I had such a great time staying up at their place and talking to them. It was a night I will remember for a long time. There is so much to be excited about with this team – it is a group of unique individuals who, because of their hearts for FFA, will have great synergy this year. The next morning began a very big day for the state officers - a day filled with lots of exciting things to do as leaders of the organization.
It was an honor to share the experience of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns with the other ladies on my team. We spent the evening on the Spirit of the Potomac, with a dinner cruise down the Potomac River. To end the evening, my teammates and I shared a wonderful reflection with the officers on top of the vessel.
The next few days were some of the best of my officer year so far. It all started by being in disguise on the first day of the conference. It was hilarious to see person after person slip and fall in the mud hole in front of the line.
It was held at their camp in the middle of the hills, which made for some beautiful sunsets and sunrises.
National Officer Journal
There were three guys sitting in the middle of the room playing acoustic guitar rounds. We spent the week with 22 of the most talented people I've met all year. That afternoon I had a grand tour of New Mexico State University, courtesy of the state officers.
I enjoyed my five days in Nebraska – the first three of which were in Aurora, where Nebraska FFA has its annual chapter officer. The next few days held some of the best memories I've made this year. The night I flew in, I went to a local chapter banquet - Liberty FFA, just over the border in Indiana.
We had a camp for students on this big lawn that we call “the oval.” Students flooded the area and. I spent time with Tyler, Kari, Krista, Waco, Wiley, Colin, Jordan, Kristi, Andrea, and Jeff – the 2004 winners of the Risk Management Essay Contest. The students were excited to be there – students from the Dover, Winnisquam, Seacoast School of Technology and Pinkerton chapters, to name a few – the sessions were enthusiastic.
The next day, my mom and I drove to Indianapolis for the Blue Catalog—(FFA clothing merchandise catalog.) photo shoot. I spent the next three days hanging out with some of the best FFA members I have ever met. Amy and I got a chance to see the movie Passion. It really put things into perspective for me, which I needed right now.
They had nearly half of all members of the Montana FFA at the state convention. I spent my first night soaking in the atmosphere of the posh little downtown neighborhood of Greenville. It was funny when the fire alarm started going off towards the end of the workshop.
We joined the rest of the officer team and headed to downtown Montgomery. We really didn't know exactly where we were going - we just kept following signs that said Chicago. What can we say—the whole officiating team is getting lessons in geography this year.
That evening, after a reception at Mitsui and Co., we went karaoke with some of Mitsui's young employees.
Since it was our last night in Japan, of course the two ladies had to end our trip in the only right way - shopping. Our intrepid shopper leader, Miss Jana, managed to find two more 100 yen shops that evening. If you're unfamiliar with Japanese currency (like I certainly wasn't before this trip!), 100 yen is roughly equal to 1 US dollar, so a 100 yen store is like a dollar store here in the states.
We had been introduced to the 100 yen store early on in the trip and had sought them out in pretty much every city so far. I expected to spend some much-needed time at home, so my weekend was a blessing. We are now back in Indianapolis and preparing for a full week of business and industry visits next week.
I am looking forward to this leg of the trip, which will take me to Alabama for FFA week after Business and Industry. This weekend, our assignment was our first FFA Board of Directors meeting. We have some very sharp senior professionals representing various aspects of agricultural education from around the country currently serving on the board.
I have gained a better perspective and appreciation for the many groups of individuals who have a hand in caring for students studying agricultural education in the classroom. It was such an enlightening experience for me to see how the process of governance and change is done at the national level within the FFA. This is certainly a perspective I have not considered before coming to D. It was a pleasure to represent the student membership as we talked about the issues facing our organization this weekend.
We can't contain our excitement for what the next few days have in store for us, and I can't wait to share all those memories with you when we get back. Here's a sneak peek of what our schedule will look like so, if you'd like, you can follow along as we go. Until then, take care, stay warm and I ask that you keep Javier in your thoughts or prayers.
Before we left, we had the opportunity to travel outside of Indianapolis and meet up with members of the Western Boone FFA Chapter for a good barn dance. It was such a nice night to relax with the students and go back to the farm. We spent some time discussing the importance of a strong FFA program at their high school.
We were first treated to a dinner prepared by state employees themselves, and then spent the rest of the evening on the campus of the Alexander Baldwin Agricultural College, a branch of the University of Georgia, where we gave workshops and speeches to students from the southern region of Georgia. I loved the girl time I had with Shelby and Ashley, two Georgia state officials who joined us this evening. And one of my teammates later confessed that a young man I met named Nathan told them I reminded him of the character Dory in the movie “Finding Nemo.”
It provides an outstanding opportunity for members to have direct contact with so many different aspects, from livestock or crop research to agribusiness/management in the day-to-day tasks of the operation. That evening we drove to Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia. We were greeted by a wonderful group of students, their high school FFA officers, and their high school FFA who prepared breakfast for us.
It was so interesting to see how the cans are fed to the steamer and automatically sealed at the end. We spent the afternoon hanging out with the Stephens County High School FFA officer team. In the afternoon we spent time at Mary Persons High School, where Stacia gave a workshop.
One of the best things about spending this entire week with my teammates is that we were able to be there for each other. We traveled back to the FFA/FCCLA camp for the evening and woke up in the morning to a camp filled with Ag. One of the many things I learned from the experiences I had in Georgia is that there is a bright, bright future for Georgia FFA.
I was a bit nervous at this point as I was giving the keynote this evening. I had never given a speech as long as I was about to present, so naturally, I had some butterflies. As we learned how to improve ourselves, we were there for each other the whole way.
The Mid-Winter Teacher Conference started that morning at camp, so we had the opportunity to meet many of Georgia's teachers and spend time learning more about the great programs across the state. I'm very excited that my team and I had the opportunity to kick off our experiences with students there, and I can't wait to meet more incredible people like the ones I spent time with last week. I spent some quality time with some of my friends who I also haven't seen in too long.
I also stopped by the hardware store in town, where I worked for three years in the SAE job placement program during high school. If you're from Ohio and know anything about Cincinnati, you know Skyline is the best place to eat. After spending the holidays at home, the team reunited for New Year's Eve.
