New friends + Washington D.C. = Perfection!

New friends + Washington D.C. = Perfection!



I love Fredonia FFA Chapter!!! I had the most awesome week in Washington D.C. with 10 members from the Fredonia FFA Chapter in Kansas. Amberlyn, Hannah, Ester, Justin, Luke, Amy, Melissa, Andrew, Bradley and Tyler all rock.









They won a free trip to D.C. for their efforts with the National Animal Identification System. They won their state Agricultural Communications Career Development Event and when they started preparing for Nationals they decided to pick the NAIS program. After the national contest they wanted their hard work to continue. So, they heard of the NAIS Chapter Enrichment program and worked to promote NAIS in their community. Their hard work paid off and they won the trip.






We all arrived on Wednesday where I got to know them, and we had a welcome followed by a dinner in D.C. Thursday morning was spent at the United States Department of Agriculture where they were recognized for their work on the NAIS program. Friday they were able to meet with the acting Under Secretary of Animal Plant Health Inspection Service. Saturday was a free day where we toured D.C. and Sunday was spent touring as well before we headed to the airport. We were able to meet some really incredible people involved in agriculture there in D.C. Some of the highlights were also meeting with Senator Sam Brownback and Senator Pat Roberts both from Kansas. Senator Brownback’s office was able to arrange a tour of the Capitol which was my first time and it was awesome!





Washington D.C. is an incredible city! However, the best part was hanging out with everyone from Fredonia. They are awesome people and I am so glad that I have new friends from Kansas. I have already missed them since the D.C. trip!

This is a picture of Hannah at Senator Roberts desk!!!! She was hilarious and so much fun! She had a Starbucks everymorning...she was blissfully happy. : )

It was a fantastic week. Afterall, New friends + Washington D.C. = Perfection!

-Laila

My front yard…A “white” spring break?

My front yard…A “white” spring break?

Greetings! What is up everyone? Check out my front yard! Just part of the weather stories going on across the country!

! I have just returned home from a whirl wind tour since FFA Week and Texas Ag Tour week. I have done a week of partnership tours. I then went to D.C. and hung out with some awesome FFA members from Fredonia, Kansas (I can’t wait to tell you about that trip!) And, I have just finished another week of partnership tours. However, I have a week home to visit family, ag teachers and friends; however, this is my front yard! It’s March!

Anyhow, I just wanted to show you the snowy weather in Guthrie, Oklahoma. I can hardly believe that my great spring break with family and friends is filled with white flurries! What’s the weather in your part of the country?

Are than any FFA members being affected by the weather? If so, let me know by commenting on here, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter.

-Laila

Riley & Hannah's Partnership Tour

Hey there! We spent this past week on a partnership tour in the midwest to visit the business and industries that sponsor the FFA. Here's a brief idea of what we did with each company and what we learned!

MONDAY


Land O'Lakes Purina - Gray Summit, Missouri
Our first visit was to Land O'Lakes Purina where we toured the farm for their agricultural feed products and spoke with employees about the new developments they are working on. Leading the industry in animal nutrition, their company is focused on making quality, effective products for livestock and pet animals. We spoke with FFA members from chapters that joined us at the farm, as well as employees about agricultural education and the FFA. We were also fortunate to have Emily Bardot, Missouri FFA State Vice President for Area 14, join us during our Monday visits. It was a great way to start the week.


Monsanto - St. Louis, Missouri
Monsanto is known to FFA members for many things: The laser show at the convention, the National Leadership Conference for State Officers, and even FFA Today! But I was grateful to learn that Monsanto is responsible for Round Up, and Round Up Ready cotton, soybeans, etc. The Monsanto campus is huge! We first spent time in one of (yeah one of!) the cafeterias on the campus. We were able to meet with many of the employees and hear what they do with the company. Many of the Monsanto employees are individual donors; it was great to have the opportunity to personally thank them for their contribution. After we ate lunch, we got to meet with many team members at Monsanto. It was great to hear their stories and belief in FFA, and I enjoyed getting to relay some success stories of FFA members to them.


Bunge - St. Louis, Missouri
Bunge is an agricultural company that specializes in sourcing grains and oilseeds grown by farmers into feed and consumer ingredients. Bunge has been trading commodities since the early 1900's and are dedicated to being community leaders. We met with Mr. Hodson, Ms. Kolweier, Ms. Yackey and Mr. Hill to learn about their worldwide company and to update them on current FFA events.

TUESDAY

Rabo AgriFinance, Inc. - St. Louis, Missouri
Rabo AgriFinance is a company that gives loans for people who are looking to either begin new agricultural operations, or expand current ones. Many people will use these loans to buy farms, equipment, livestock, and other large investments. I was most impressed with the personal attention they give to each of their customers. They said that their office is the kitchen table of the customer. The personal touch of Rabo AgriFinance is amazing!


Crop Production Services (CPS) - Galesburg, Illinios
CPS is known around to country for providing a guiding hand to farmers as they decide what seed to put in the ground and work to harvest and sell their crop. Much of the work of CPS is done in the field (literally!)and they are a great support system for production agriculture. When asked what CPS looks for in their future generations of employees, they said they want individuals who are self-motivated, creative, responsible and exhibit honesty and integrity.


Caterpillar Foundation - Peoria, Illinios
You often see CAT machinery working up and down the roads on construction projects, or plowing over heavy brush in a pasture. But I did not know that CAT has a foundation that funds many educational and community service projects. It was very cool to listen to some of the programs the foundation supports, and how they are making a difference in the lives of students.

WEDNESDAY

Farm Progress Companies - St. Charles, Illinios
We met with Jeff Lapin, President of Farm Progress Companies to learn from him about the variety of agricultural publications they manage. Farm Prgress produces 22 agricultural magazines, including the "Prairie Farmer" and "American Farmer", holds the Farm Progress Show and has over 1 million subscribers.


CNH Capital - Racine, Wisconsin
We met with some employees at CNH Capital, which is a financing arm of Case IH. Agriculturalist often needs to get a loan in order to start an operation, or buy new equipment. This is where a company like CNH Capital comes in. It was very interesting to learn about this process, and this company’s impact on agriculture today.


Case IH - Racine, Wisconsin
We were welcomed with open arms at the headquarters of Case IH where we met with the President of Case IH, Randy Baker and his staff. They shared with us the massive amount of new innovations Case IH is working on and informed us that their new line of Magnums would be coming out the following morning on their production line. Case IH holds a philosophy that is based off of four principles: People, Partnership, Product and Productivity. They are also working on new fuel sources for their tractors and combines by using ethanol made from corn cobs. We took time to express our sincere appreciation for all they do for the FFA as well. It was great to meet with such dedicated supporters of FFA.

THURSDAY

Case IH Plant Tour - Racine, Wisconsin
We were also given the opportunity to tour the Case IH plant. WOW! This was my first experience seeing an assembly line up close. It was incredible. There were massive pieces of machinery flying over our heads, and people putting them together. It was amazing to see how such a large piece of equipment starts out. It was truly an incredible experience. They mentioned that sometimes FFA members who are traveling to National FFA Convention will often stop and tour the plant. If this is you this year, I definitely recommend it!


GEA Westfailia Surge - Naperville, Illinios
GEA Westfailia Surge is a company dedicated to helping dairy farmers be more productive, efficient and profitable. They work to improve herd management, milk production equipment, dairy hygiene and manure handling. We were pleased to hear that the vice president of the company, Norm Schuring, was a former FFA member and is a firm supporter of our programs. We were even lucky enough to get a tour of their museum, since the company was founded in the dairy industry in 1906.

FRIDAY

Meister Media Worldwide - Cleveland, Ohio
Meister Media is a company that prints magazines and other publications about agriculture. They have many magazines, and I was also impressed to learn about how they are now pairing an e-newsletter with the magazine for extra information. We sat down and met with Elliott Knowles and other members of their team. Mr. Knowles is a former FFA member, and FFA staff member. It was great to catch up with him and hear his stories of his involvement with FFA. Meister is truly an amazing company and I am excited to see what the future holds between them and FFA.


Lincoln Electric - Cleveland, Ohio
Last but certainly not least, was our visit to Lincoln Electric, the welding experts and a 62 year FFA sponsor. We were fortunate to speak with many of their employees about the value of FFA and what agricultural education is doing for students, and then we were given a chance to test out their new virtual reality welding machine. It is truly amazing what they have done to improve the way we are taught to weld using some really cool technology. When you put on the welding helmet, all 360 degrees of your surroundings can be seen by turning around. We had the chance to work in Iraq, surrounded by patrol vehicles. It is so COOL! And we even got to see our stats for how accurate our weld was. Be sure to check out the Lincoln Electric booth at the national convention career show if you want to give it a shot! We followed up our test runs with a tour of the manufacturing facility which is a half-mile long and a quarter-mile wide; HUGE! Everyone at Lincoln was extremely welcoming and committed to supporting FFA.

We owe a big THANK YOU to all to companies we met with during a great week.

God Bless,

Riley and Hannah

Hannah's Happenings - Parkers Prairie FFA Banquet

Hello! Hope you all are enjoying some spring-like weather wherever you are. It will be here soon, or so I'm told... ;)

Once Riley and I wrapped up our partnership tour in Cleveland, I hit the airport to head out to Minnesota for a chapter banquet. I was met at the airport in Minneapolis by Derek, Katie and Caitlyn (MN State Officers), but not met by my luggage! No worries though, it caught up with me at the hotel later in the evening. While we I was waiting on it to come, the officers were nice enough to grab dinner with me and tell me all about their state, FFA in MN and the University of Minnesota. I had such a great time with them and I was happy to wait on my luggage with such good company. :)

On Saturday night, I met back up with Katie, Caitlyn and Mr. Larsen (MN State FFA Advisor) to travel over to Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, for their chapter banquet. I was honored to help the Parkers Prairie FFA Chapter celebrate their 50th anniversary as a chapter. As soon as we walked through the doors we were greeted by 50 years of history in the form of pictures, awards, trophies, old jackets and chapter scrapbooks. Before the program began, I got to meet with members of the community who were alumni of the chapter. They told me stories about receiving their state degrees, serving as chapter officers and about how their FFA jacket was still tucked away in the closet. It was amazing to see all that history, through people and pictures, in one room. I even had the pleasure to present the American FFA Degree to the parents of Kaylyn Arvidson, who was not able to attend National Convention last fall or the banquet, because she is in the United States Air Force. Her mother told the audience that she had said that being in the Air Force and receiving her American Degree were two things she worked incredibly hard to accomplish. I was proud to hand her Kaylyn’s degree and pin, which she very much deserved.

Towards the end of the evening, the chapter officers gave out gift certificates to anyone who could answer trivia questions about the chapter. Surprisingly, many of the questions like who received the first American Degree from Parkers Prairie and who the first female FFA member of the chapter was – were people attending the banquet! Needless to say, they got the question right! ;) I felt so blessed to be a part of the evening and want to extend another CONGRATULATIONS to the Parkers Prairie FFA Chapter for 50 great years of FFA.

Now, my travels are taking me to the west coast for another partnership tour in California.

God Bless,

Hannah

Paul's Texas Ag Awareness Tour

Texas Agricultural Awareness Tour!

They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and this week we sure saw a big state and had us a big time. We started off the week in Amarillo, Texas. Here we had dinner at the legendary Big Texan and were joined by some great supporters of agricultural education and FFA in Texas.
The next day we went over to Cal Farley’s Boys’ Ranch where we toured the school that many successful FFA members have came from, and we also joined the school for Sunday services. It was neat to see such a great community of students coming together. That night we spent time with members at Texas Tech University and had lots of fun.

Monday morning we toured Texas Tech University, where Laila and Riley both attend. They showed us around and we learned all about the traditions of Texas Tech. What a great place! We continued on from there to meet with the staff at CEV Multimedia. They are leaders in curriculum development and the owner Mr. Gordon Davis is one of the biggest supporters of FFA around. We then had quite a drive to Ben Richey’s Boys’ Ranch where we met up with lots of FFA members from around the area.

The next day was filled with some wonderful meetings at Texas Farm Bureau and we even met the Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. Todd Staples. We learned more about prevalent agricultural issues and were challenged to encourage more members to spread the news about agriculture. The next morning we toured the capital and met the Commissioner of Education and the Governor of Texas. We thanked both for their support, and encouraged them to continue to do so in the future. Driving continued even more and we had a meeting with the staff of the San Antonio Livestock Exhibition. After the meeting we went down to south Texas for a night I will never forget. We stopped at Mr. Carlos Guerra’s who is a longtime friend of the FFA. Then, we continued on to the South Texas Ag Roundup and just spent time with some incredible FFA members. These students were extremely talented and I hope all of them will reach for the goals they have and never let anyone stop them.

The next day was filled with a trip to the King Ranch. This is the largest privately owned ranch in the United States and it is a beautiful site to see. I loved spending time on the ranch and getting to see it. The next day was spent at Mahindra tractors for a morning visit. We then started towards the highlight of the trip for me. My teammates and I got to spend the evening and night with one of the greatest supporters in the history of FFA. Mr. Dick Walrath gives Texas FFA seventy one 10,000 scholarships every year. He also does the same for 4-H. This is a man who truly has a heart the size of Texas.

The last day was spent at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Thanks to the National FFA Foundation and especially Mrs. Brubeck and Mr. Alejandro from Texas for making this a week I know that I will never forget. The fruits of this week will pay off for months and years to come! Thanks!

Paul's Nevada State Convention

Nevada FFA State Convention!!
Now this little state of Nevada is big in excitement for the FFA! I flew into this great place on Tuesday night and met right away with the state’s nominating committee as well as the candidates for state office. They were all excited about the week in front on them. The next day was the start of convention and I just couldn’t wait!

On Wednesday morning schools started to pour in and registration was officially open and contests had begun. For the students that were not in a contest there was the one and only Fun Zone to be a part of. Here I had a blast playing basketball, football, dodge ball, and even getting stuck on a Velcro wall with students. Contests lasted throughout the day and at night was our very first session! It was filled with confetti cannons in the air and lots of great stuff from the Nevada state officer team.

On Thursday morning about 75 students participated in several really neat service projects! I was happy to see the passion for service that Nevada FFA has shown through their actions this past week. They were able to help professors at University of Nevada Reno further their research as well as support the community. That night was another great session and after followed an amazing roller skating party for all the FFA members. I may have had a few bumps and bruises, but it was a night that I will never forget.

On Friday students finished out their contests and we had leadership workshops all morning. The students were so excited and we had a big time in the workshops. Throughout the day we continued to visit and continued to get excited for Friday nights session and the dance. At this session I was actually hypnotized and apparently all of us were pretty funny!

Saturday wrapped up convention with the final RA from the state officer team. All the RAs were really neat and inspired me to do more in life. The newly elected team is very excited to serve and I know Nevada FFA is in great hands. Thanks Nevada FFA for making my first state convention one that I will never forget!

Paul's National FFA Week

National FFA Week!!
What an incredible week!? I have had the most amazing National FFA Week that I could ever ask for. I flew into Kentucky on Monday and had a jam packed week full of enthusiastic students, great community support, and lots of fun with Dr. Pete!

The first day I spent time at Jessamine County schools with some awesome students and community supporters. We were also joined by members from the Bluegrass, Licking River, Big Sandy, and Kentucky River regions as well as U of K Collegiate FFA. On Tuesday I spent time at Nelson County high school and the day was awesome. I got to see some really cool skits from FFA camp and put on a couple workshops. We joined by the Lincoln Trail, Northern KY, and Lake Cumberland Regions. I also spent some time at New Haven and Kennedy Metro Middle Schools. Nelson County does FFA Week in style!

The Next day I traveled to Marshall County High School! Now this place had some excited students. They even made some really cool signs for the day in their ag classes! The Purchase and Pennyrile regions as well as some great Murray State University students came over too. We had some fun all day at Marshall! Next I headed to Logan County where we had some awesome games of cornhole and even some smores! I got to be there for their Chapter Degree Ceremony…some cool stuff! The Barren River and Green River regions came over to Logan for an afternoon of fun! I had dinner with the Kentucky Young Farmers Association and the one and only 2006-2007 National FFA Vice President Coty Back and Kentucky state staff Dr. Pete, Mr. Lucas, and Mr. Chaliff!

On the final day I spent the day with students from Warren East High School! We ate at Theresa’s Restaurant with Warren Central and Greenwood high school and even some pretty awesome people from Western Kentucky University. To wrap up the day I spoke at the Kentucky Young Farmers Association luncheon.

Kentucky FFA thanks for making my week one that I will never forget. Between hanging out with the coolest camp director around, Dr. Pete, to having a grand time with Kentucky FFA members, it was a week I will never forget! We had us a big time in Kentucky!

Massachucetts FFA Convention!

The Massachucetts FFA Convention was a blast! There were so many cool things to see and do. It certainly was a happening place. Things got kicked off with the First General Session. Here Creed Speaking CDE Contestants performed the creed in front of a live audience! What What! Then the talent began! They have a talent contest!

After the first session, I managed to make my way around to the Chapter Displays. Each chapter brings a board that represents Massachucetts FFA or their chapter. At the end of convention, they are judged on it. Kinda like a science fair of sorts. Speaking of which, the Ag Science fair ROCKED! There were some amazing projects and students put in a lot of hard work and time to make it happen.


I also had the chance to go around and meet some members in down time. Here, they were getting ready for the advisor rodeo night. Advisors have to do things like ride a tricycle, throw bales of hay, and then compete in a quiz bowl. Afterwards, we enjoyed an ice cream social!!! I LOVE ice cream!








Here is a pic of me and my buddy David. He served as the chair for the state's nominating committee.


























More shots of members!












I had a great time getting to know more about Massachucetts and Mass FFA! It was a great week! I am glad I got to spend time in the Bay State! Hopefully, I will see you all on the road again.

~Regina

What a week...FFA Week!

What a week!

FFA Week has come to a close and I have one incredible week under my belt. I spent FFA Week in the beautiful state of COLORADO! Mr. Womochil, State Program Director of Agricultural Education, traveled with me throughout the state. Here are the highlights of the trip…

My week began on the Western Slope where I flew into Grand Junction. I spent Sunday evening with two Colorado State FFA Officers Ashley and Eric. They are awesome! We had dinner at this Mongolian grill that has very delicious food, which Ashley recommended. Thanks girl!

My first chapter visit for the week was at Fruita High School! Mr. Hudson and Ms. Heath are the teachers there at Fruita. The members cooked breakfast burritos that were to die for! All of us members hung out together and shared our FFA experiences.

The next stop was Durango, CO. I visited the Durango FFA Chapter and did a radio interview with KRSJ radio station. Mr. Ortiz is the ag teacher there at Durango. I got to hang out with the Durango FFA members and learn about how they celebrate FFA Week. They also showed me the sign that they had at National FFA Convention for their “FFA Clicks” campaign. It was a sign that FFA members could put their signature on as a commitment to wearing their seatbelt.

The mountains in this part of the state are absolutely incredible. They are breathtakingly beautiful. I felt so blessed to be able to drive through it all and see it firsthand!

We spent the night in Alamosa. The next morning we visited Alamosa FFA Chapter. Alamosa is in the San Luis Valley. I learned that it is a lot colder in the Valley than anywhere else! The Alamosa FFA Chapter was hosting their faculty through an appreciation breakfast. Members and students from Alamosa FFA, Sangre FFA, Sanford FFA and Centari were there. Centari is an agricultural education program that is considering starting an FFA Chapter. I wish them the best of luck!

Mr. Womochil and I then hit the road to head for Pueblo! At Pueblo there was a large assembly with Pueblo and Fowler FFA members where I had the opportunity to give my keynote address, “Change the Headlines.” After the keynote, we did a few leadership activities. Following the assembly, we all loaded up on a school bus and made our way to the bowling alley! Andy and Michelle, two of the state officers were at Pueblo and the bowling alley. They are so fun to be around!

^That is me and Medina! He is a Pueblo FFA member, and he is awesome!

We hit the road again that evening and drove to Lamar, CO. While in Lamar, Mr. Womochil and I had the opportunity to have dinner with past national officer Ryan Peterson. He is in graduate school at Colorado State University. He is doing research at the beef unit there in Lamar until August. He is doing well and it was a great time having dinner with him the evening before his birthday!

The SE District Leadership conference was held there in Lamar the next morning. There were about 300 FFA members that attended. It was a blast presenting my workshop to them and giving my keynote address. It was even more fun hanging out with them during lunch and in the hallways!

Our trip continued in Stratton, CO. We stopped by and visited with Mr. Wedel (who has played professional football for Arizona!!! Crazy right?: ) and the chapter officer team. They have a student teacher there right now too! I got to meet Mr. Louthan. He is doing his student teaching there at Stratton. He was a WLC Facilitator last summer. I am certain he will make an excellent Ag Teacher one day!

The next morning we found ourselves in Yuma, CO. We had a full day of a keynote address and workshops. This was a great atmosphere. There were about 15 students a workshop and we got to really dive into the workshop points. There was great discussion and I loved meeting the members around the Yuma area. They are a lot of fun, and they were sure to give me a hard time. I loved it!

Mr. Womochil, Guy Kuntz, a Colorado state officer, and I stopped in Akron to do radio interviews with the BARN Network.

Our last nightly stop of the week was at Gillcrest Valley High School FFA Chapter. We hung out and had hamburgers, good conversation and swim time. Like the rest of my trip in Colorado, I had an excellent time. As I headed to the hotel that evening I was a little sad. It was my last night in Colorado, and I had begun to love it so much. The teachers were awesome to be around, and the students were fun and always a hoot of a time!

My last day in Colorado was equally as great as the rest. On the way to Denver airport we stopped at the St. Vrain FFA Chapter and I got to tour their awesome facilities there at the Career Development Center. We had breakfast together and I hit the road again.

My last event was at the Prairie View FFA Chapter. They were having a petting zoo for FFA Week. It was by far the biggest petting zoo I have ever seen! There were so many elementary students there learning about where their ice cream comes from and how it is made. They got to see farm equipment and lots of different species of livestock. The chapter did an excellent job putting together a well rounded agricultural experience for the elementary students.

My week in Colorado was memorable to say the least! I loved every minute of it and cherish all the memories I have with the Colorado FFA members. A lot of us have become Facebook and MySpace friends. So if we are not friends yet, we really should be! I want to say thank you to all of the chapters that hosted me and participated in the FFA Week activities. I created so many memories, and even more important I built friendships! Thank you!

-Laila

Hannah's Happenings - Hawaii State Convention

Aloha! Yep, that’s right…I was in Hawaii this past week helping FFA members celebrate their State FFA Convention. I flew in on Sunday, March 8th and met up with Gena, the O’ahu State Vice President and her father, Mr. Cuesta. We traveled to their house in Waianae and Gena and I wasted no time “cruising” the local beaches. We even found a small beach that had 3 sea turtles sunbathing on it! And I touched one! It was crazy. I definitely got the low-down on the names of the beaches too. If you want to learn about interesting heritage, ask a Hawaiian. The history of their culture and the state is fascinating! Between battling princesses and the old monarchy, there’s no shortage of cool stories.

I stayed with the Cuesta family for my first two nights, which worked out perfectly because they love watching March Madness basketball just as much as I do! They were so welcoming that I pretty much felt like another one of their kids. I owe them a HUGE thank you for putting up with me ;) Monday night I even got to go with Miss Denna, the Hawaii FFA Program Coordinator, to see North Shore, which is the notorious surfing hot-spot.

On Tuesday Gena and I made our way to Waikiki for the convention. This year was the first time that Hawaii held their convention in conjunction with all of the other CTSO’s (Career Technical Student Organizations). Other organizations at the convention included Skills USA (FCCLA), HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), along with FFA. I was excited to meet the rest of the state officer team and became instant friends with Tiana-Marie, Lea, Kourtney and Ani.

Although the Hawaii FFA is stepping up and standing out, they have also chosen to share a special message with their theme of Kia Kaha, or Forever Strong. All throughout the convention the state officers and members displayed their plans of staying Forever Strong through overcoming obstacles, believing in themselves and facing challenges. Members attending the convention also heard the inspirational messages of Beau Williamson (you may recognize the name…) and participated in tons of competitions and workshops. I was honored to judge the parliamentary procedure CDE and hang out with all the cool members during our 3 days together.

After all the convention excitement, Beau and I spent a few days with Miss Denna being “tourists” before we left. We visited Pearl Harbor, shopped at the Swap (a giant flea market for souvenirs), attended a luau at a local high school and celebrated Miss Denna’s birthday with her family. A big thanks goes out to her as well for toting us all over the island!

Now, my sights are set on partnership tours as Riley and I spend our week in Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois and even Ohio visiting the businesses and industries that contribute to the FFA and thanking them for making our programs possible.

God Bless,

Hannah

FFA Week and Michigan State Convention

Howdy Friends!

I hope everything is going well with each of you. I have had an amazing past few weeks. During National FFA Week, I found myself in the great state of Illinois. I started in the southern part of the state, and worked my way north during the week. It was great meeting and hanging out with the great FFA members of Illinois. My first visit was the Waterloo FFA Chapter where they were having an Alumni Pork Roast to kick off FFA week. I was very impressed with their Alumni and how they are supporting agricultural education. The week continued with visits to FFA chapters, colleges, and even the Maschoffs Pork Production Company.

I was joined during the week by Clayton, Austin, Andrew, Ben, and Annie, a great group of state officers! Mid-week we were fortunate to have a meeting with the Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn. Governor Quinn signed a proclamation for FFA Week for us.

While we were in Springfield, the state officers were nice enough to take me to see a couple of sights. We visited the old state capitol, the tomb of President Abraham Lincoln, and the Illinois FFA Center.

After our tour in Springfield, we headed north to tour more of the state.

The state officers also introduced me to the horseshoe. It is a glorious food item that is served in Illinois. It consists of two pieces of Texas toast, with whichever meat you choose on top, then french fries on that and it is all topped off with melted cheese! It was truly delicious! Thanks guys for introducing me to it, I can't wait to have another soon!

My final visit of the week was at the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences. I was very excited about this visit and I was not disappointed! The members at CHSAS are amazing, and are proud of what they are learning. I spent the morning at the school and the members were gracious enough to give me a tour of the facilities and show me many of their SAE projects. I got to hang out with many members including Mark and Mike! It was certainly a great end to a great week.

This previous week I attended my first state FFA convention in the Great Lakes State of Michigan. After landing in Lansing I was welcomed by Dustin, Andrea, Jillian, Ryan, Kaitlyn, Clint, Aaron, Chris, Julia, Elizabeth, Marie, and Maria a CRAZY group of state officers who love to work hard and play even harder!

The officers did an amazing job putting on their convention. While I was there I put on two workshops, and delivered a keynote to the general convention session. I also got to spend time hanging out with some awesome FFA members including Elizabeth and Ryan.

I also need to congratulate Michigan FFA for having a laser show at their convention for the first time! It was a really good laser show and the members were really pumped up and excited after it was over! I also need to wish the new state officer team good luck over the next year.

Until next time!

Riley

Texas Tour-Wednesday

Here we are in Austin Texas! The state’s capital! Which, btw, is 7 feet taller than the nation’s capital….random trivia for your life…….This morning we had the opportunity to visit the inside of the capital and see both the senate and the house floors. As we were leaving the building we walked into the elevator for a leisurely stroll down to the first floor when low and behold we run into the commissioner of education! Random right! Well, it gets better, as we walk out the doors to take a quick picture in front of the capital, a black suburban pulls up, stops and honks it’s horn at us. This man in the passagner seat begins to point his finger at us. He steps out and it is Gov. Rick Perry! He totally chilled with us for 5 minutes or so talking about FFA and Ag!

















After leaving, we headed to the SALE (San Antonio Livestock Exposition) where I ran into a former judge of mine from showing cows back in the day.


A quick stop at the La Muneca Cattle Ranch taught us the history of the Simbrah breed.
















We then headed to Edinburg for a trip to the STAR. We met with area FFA members and officers. We got to talk to them about their livestock and to see what they were showing. I even got to walk cristina’s steer! Basically it was Awesome.

There are so many pictures to go through, we can't pick them all, but here are a few. Hope you enjoyed a wonderful Wednesday in Texas!

~Regina

Texas Agriculture Tour-Monday

Hey Ya’ll (I’m in Texas… I can get away with saying that :)
Monday, Day two, Lone Star State… Fabulous. Today we woke up in Red Raider land, which as you may know means we woke up in Lubbock Texas, home of Texas Tech University where Laila and Riley go to school. The sun was shining in Lubbock which literally brightened my day and fulfilled our vitamin D requirements for a while. We left La Quinta (after having woken up “On the Bright Side”) and headed to the animal science department at Texas Tech. Being an animal science major just like Regina I was pretty excited to see what Texas Tech had to offer. Well… they have a LOT to offer, what an incredible facility and staff. We saw impressive classrooms (student to professor ratio in the animal science department, the largest in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources is 15:1), we also saw Cowamungus-a student ran store that sells Texas Tech Agriculture products, food science and nutrition labs, an indoor riding arena and a from start to finish meat processing facility. We made stops for photos at the giant concrete Texas Tech seal and a famous statue of Will Rogers and his horse Soapsud. Will Rogers was once a famous newspaper columnist and friend to Texas Tech, the statue and its story is now a symbol of school pride and tradition.

After our tour of Texas Tech it was time to hit the road again. “Hit the road” is a funny saying; if you over think about it as I have done you picture a bunch of people walking to the street and literally smacking the road with their hands. Maybe not? Ok… so really we just got back in what Paul and Riley call the “Man Van” because until Laila’s day of birth on Feb 19th only Riley and Paul were old enough to drive the van. Thankfully the “Man Van” safely transported us to CEV Multimedia’s headquarters also in Lubbock. CEV Multimedia creates multimedia courses and supplemental educational materials in Agricultural Science & Technology, Family & Consumer Sciences, Trade & Industry, Business & Marketing, Career Orientation and Biology. Perhaps some of you have seen their videos or courses in your own classes? Some of the most commonly known pieces are their livestock judging and parliamentary procedure lessons. CEV Multimedia’s founder Dr. Gordon Davis and his staff are excited and dedicated to bringing quality and engaging educational materials to students across the nation. It was a sincere joy to learn from the staff at CEV Multimedia. Each day they bring to life the knowledge we as agriculturalists and FFA members seek to gain.

After our visit to CEV Multimedia it was time to leave Lubbock and drive to Abilene Texas! Abilene is home to Ben Richey’s Boys Ranch. While at Ben Richey’s Boys Ranch we joined house parents and students who are residents of the Boy’s Ranch and community for dinner and greetings. Numerous FFA chapters from the surrounding Area Two also joined for activities later in the night. It’s Texas, so of course we had a big time! Thank you to the Boy’s Ranch and Area Two members for sharing in a fun evening.
We can’t wait to see what else the land of Texas has to offer!

-Nessie

Texas Ag Tour - Tuesday

Hello! Or as they say down here - howdy ya’ll! We are still on the road in Texas making the rounds on our Ag Awareness Tour. This morning we departed from Abilene and made our way southeast towards Waco. Along the way, we made a pit stop in Dublin, TX, which is the home of the original Dr. Pepper (made with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar) and we grabbed some glass bottles to enjoy on our road trip. For Regina, it was especially neat that we stopped there since her hometown is Dublin, Georgia! Same name, but not quite the same as home for our southern peach ;)

Once we arrived in Waco we visited the Texas Farm Bureau with Mr. Glasson, Mr. Pringle, Mr. Hall and many of the other staff members that work within the TFB. They were gracious enough to treat us to lunch and plenty of conversations about the current state of the agricultural industry and what effect it will have on Texas agriculture. We were also proud to find out that this state has over 422,000 farm bureau families and that the TFB is a loyal supporter of the Texas FFA Association and the Texas FFA Convention.

From there, we made our way further south to the capital city of Austin to visit with the Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples. Mr. Staples is a former Texas State Officer and a very big advocate of agriculture, agricultural education and the FFA, which is exactly who we need making legislative decisions in our industry! After our visit, we drove a few blocks to the Texas Agriculture Education and Ford Texas FFA Leadership Center for a tour and to meet the staff that makes the activities of the Texas FFA possible, before heading to dinner at the notorious Hills Café. There we had dinner with Mr. Jake Paine from La Quinta Hotels and Mr. Stan Ray from Farm Credit Bank of Texas who are sponsors of the FFA. It was so nice talking with them about their passions and what has made them so successful. We were very thankful to spend time with both of them, as well as Blaze (Leadership Development Coordinator) Matthew, Lora, James (Texas State Officers).

Tomorrow we will be going to the capital building and continuing our trip southward to San Antonio. I can’t wait to see the Alamo! Hope all of you are recovering from an A-MA-ZING FFA Week! :)

God Bless,

Hannah

Greenwich FFA Chapter

Mrs. Foote, ag teacher at Greenwich, was gracious enough to share some pics with me, so I thought i'd post some for ya! Thanks Mrs. Foote!!!!!!!


So among all the dairy people in New York I found Josh. Josh and his family raise Hereford cattle. If you are ever in New York, sit down and have a talk with him, he knows his cattle.











Here are some pics from our afternoon. Granville joined us at Greenwich for an afternoon of good times. Oh, and some pics in the snow.














Some of the lovely Greenwich officers just hanging out waiting to get things started.