a Time” was the theme of the 80th Pennsylvania State Convention on June 9th – 11th. Although I had to spend the week in Nitty Lion country at Penn State University (tough for a Buckeye!), the convention kicked off in high gear when I joined the state officers and state staff for an amazing rib dinner, during which Britney polished off an entire rack in about 3 minutes. No joke. It was madness! I spent the next morning with the nominating committee and state officer candidates as they prepared to begin the interview process. I was surprised to find that the candidates and I possessed a shared sense of humor as we played round after round of Apples to Apples (one of my favorite games!) and I even learned how to play the PA game, Dutch Blitz. Once we got convention underway that evening, there was no way to contain the excitement or energy in the convention hall. It was really cool.


The next morning I hung out for a while with the delegates as they made vital decisions for the Pennsylvania FFA, and paid a visit to my state officer candidate friends once again to learn some sweet new line-dances! :) Later that evening at dinner, I got to learn all about the auctioneering world as Nolan and Ben showed me the ropes by auctioning off some napkins (they went for $25, if you’re curious) and I tried some of Penn State’s infamous chocolate milk. Apparently, it has such a high fat content they can’t sell it anywhere else, which I would guess is probably true because it was delicious. Following the evening session, we all got our groove on at the dance. The folks from W.B. Saul definitely showed me how to get down and I witnessed some pretty wicked Michael Jackson moves from the Greenwood crew. After all the excitement, there wasn’t much else to do but try to get some rest for the final day of convention.


During the final session, the winners in each of the Career Development Events were awarded, the officers presented their retiring reflections and the 2009-2010 state officer team was announced. It was a bittersweet end to a great few days with PA FFA. And especially sad for me because it was my very last state convention of the year :( Luckily, I made some awesome new friends that I will hopefully see during the rest of my time on the road. I was also lucky enough to have a great escort during my time in PA, and I owe a big thanks to Jason for hauling me around! Oh, and I would be remise not to say congrats to the 08-09 S.O.’s on a great job. Way to go P.J., Tyler, Grace, Andy, Lance, Britney, Hannah, Laura, Jared, Tim and Abe!


Now, it’s officially time for some NLCSO’s! Get excited! :)

God Bless,
Hannah

Riley - Texas State Leadership Conference

It was great to return to Texas to attend the State Leadership Conference. This is a conference that the state officers host, and is attended by the 72 area officers from the state, and the incoming state officer team.

A Congrats goes out to the current state officer team, Tommy, Trevor, Mai Lee, Macy, Rachel, Amanda, James, Dean, Matt, and Lora on such a good conference. Good luck to the incoming state officers, Katie, Miles, Ali, Aron, Jeremiah, Layton, Tyler, Dakota, Kaleb, and Kody, you will do an amazing job this next year.

From the moment the conference started it was a blast! The members were participating in writing their own skits that can be used in the chapter program of activities, attending workshops on subjects ranging from conference planning to speech and workshop development, have panel discussions on leadership, and even doing a little community service.

I gave a workshop for the students on their potential impact for the next year. It was great to work with the area officers and get their insight as to what they would like to accomplish over the next year.

We also had a unique opportunity as trainers from the Soderquist Center on Leadership and Ethics came down to present a workshop on the role of values in leadership. It was a fun time as we were carrying buckets of water with many strings attached, walking across a "lava flow" with boards, and doing a little robot use in the communication workshop. The Soderquist Center is an amazing organization and it was great to work with their facilitators.

Throughout the conference the officer teams presented vespers programs, etiquette training, and gave some recreation time. During recreation, a group of us got together for a game of Ultimate Frisbee! It was so much fun playing with the state officers, area officers, and even a state staff member. Also during recreation time I found a dog that loves to play tether ball! It was fun, he was good. Check out the video to see!

I am extremely excited about the officers in Texas this next year. Each one of them has a heart for service, and a mind to work. Good luck to each one of you, you will be able to impact many lives over this next year.

The road travels on as I head to the South Carolina State Convention.

Until Next Time!

Riley

Riley Arkansas State Convention

FUN!!! That is how I can describe the Arkansas FFA State Convention! I finished up the Mississippi State Convention, flew to Arkansas, and immediately gave my keynote to the convention. It was a whirlwind of fun!

That Arkansas State Convention is held at the Arkansas FFA State Campgrounds, Camp Couchdale. It was so much fun to stay at a camp and be able to attend all of the activities of convention without having to go anywhere! The camp is outside of the city, it has basketball courts, a lake, and many other activities. It was great to hang out with all of the state officers and members of the Arkansas FFA.
The second day of the convention I gave my workshop, attended a reception, and had fun playing basketball with some FFA members! The state officers did an amazing job with the convention. The retiring addresses were heart felt, passionate, and inspiring. Congratulations goes out to the 2008-2009 State Officer team on a great convention, and to the newly elected 2009-2010 State Officer Team. Good luck to you this year, I am confident you will do amazing.

During on of the sessions, we got to hear form Motivational Speaker Mike Rayburn. Mr. Rayburn is considered a Guitar Virtuoso, which is a fancy word for being one of the best! Mr. Rayburn is very entertaining and ruled the room the entire time!

It was also great to hang out with to visiting state officers from the Michigan FFA Association. Jillian and Andrea traveled to visit the convention, and it was neat to catch up with them after I attended the Michigan Convention.

The Arkansas convention was such a different setting from most conventions, that is what made it exciting! Thank you Arkansas for a great experience.

-Riley

Riley Mississippi State Convention

After some time at home I was excited to get back on the road and head to Columbus, Mississippi for the MS State Convention. After getting picked up at the airport I was taken to the convention site to meet the state officer teams. One unique thing about Mississippi is there are two state officer teams, one for the High School students and one for the Jr. FFA Association. It was great to meet all of the state officers and get ready for the week.





During the first day of convention I presented two workshops on Influence and Character, and gave my Keynote address. Thank you Mississippi for being great audiences during all of my presentations.




The next day I got to spend the day hanging out with FFA members from the Sumrall, South Delta, Bruce, and many more chapters. That evening I was given the special privilege of emceeing the talent show. Some of the members at the convention requested that I be funny, so I pulled out a joke book, some skits, recruited the help of FFA members and got comedic shoes on! It was a blast as we gave the skits, sang some songs, and did our best to entertain the members. A big thanks goes out to all of those who helped me during that session.

I was also fortunate to hang out with Elio Chiarelli and Christy Windham Chiarelli, both past national officers. It was great to share stories from the road, and get some tips about travel!

As I left MS I could only reflect on the AMAZING experience the convention was. Thank you all for making this a great convention.

-Riley

Alabama State Convention

Alabama State Convention

Where do I even begin?! Alabama’s State FFA Convention was AWESOME! The sweet tea, southern gentlemen, smiling faces and genuinely nice, kind-hearted people sold me on Alabama within my first hour of arriving at convention! Justin Posey, the Alabama National Officer Candidate, picked me up from the airport and we shared a great ride from Montgomery to Auburn. He is a very impressive young man. : ) I was able to meet the state officer team right after arriving in Auburn. Anna Leigh, Zach, Michelle, Brandy and Raven added to my excitement for convention by greeting me with their smiling faces. I was so impressed because they were so calm and relaxed amidst the craziness of all things “pre-convention”. Convention was kicked off the right way with the String Band Contest. People…I was BLOWN AWAY!!!!!! I have never seen so much FFA talent in one place at one time! The string bands are a piece of my national officer experience that I will remember forever. They were so talented. You could tell that each of the students were doing what they love and sharing their passion of music with their fellow FFA members. It was cool. I was really, really blown away. The convention also has a Quartet Contest. It is just as crazy! They are all so talented and have beautiful voices. They can all perform too! It was awesome to watch.

Josh Sundquist was the keynote speaker. He rocked his keynote! He had us on the edge of our seats, laughing and listening to all that he had to say. His message was cool too. ‘Life is tough. And life is beautiful.’ He did awesome.

All of the state officers did awesome at their parts and retiring address. I enjoyed getting to know all of them and the convention staff— James Paul Bailey; Jamison, from Georgia; Lauren Lewis, from Florida; and the state staff as well.

James Paul (past AL state officer) and Wiley (current AL State Secretary), or the ‘Bailey Brothers’ as they are lovingly referred to, played some bluegrass music for me the last night! It was such a treat to hear the guys sing and play for a while. Those two are some talented young men.

Overall, Alabama was unforgettable! I will take the memories that I made in Alabama with me forever. They are some great folks in Alabama, and I miss them already! Thank you Alabama FFA for an incredible time and lasting memories.

-Laila

Keynote Speaker Josh Sundquist!!! He was awesome.

The newly elected Alabama State FFA Officer team!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Connecticut State Convention

Connecticut State Convention

Connecticut was a blast! The adventure started off with Emily, the state FFA president, picking me up from the airport. The next day I was able to visit Emily’s home chapter, Woodbury FFA. It was an awesome chapter. They had incredible facilities and cool students. Emily is really blessed to be from such a great chapter. From Woodbury we headed to Convention. Once we arrived at convention, I was able to finally meet the entire state officer team. They were all so nice! It was great to meet each of them and watch them do a great job during convention. The pictures below show some of the highlights of convention!

-Laila

Hannah’s Happenings – Colorado State Convention

EMPOWER PASSION was the theme of the 81st Colorado FFA Convention in Greeley, Colorado, June 2nd – 4th.


As soon as I arrived at the convention, I was greeted by the state officers and knew that I would be in for a good time, and I was right! The first afternoon I spent time with some excited state officer candidates and nominating committee members before they began an intense interview process and following the first session, Emerson Drive drove the crowd crazy with their country hits. The next day, as we were all recovering from the awesome concert, we learned all about empowering our passions for service and dedication, and awarded some much deserving FFA members with their state degrees. To round out the night, hypnotist Al Snyder made some lucky folks think that they were Taylor Swift and the energizer bunny! I rounded out the convention on Thursday by doing workshops with some sweet students from all over CO and even got caught in one of Eli and Pud’s funny “magic tricks”.


Throughout each of the sessions, we were inspired by the state officer retiring addresses and pumped up by Colorado FFA’s very own theme song, recorded by a former FFA member and his band! It was so cool! I had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know everyone, especially the S.O.’s: Andy, Logan, Danica, Eric, Shelley, Jared, Guy, Elisa, Ashley and Jase. Great job guys! (And don’t worry Logan, I’ll pay you back for your shenanigans!) Although I had to depart from the state, I’m convinced part of my heart is still in the beautiful mountains. If you ever get the chance to see them, do it! It’s too wonderful to miss, and I’ll see what I can do to visit them again soon.


Top iTunes:
“Empower Passion” – Colorado FFA
“Let it Ride” – Bachman Turner Overdrive
“Learn to Fly” – Foo Fighters
“Honestly” – Cartel
“No Reins” – Rascal Flatts

Must Read:
“Momma’s Rules” – Mark Mayfield (keynote speaker at Colorado FFA Convention)

God Bless,

Hannah

Hannah’s Happenings – Texas A&M, Pigs and COLT

Following the New Hampshire State Convention, I met up with my teammates in College Station, Texas, on May 12th for two weeks of NLCSO (National Leadership Conference for State Officers) Training. We spent the first week preparing our curriculum and the facilities at Texas A&M University, and learning about all those crazy Aggie traditions. From whooping to ring-dunking and from the Core to the 12th Man; it was really interesting and definitely helped us understand the students we would be working with the following week. Our task during this training was to do a complete 4-day NLCSO with a class of A&M students during their May-mester course in Ag Leadership. Nessie and I were pretty excited to meet our group and get to know them throughout the conference. They educated us on all things Aggie, and we taught them all about FFA, workshop writing and team performance. It was a great week and Nessie and I are pumped to get out and conduct NLCSO’s in Nebraska, Michigan, Utah and Oregon this summer!



Following Texas, I made my way back up to good ‘ol Ohio for some home time with my family. The highlight of which was picking up my brother’s fair pigs for this year. Though he fondly refers to the 30 pound Hampshire and blue butt pigs as “Dip ‘n Dots”, I prefer to call them Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline. Regardless, I was pretty excited to spend time babying Dolly and Patsy with marshmallows and scratching them behind their little ears. Unfortunately, by the next time I get to go home and see them, they won’t be so little anymore!


From home, I hit the road for COLT (Chapter Officer Leadership Training) at The Leadership Center in Aurora, Nebraska, on May 28th – 30th. Just like my last visit to the Husker state, I had a blast hanging out with the state officers and FFA members from all across the state. It was nice to sit back and watch as the new chapter officers learned about what it was going to take to run their chapters this year and listen as they came up with some creative community service and fundraising ideas. But our time there was not all work, we held a flashlight relay, went paddle-boating, danced and even watched some Cavs basketball (go Lebron!). I had such a good time and I know all the new officers will do a fantastic job leading their chapters over the next year.




God Bless,

Hannah

North Dakota FFA Convention!!!!!

Celebrating Success was all about the week. Here an FFA member celebrates his success in the silver category for his CDE in Dairy. I can guarantee you that ND will be sending some top notch participants to National Convention this year! Watch out, ND is comin to town!!!! While at the ND FFA Convention, I got to stay in a dorm for the first time! I had never stayed in a dorm before. My first semester of college, I lived in an apartments, so I was excited to stay here!!!!

Fun times were all around the convention! Karaoke night was the fun night on Wednesday. These FFA members felt no shame, they are proud of where they came from, as they sang "Boondocks" by Little Big Town!!

Convention Sessions in the fieldhouse kept the excitement pumpin!!! Over 1500 FFA members and guests were in attendance. I really enjoyed hoping in and becoming a member of different FFA Chapters. It was so much fun sitting in and cheering for FFA members and watching them run up on stage. The state officer team gave amazing retiring addresses, the dances were a blast, and oh for the dining hall food! The college experience all over again! I can't wait to see all the ND members again in October!!!!!!

Regina

So, I wanted to take some time to share with you a few pics from my home in Dublin, GA! Of Course I love my cows, big and small. Here is some pics of my girls. Okie (above) was my commercial show heifer my senior year. She won numerous Grand Champion titles and is still as sweet as ever.

Calves are always fun! They are so cute to watch run and play.

This is Marley, my traveling teddy bear. She was a gift to me this year. Marley always has a place in whatever carry on I have, b/c she keeps me company and reminds me of all my friends back home.

On Sundays at home, I like to chill out with the little people at church. We have fun, sing, do arts and crafts, and try to avoid quarrels at all costs. Last Sunday Kaleigh painted flowers with her thumb print and some finger paint. Quite cute actually!!

Oh, my cat, Lucky. Lucky is lucky to be alive. I had him as a kitten a few years ago. He has survived many accidents, like being caught by a dog, bitten by a snake, falling off of numbers things, and having a broken jaw. Let's just say, he is good practice for me to deal with haphazard animals when I go into vet school!!!!

My dog Blue!!! Blue is an Australian Blue Heeler that I got on Sept. 11, 2001. I had never had a puppy before until I got her. She is crazy! Loves chasing birds, cows, and anything that moves. Her favorite thing to do is ride in the back of the pickup with her head hanging over the side barking at the wind, although I don't know why!

I will post more of home as I go back and forth this year. Not much happens in Dublin, GA. It's an interesting place to live. When I am not in Dublin, I am in Athens at school. The University of Georgia rocks my socks! Stay tuned for pics from there!!!

Regina