Chelsea's Travels: Experiencing Tennessee!

The team is in Indianapolis preparing for Experience Week. Each year the national FFA officers spend a week together in one state visiting chapters, meeting state and regional officers, and gaining experiences that will prepare them for the year ahead. This year, that state is Tennessee. We have our schedule and we are each excited about meeting members, interacting with chapters through workshops, and speaking to groups throughout the state.

I had the chance to visit with state officers, state staff, and FFA supporters within Tennessee on Christmas break at the annual Safley Dinner sponsored by First State Bank and John Rose, Tennessee FFA Foundation Chairman. They are excited to provide FFA members with yet another opportunity to experience the National FFA Organization and its officers. James Flatt, Neil Bringle, John Schultz, Andy Ligon, Sarah Orr, Jeremy Fair, Laura Campbell, and Chris Martin represent the Tennessee Association as State Officers. They will participate in various parts of our visit. We look forward to interacting with them.

(James Flatt, TN FFA President, & I at the Safley Dinner in Nashville, TN 12/21/09)

Tennessee is my home state, which makes this an extra special trip. Alex, Bethany, Chase, Levy, Randa, and I are each eager to see the beauty of Tennessee as we improve our workshop and speech skills. Some of the chapters we'll visit include: Munford, Covington, Halls, Ripley, Dyersburg, Dyer Co., Westview, Liberty, McEwen, Creekwood, DeKalb Co., Warren Co., Coffee Co., Eagleville (my home chapter), Siegel, and Wilson Central. We also visit the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Tech University (the school I attend), UT Martin, and Tennessee Farmers Cooperative. Needless to say, this week is packed full of exciting experiences

(Visit www.tnffa.org to learn more about FFA in Tennessee.)

Thanks to Tennessee Farm Bureau and Tennessee Farmers Cooperative for sponsoring the trip. Tennessee FFA and the national officers are in for quite an experience. Look for more blog posts following the trip.