FFA National Officers' Blog

Hannah's Happenings - 47 Days and Counting!

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:26:00 +0000

Hey Friends! Just thought I'd give a quick update on what's been going on:

We began training and preparing for National FFA Convention as a team on August 12th - 22nd at the FFA Center. The week consisted of getting our first looks at the scripts, re-writing our sessions and starting work on our retiring addresses.

The following week, we each conducted a partnership tour with a partner all around the country. Nessie and I traveled to Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Texas during our week; visiting companies like Cargill Meat Solutions, Great American Country (GAC), Fort Dodge Animal Health and Journal Communications. In total, we hit 4 states and 21 companies in 5 days! Talk about a fun road trip!

Then it was time to pick up on convention work again, where we are now, back in Indy. It's so exciting putting everything together and getting to see all the work that goes into putting on our convention. To put it simply - it's a BIG DEAL! Haha! Be sure to catch a ride to Indianapolis on October 21st - 24th so you don't miss it. I can't wait to see you there! :)

God Bless,
Hannah

Hannah’s Happenings – State Presidents’ Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Hey FFA! Long time, no see! It’s been quite the summer as my teammates and I headed to D.C. for the 2009 State Presidents’ Conference beginning on July 21st. The theme for this year was “Unwritten Legacy” and during each day we discovered the Legacy of Leadership, Legacy of Agriculture, Legacy of Service and Our Own Unwritten Legacy.

During our first evening, we attended the Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima memorial and even got to spend time getting to know some of the Marines following the ceremony.

The next day we kicked off the morning at the United States Department of Education where we heard informational and inspiring messages from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, Glenn Cummings. Both of whom were extremely impressed with our group and expressed their gratitude for the work that our members are doing to further agriculture, agricultural education and the FFA.

Following a short workshop about conducting congressional visits, we all made our way to Capitol Hill to thank our respective legislators and talk with them about the issues facing our industry. That evening we kicked off our work as leadership delegates by revealing the issues to be considered, which were then broken down into the six issues that will come before the entire delegate body at National FFA Convention.

We revealed those six issues the following morning, signed up for delegate committees and met for the first time with our committees. It was exciting to see the very beginning of the delegate process in full swing! From there, we made our way to Arlington National Cemetery to honor those that have given their lives for our freedom. During our time there, we had the chance to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I was absolutely thrilled and blown away by the fact that it was the first time I have ever seen a guard that was an African American woman. In fact, we heard that she is only the 4th woman ever that has been allowed to guard the tomb. Talk about girl power! :)

Even though it was a little rainy, we definitely enjoyed our time at the cemetery and there were plenty of wet blue corduroy jackets to go around. After drying off, we capped off the evening with a group movie – “National Treasure 2”.
Our final day kicked off with writing thank you’s to those who made SPC possible and then we spent the rest of the day touring the city. My teammates and I were blessed to have our families join us during our time at SPC and I really enjoying seeing the sights with my mom and dad, while my brother Reid toured with some of the other officers.

We rounded out our SPC experience with a night tour of Washington D.C. that included the Jefferson, Vietnam War, Lincoln, World War II, Korean War, and FDR Memorials. Our final stop was at a glowing Capitol building where we sat on the lawn for our last reflections. All in all, it was an absolutely amazing conference and I was so glad to get to spend more time with some great friends from all over the country!

*Pictures to come soon. They currently won't upload, but I'll keep trying!*

God Bless,
Hannah

Riley - Texas State Convention

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Wow it has been a while since I have posted anything on here. The month of July was one absolute whirlwind of FUN! In the past month I have attended my last state convention, and hosted the state presidents conference with my teammates!

It was absolutely wonderful to head home(well sort of!) to Dallas, Texas for the 81st Texas FFA Conveniton. The Texas FFA Convention is held in a different city every year, and this was an exciting location because the convention has not been held in Dallas since 1981! It was great to experience a downtown environment for the state convention!

I was extremely excited about attending convention in Dallas, and apparently many others were too! There was a record breaking attendance at this convention with over 11,700! It was crazy. I was a little sad about the new record because the previous record was held by the state FFA convention during my state officer year...we were surpassed.

My week was full of speeches, workshops, catching up with old friends, thinking about what I want to be when I grow up, and just taking in the sights of Dallas.

On Monday, I went on the Business and Industry Visits in Dallas with the Current State Officer Team and the Incoming State Officer Team. We went to the La Quinta headquarters, the Exxon Mobil World Headquarters, a Personal Library of Historical Arifacts, and a Childrens Hospital.

During our visit to the Library we got to see some amazing pieces of history. One of my favorites was Abraham Lincoln's desk from when he was a congressman. Wow! Talk about cool!

On Tuesday everything got kicked off with workshops, concerts, vespers, and state degrees! I presented my workshop this day, we had a blast talking about influence. There were over 350 people in the workshop! It was cool!

Tuesday night we were treated to vespers by the state officers about getting rid of baggage, they did an amazing job, and the night was topped off with an Aaron Watson concert!

Wednesday was the official start of convention, I had a blast running around the convention floor hanging out with area officer teams, and members from around the state. I gave my keynote on Wednesday after noon and had a blast!

Thursday morning was the state presidential election. This is one of the biggest, craziest, and loudest sessions of the convention! There are 10 areas in the state and each area is guaranteed one state officer per year. The new state officers are elected back in May, and all ten run to be on the "Traveling Team" at state convention. The traveling team takes a year out of college and travels the state visiting chapters during the week! Pretty awesome gig!

So at state convention the new officers all run to be on the traveling team, they give speeches, the areas develop chants and cheers in support of their candidate. It is alsways crazy to see.

Here is a picture of the new state officer team during the election!

The candidates then come back in the next session and four of them will give a one minute run off speech!

Once the stress of the election is over we all get to kick back because next is FUN Night! Fun Night is a session for the talent competition. This session is themed each and every year and everyone dresses up according to the theme. This year the theme was "When I Grow Up!" It was awesome to see what some people dressed up as. Check out some of the pictures!

The next morning we finished up the convention with the final session. During this session we heard to amazing retiring addresses, and found out the results of the election. Congratulations to the outgoing state officer team, Tommy, Trevor, Mai Lee, Macy, Rachel, Amanda, James, Dean, Matthew, and Lora. You did an amazing job this year and I am proud of you! Good luck to the new state officer team, Katie, Miles, Alli, Aron, Jeremiah, Layton, Tyler, Dakota, Kaleb, and Kody. You will do an amazing job, I am excited to see all that you accomplish!

It was a great week being home and catching up with friends!

Paul's South Carolina NLCSO

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:47:00 +0000

South Carolina NLCSO!

South Carolina is one cool place I will tell you that much! We stayed at one of the older hotels in the south, built in 1914, that was filled with a ton of history. We enjoyed all the great things of South Carolina and learned all about the south. For the first time in my life I had shrimp and grits -- I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but I think I found a new favorite food! They are delicious!

Laila and I spent a couple days setting up and getting ready state officers from Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and the host state South Carolina to arrive. The state officers all came in on Monday night and we had a wonderful dinner at Hyman’s seafood. This is a very famous restaurant in the south and tons of celebrities love it. In fact there are name plates on the tables where different famous individuals have eaten dinner at. I sat with a few girls from Georgia and one from South Carolina at a table where Jimmy Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, and Neil Armstrong had all sat. It was a pretty sweet place!

The week of the conference was amazing. I was blown away with some great conversations that I had with different officers and I couldn’t seem to get enough of our “rodeo” or the cupid shuffle dance off! We had a couple visitors from Mosaic and Monsanto- two of the NLCSO partners. Emmanuel, a state officer from South Carolina, thanked a sponsor from Mosaic and did a great job! This guy rocks and I loved our conversations throughout the week. Carrie from NC thanked our other sponsor. It’s amazing how much talent is in those rooms during the week of the conference.

The week was filled with some action packed sessions as well as a ghost tour and game of “peg.” We also broke a new record when Bo from Georgia ate 17 packets of Smarties in one of the team challenges! It was wild! The state staff were great to and only added to the excitement of the week.
It was a great week filled with memories I will never forget! Thanks to you- the SOs from the good ol’ south!

Utah NLCSO

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:13:00 +0000

Hello again! We have just finished up our last two NLCSO's and thought we would take some time to tell you about them.

From June 29th - July 3rd we conducted NLCSO in Bryce Canyon, Utah, with the state officers from Arizona, Utah, Colorado, California, Alaska, Nevada and New Mexico. We not only got to enjoy our beautiful surroundings in south-west Utah, but we also got the chance to spend a lot of time getting to know one another. During the week we spent time at the local rodeo rooting on our favorite riders and even got the opportunity to hike Bryce Canyon. We decided to tag along with the Cali crew on the hike and they did not disappoint; we climbed the entire canyon! Although it was a lot of hard work and sweat, the view was totally worth it!

Other highlights of the week included some amazing reflections from each state officer team, wicked swing-dancing demos and listening to Isaac (national talent from Alaska) as he sang for us. It was a big week full of lots of excitement and we look forward to seeing many of them again soon at SPC!

God Bless,

Hannah & Nessie

New York NLCSO

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:54:00 +0000

New York NLCSO…Game time- woo!

Camp-O was one of the neatest places I have been all year. Not to mention I got to spend time with state officers from 7 states in the Northeast and it was a great week no doubt! The students were incredibly passionate about their roles and soaked up the information so fast. These guys and girls have it going on that is for sure.

We planned workshops, grew as teammates, and enjoyed some great things around camp-o including the great race and the legendary high ropes course. I also had some amazing NY pizza and the best ice cream in NY at a place called Wishys. Ms. T and Jamie from NY took Laila and I there and later on in the week Massachusetts invited us to go again. We wrapped up one of the nights with a dance where Laila and I learned some pretty sweet line dances and taught some swing dance lessons as well.

The Sos from these state made some of the best workshops I have seen all year and just blew us away in so many ways. Not only are they smart but they can also dance as we saw in the dance off battle at the conference. Outside of the conference room the camp staff took Laila and I to some sweet waterfalls and I jumped of some big rocks into the pond. It was great fun!

What a solid week I had in NY. Some memories I will never forget. Thanks for making it so special new friends!

Wyoming NLCSO

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Wyoming NLCSO rocked!

We had such a blast in Wyoming! After Laila and I driving all through the mountains of Wyoming we finally arrived at our camp and got prepped for a great week. Three states were at the National Leadership Conference for State Officers including North Dakota, Montana, and of course Wyoming. The mountains were gorgeous out there and there was even a dirt shape in the side of one of the mountains that looked like an FFA emblem. It was pretty cool for sure.

We had a reflections session out on Sunset Basin that was gorgeous and Wyoming did a really cool presentation for us. Each day the state officer team showed off their skills at KFFA news broadcasting. There were some funny moments that is for sure! We also had a mean game of hacky sack and that gave the officers another chance to show off their skills.

After the week conference was over Laila, and I along with our friend Chase went around Yellowstone National Park and checked out the place. It was incredible! I have never seen anything like it. There were buffalo everywhere and some were right in the middle of the road. We pulled up and Laila could almost touch it outside the window. This is what was real crazy… we were standing waiting for Old Faithful, and I looked over to my left and standing about 12 yards away was my aunt and cousin. It was a big coincidence, but a great one. I knew she was in Wyoming, but since I didn’t have cell service we didn’t talk. It was really nice to go to dinner with them as well as my aunt’s parents. Even though I was not at home it sure felt great to be with my family. Its little moments like that when we realize how blessed we are to have people in our lives who care about us.

Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota State officers- thanks for an experience that I will never forget!

Hannah & Nessie - Michigan NLCSO

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:45:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:59:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Nessie) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:46:00 +0000

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!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:24:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:57:00 +0000

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!

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:37:00 +0000

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

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:34:00 +0000

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

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:19:00 +0000

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

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000

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

pauldmoya@gmail.com (Paul Moya) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:40:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:10:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:39:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Regina) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:17:00 +0000

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!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Regina) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:06:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Nessie) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:17:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:03:00 +0000

“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

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:33:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Riley) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:14:00 +0000

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