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