BE THE ONE

else.

We

don'thavetobeinperfect healthtoserve others,our community, ourchurch,ourorganization, orournation.

We

don't needtobe ageniustowriteanencouragingletterorcardtoaperson

who

needsalittlesupport.

We

certainlydon'tJtavetobeMiss America,anOlympic^athlete,orevena beautiful princesstobrighten thelivesof othersbygivinga cheerful smile.

We

don'tneedtobe a

"VeryImportantPerson"intheeyes of theworldinordertobea genuinefriend. But

you know what? The

bestkeptsecretto

what

isreallyeffectiveintouchingthelivesofothersisrightin [yourheart].

Use what you have

toreachout

and

touch

someone around

you.

BE THE ONE

^to

^make

a difference.

BE THE ONE

Inaworldfull ofbroken dreams,wherethetruthishardtofind, Forevery promisethatiskept therearemanyleftbehind.

Thoughitseemsthatnobodycares,itstillmatterswhat youdo;

'Causethere'sadifferenceyoucanmake, butthechoiceisuptoyou.

Willyoube theonetoanswertoHiscall?

And

willyoustandwhenthosearoundyoufall?

Willyoube theonetotakeHislight intoadarkenedworld?

Tellme,luillyoube theone?

sometimesitishardtoknow who^isrightandwhat^iswrong;

And

whereareyousupposedtostandwhenthe battle linesaredrawn?

There's a voice thatkeepscallingoutforsomeonewho's notafraid;

Tobeabeaconinthenighttoaworldthat'slostitsway.

There arestillsomebattlesthatwemustfightfrom daytoday, YettheLord providesthepowerfor

me

tostandandsay:

Yes,I'llbe theonetoanswertoHiscall,Iwillstandwhenthosearound

me

fall,

1willbe theonetotakeHislightintoadarkened world!

Willyoube theone?

Iwillbe the one.

FFA members,

eachofus can

be

theone.

Each

ofus can reachouttotouch

someone.

ItsaysintheBible, "For

many

are called,but

few

arechosen."

FFA members you have been

chosento

make

adifferenceinthelivesofthose

around you

at

home,

atschool,in

your

state,nation,

and even

inour world.

May God

^continueto

wrap

His loving

arms around

eachof

you

as

you go

outintothe

world

to

BE THE ONE —

^to

^make

^a

specialdifferenceinthelivesofothers thatonly

you

can

make.

The Power of One

Liam Brody

National Vice President- Greenville,N.Y.

-EasternRegion

A young man

^I

know named

Jesse

used

tolovethe

song

"The Rainbow

Connection"

when he was

alittleboy.

He would

sit

cuddled

withhis

mom and

ask hertoplaythe

song

over

and

overagain. Jesse

found

comfortlisteningtothelyrics

and

believedthat

someday he would

find"the

rainbow

connection."

Jesse'sparentsdivorced

when he was

very

young and he

livedalonewithhismother.

He

caredfor hisfathera great deal

and wished

theycould

have

a

"normal

family." Jesse

dreamt

ofthe

day when

theconfines ofpoverty

and

embarrass-

ment would no

longer

be

his. After

moving

in

and

outof seven schooldistricts,seeinghis

mother endure an

abusive relationship,witnessingbillcollectorsrepossesstheirbelong- ings

and watching

hisloving

mother

fighta

tough

battlewith

alcohol, Jesselostthe positive attitude

and dreams he

once had.

Jesselost

hope

thatthefuture

would

bring something, any- thingbetter.

As

the

world seemed

tospinoutofcontrol,Jesse

became

furtherdisenchanted

and

depressed. Despitetheirtryingtimes

one

thingnever

changed —

the

hope

of hismother.

She

told

him

that

no

matter

how bad

thingsgot,never giveup.

She promised him

thatthings

would

getbetter!

Inordertofulfillherpromise,his

mother

askedforherson's trust

once

again.

She

decidedto

move

far

away from

their troubledlives

and

start

anew.

This,too,

was

hardforJesse as

he

left

behind what

littlestability

he

had.

The move, however tough

for

them

both,

proved

positive.

Jesse's

hope was once

againrekindled. His

mother won

her battlewithalcohol

and

resolvednevertodrinkagain.

They

renteda nice

home, and

hisrelationshipwithhisfather

and

stepmother grew. Intheir

new-found home,

Jesseagain

had

troublefittingin.

He

stilldid not

know what

thefuture

would

bring,but

he approached

itwitha betterattitude.

By

chance,Jesse enrolledin

an

agricultureclass.

Never

before,outsideof his family,

had he

experiencedsuchasense ofbelonging. Hisagricultureteacher treated

him

withrespect.

Jesse'steacher

became

his

mentor and

hisfriend!

The

teacher took

him

tothe national

FFA

conventionduringhisfirstyearin

FFA.

Jesse couldn't believeall

he saw and

felt. Just ashis

mom

had

promised,lifegotbetter.

Over

the years,withthesupportof

many

people, Jesse

gave FFA

hisall

and FFA gave

itsalltohim.

The

lasttimeJesse visitedthenationalconvention,hissagaof

growth and hope

continued.

As he

waited withgreatpride

and

anticipationfor a special

moment

to arrive,

he

reflected

on

aquotation

from Helen

Keller

who

said,"So

much

has

been

givento

me;

^I

have no

timeto

ponder

overthat

which

has

been

denied." After that

moment, and

followinga lifetime of adversity,Jesse's

name was announced

as a

new

national

FFA

officer.

No,

notsimply asJesse,butasLiamJesseBrody.

You

see,I

know

^thatlifeisnot easy,I've

been

there. Despitelife'shardships,Irefusetogive up.

There have been

timesin

my

^life

when

IthoughtIcouldn't

go any

further. It

was

thenthatIlearnedofthepowerofonel

The power

of

one

is

many

^{things. It}can

be

theinner strength

we

allpossesstoreachour dreams.

My dream

^of

finding "the

rainbow

connection"

began when

I

was

very

young, and

it

seemed

as

though

it

might

never

become

a reality. For so

many

yearsIfollowedthe

rainbow and

ithas led

me

heretoapotofgold

—

^blue

^and

gold! ^Ibelieveinthe

power you and

Ipossesstosearch

deep

within ourselves

and

to

triumph

over hardship.

I

know

^I

am

nottheonly

one who

has facedthe fear

and

uncertaintyoflife.

However,

it isthisfear

and

uncertainty that buildsourcharacter. Proverbs13:19says

"A

desireto

accom-

plishissweettothe soul." ^Itisthatinitialdesire thatkeeps us going. Itisthefuel for

our

fire.

The

desire^fillsus with hope,

and "hope

isa

waking

dream."

Hope and

desire alone,

however,

willnot triumph,but

when

coupled with determina- tion,a positive attitude

and

persistence,successwillrain

down upon

us.

My

^friends,

you

can

make

it. Believeme.

There

areso

many

terrificthings thatawait you.

No

^matter

how tough your

situation,don'tdespair. Lifealways,

always

getsbetter. There are

always

others

who have

itworse.

You have

the

power

to find a

way

out.

The

truth^isthe

world owes no one

happiness, butit

owes everyone an

opportunityto

be

happy.

A

Sanskrit proverb advises usto

"Look

to thisday,foritislife,thevery

lifeoflife. Initsbriefcourseofexistenceisfound;theblissof growth,thesplendorofaction,thegloryof

power.

For yesterdayisbuta

dream, and tomorrow

isonlya vision,but today,welllived,

makes

every yesterdaya

dream

ofhappiness

and

every

tomorrow

avisionofhope." Follow

your rainbow

carefully,

FFA members, and

take

advantage

oftheopportuni-

42

tiesitbrings.

Without you

^I

may

never

have found

thestrengthwithinto follow

my rainbow

to

be where

I

am

today.

The power

of

one

canalso

be

the

power we have

to

be

the

one who

can

make

a differencein

someone

else'slife. Dr.Martin Luther

King

Jr.

said,

"Everybody

can

be

great,because

everybody

canserve.

You

don't

have

to

have

a collegedegreetoserve.

You

don't

have

to

make your

subject

and

verb agreetoserve.

You

don't

have

to

know

aboutPlato

and

Aristotletoserve.

You

don't

have

to

know

Einstein's

Theory

of Relativitytoserve.

You

don't

have

to

know

the

second

theoryof

thermo-dynamics

in physicstoserve.

You

only

need

a heartfullof grace.

A

soul generated

by

love."

A

service-oriented attitudeis

something

Louis Jacobsen has learned aboutfirsthand.

LouisJacobsen, aLatter-daySaint minister,tellsa story aboutthe

days when he was

alittleboy. Louis

was

thesonofa

Danish widow. He was

smallinstature

and odd

inappear- ance

—

^{easily the}object of his peers'thoughtlessjokes

and

cruelty.

One morning

during

Sunday

School, thechildren

made

funof hispatched pants

and

his

worn-out

shirt.

Too proud

to cry,Louis ran

from

hisseat fleeing theclass,stopping finallytorest,outof breath.

He

sat

on

acurbthatranalonga street inSalt

Lake

City. Clearwater

flowed

alongthe gutter nearthecurb

on which

Louissat.

He

pulled

from

hispocketa piece ofpaper,skillfullycreated a

paper

boat

and launched

it

on

theflowingwater.

From

hishurt,boyishheart

came

the

determined spoken words,

"I'llnever

go

back!" Suddenly,

through

histearsLouis

saw

the reflectioninthewaterof a well-dressed

man.

Louislooked

up

atthe

man and

recognized

George

Burbidge,the

Sunday

School superintendent.

"May

^I

sit

down

with

you?"

askedthekind

man.

Louis

nodded

yes.

There on

thecurbsata

good

Samaritan helping

one who was

surelyinneed. Several boats

were

created

and launched

while theirconversation continued.

At

lastthe

man

stoodwiththe boy's

hand

holdingtightlyto his,

and

theyreturnedto

Sunday

School. Inlateryears,Louis presidedoverthat

same Sunday

School.

Throughout

hislonglifeofservice,

he

neverfailed to

acknowledge

the

one

servant

who

helped

him on

thecurbthat bitter-sweetday.

The power

of

one

isinallofyou.

There

are so

many

peoplein thislifewith

no one

atall. Itwill

be

those peopleto

whom you

will

be

the

power

ofone.

The words

of thefollowing

poem

reflect

upon

thisthought:

He

stoodatthecrossroadsallalone, Thesunlightinhisface.

He

had nothoughtfor theworldunknown

—

He

wasset for amanly^race.

Buttheroadsstretched eastandtheroadsstretchedwest,

And

the ladknewnotwhichroadwasbest.

So he chosetheroadthat ledhim down,

And

helostthe raceandthe victor'scrown.

He

wascaughtatlastinanangrysnare Becausenoonestoodatthecrossroadsthere To show himthe better road.

Another dayatthe self-same place

A

boy with high hopesstood.

He,too,wasset foramanlyrace;

He,too,wasseekingthethingsthat zoeregood.

Butonewasthere

whom

theroad didknow,

And

thatoneshowedhim whichwaytogo, Soheturnedfromtheroadthatwouldleadhimdown

And

hewonthe raceandthe victor'scrown.

He

walks todaythehiglnvayfair Because one stoodatthecrossroadsthere Toshowhimthe betterway.

Always remember we

pass

through

this

world

butonce.

Any

good,therefore, that

we

cando,or

any

kindnessthat

we

can

show, we must do

^it

now,

for

we

shallnot passthis

way

again.

Make your

choicesinlifenot

upon

that

which

isoffered

toyou,but

upon

that

which you

canoffer toothers.

There

are

many

peoplethat

have

offeredso

much

to

my

life.

To

those family,friends

and

otherspecialpeopleIgive

my

sincere thanks,love

and

appreciation.

Ibelieve thatwith hope,persistence

and

service

we

canall findthe

rainbow

connection.

I

remember back

to

an

earlierpointinthe year;it

was

a beautiful

day

inFebruary. I

had

theopportunityto visita school

and

talkwithaclass.

However,

this

was no

ordinary

visit. ThistimeI

found

myselfintheJapanese countryside, talkingto

an

EnglishclassofJapanesestudents.

The

teacher invited

me

toshareaspects of culture

and

societywiththe studentsforabout

an

hour.

Because

thestudents

knew

very basicEnglish,theteacherdidquite abitoftranslating.

As

thestudents

asked

questions,theteacher

wrote some

of the

words

inEnglish

on

theboard.

He wrote words such

as:

"slam dunk," "agriculture,""pizza"

and

"blondehair."

When

theconversation

became more

complex,

he began

towrite the

words

"violence," "guns," "trade"

and

"hatred"

on

thechalk board.

While we

talkedabout

how

things

were

inAmerica,^I told

them

that

many

ofthose

words

didn't

have

tobethere.

Then

^Icircled

some

of thewords.

With one

passof thechalkI

made

astatementthatcould

be understood

in

any

language. I

drew

diagonalslashes

through

thecircle

and

the

words, and

I

told

them

^it

was up

toustostopsuch problems. Itoldtheclass thattogether

we

can

make

a difference!

You

see,the

power

of

one

isnot

simply

the

power

of the individual,butthe

power

of

one

family,

one

chapter,

one

nationand,ultimately,the

power

of

one

people!

I

am reminded

of

one

ofAesop'sFables.

The

taleistoldof a familywitha father

and

three boys.

The boys were always

arguing.

No

^matter

^what

the father saidit

would

not sinkinto theboys'heads.

The

father

wanted

toprovide

them

with

an example

sothatthey

might

see

how

theiractions

would

eventually lead

them

tomisfortune.

So he

asked

one

ofthe

boys

tobring

him

a

bundle

ofsticks.

The

father told his

boys

to attempttobreakthe

bundle

ofsticks. Allthree

boys

tried to

snap

the entirebundle,but

none found

success.

The

father then untiedthe

bundle and

toldthesonstobreakthesticks

one by

one.

The

three

boys now found

successwithease.

The

father saidtohissons, "If

you

aredivided

among

yourselves,

you

will

be no

strongerthanasinglestick inthatbundle.

Your

unityis

your

strength."

Our

unityisourstrength.

Never doubt

thatasmall

group

ofthoughtful,

committed

citizenscan

change

theworld; indeed,it'stheonly thingthateverdoes.

Thank you

for

an amazing

yearfullof

wonder and

growth.

You have made

^adifferencein

my

life

by

providing

me

with theopportunityto

make

a differenceinyours.

You have

given

me hope

inthe future. ItissaidinThe

Talmud

thatthe

"The sun

willsetwithout thyassistance." Together

we have

the

power

tocreate a better

day

forthe

sun

torise.

Remember

the

power

of

one means

so

much.

Itisthestrength within, the

chance

tohelpothers

and

itisnotonlythe

power

of the individual,butthe

power

of

one

people! Search

deep

withinto find,

be and become

the

power

ofone!

When your day becomes

dark,hold

on and do

not

ponder

overthat

which

has

been

denied butreflect

on

all

which

has

been

given.

When you

see that

hope

hasdiminishedinanother'slife,share

your power and be

the

one

tosit

on

thecurb

and

lend

your

heart

and

smile. Lastly,let

your power combine

to

form one

strong family,

one

greatcountry

and one

unitedpeople!

Change

can

come from

the

power

of

many,

but only

when many come

togetherto

form

that

which

isinvincible,that

which

isthe

power

ofone!

Findit,

be

it,live

it— The POWER OF ONE!

VIP Citations

Ittakesaspecialtypeofpersonto

be

elevatedtothe status of

FFA

VIP.

The

following 10individuals

have made

career-long contributionstoagriculturaleduca- tion

and FFA, and

itcouldbesaid thattheirblood runsnationalblue

and

corngold.

The

recipients

were honored Thursday

afternoon beforetheconvention audience

and were

presented

commemorative

plaques.

VIP

Citationswere bestoweduponarecord

number

of individualsThursdayafternoon.Front

row

(fromleft):

Henry

Williams,

G.W. Hamby,

Jay

Eudy and

WilliamAnnis.Back

row

(fromleft):

W.

ForrestBear,

Gordon

Galbraith,Paul

Day

andVerlin Hart. Recipients notpictured:

Jim

Copeman

and EdgarPersons.

Dr.

W.

Forrest

Bear

ofSt.Paul,Minn., helpeddeveloptheNational

FFA

Agricultural

Mechanics

Contest 23 years ago,

and

has servedassuperintendent or assistant

most

yearssince then.

He

is professoremeritusinagricultural engineering

and

agriculturaleducation attheUniversityofMinnesota.

Paul

M. Day

of Northfield,Minn.,

was

aclassroomagricultureteacherfor 16years

and

thestatesupervisor

and

state

FFA

advisorin

Minnesota

for24 years.

He

served terms

on

theNational

FFA Board

ofDirectors

and was

superintendentoftheNational Livestock

Judging

Contest.

Day was

electedto officesinthe

NVATA

atthestate

and

regionallevels.

Edgar

A.PersonsofSt.Paul,Minn., has

provided

majorleadershipfor

changes

inthe

FFA

proficiency

and American FFA Degree

applications since 1980.

He was head

teachereducatorin agriculturaleducationattheUniversity ofMinnesota.

Most

recently

he

helped developfinancialrecord keeping materialsfor

FFA.

G.

W. Hamby

of Higginsville,Mo.,is a retireddistrictsupervisorforagricul- turaleducationinhisstate.

He was

a supervisingteacherfor33student teachersduringhiscareer,

and

servedas

an

officer fortheMissouri Vocational AgriculturalTeachers'Association.

Dr.

William H. Annis

of

Durham,

N.H.,isaboutto retireas

head

of Vocational-Technical

and Adult Educa-

tionattheUniversityof

New Hamp-

shire. His 32-yearcareerinfluencedthe

development

of

hundreds

ofteachers

and

extensionagents.

Verlin

Hart

ofAgra,Okla.,isaretired districtsupervisorof agricultural education

and Young Farmer

Executive Secretary.

He was

instrumentalinthe operationof anational land,pasture

and

rangecontestheld annuallyin

Oklahoma

City.

Gordon

GalbraithofSalem,Ore., retiredasstatesupervisorof agricultural educationin

June

of 1994.

He

served

on

theNational

FFA Board

^ofDirectors

and

the

FFA Foundation Board

^ofTrustees.

Henry

G.

Williams

ofBells,Term., retiredasconsultant

and

regional supervisorforagriculturaleducationin Tennessee.

He was

particularlyinvolved

with

trainingthestate

FFA

officerteams.

JayL.

Eudy

of Austin, Texas,isa retireddirectorof Agricultural Science

and Technology

in his state

where

he

headed

areorganizationof agricultural curriculumthathas servedas a

model

forreformin26 otherstates.

He was

a

member

of theNational

FFA Board

of Directors

and was

presidentofthe National Associationof StateSupervisors of AgriculturalEducation. In retirement,

Eudy

isdonating timetotheNational CouncilforAgriculturalEducationas interimdirector.

Jim Copeman

ofFairmont,

W.

Va.,is

a retiredsupervisorof agricultural services for

Monongahela Power Company.

For 50 years

he

helpedselect thestate'scandidatesforthe

American FFA

Degree.

44