The Adventures of Alex: Arizona SLC!

If the Arizona State Leadership Conference (SLC) was a movie, it would be a mix of “Live Free or Die Hard,” “Dodgeball” and “Remember the Titans.” Ok, so there weren’t any terrorists trying to take over the world, machine guns, wrenches or Denzel Washington. But Arizona did capture a little part of each of these awesome flicks.

My three days in Arizona proved to be just as action-packed as Brice Willis’s adventures. From awesome pre-sessions to even cooler dances after the last gavel of the night tapped, Arizona’s SLC kept everyone in attendance entertained and motivated. The State Officers – Jared, Heather, Connor, Mariah, Ben, Josh, Cheyenne, Tricia, Kalea, Brandon, and Justin – inspired members with their heartfelt session themes. CDE winners were awarded, State Degrees were bestowed, Stars were named and new State Officers – Kelli, Kayla, Molly, Mariah, Wolfgang, Wyatt, Courtney, Seth, Allison, and Ross – were installed! One of my favorite parts was when Greenhand FFA members delivered their winning jacket essays to the convention assembly and were rewarded with a brand new FFA jacket.

There was a little bit of dodging, ducking, diving, dipping, ….. and dodging (a “Dodgeball” quote) at SLC during the first ever State FFA Dodgeball Tournament (which got a little fierce). For those of us interested in math, add this up: two dances, two dinners, three lunches, two breakfasts, numerous chants (advisor: “CAMP,” members: “OOO-o-o-o-o-o-o), one pre-session song, three days. It was a blast to say the least.

And finally, the Arizona FFA captured the drive, grace and friendship personified in “Remember the Titians.” In one of the first few sessions of SLC, Byron Ollerton was announced as the State Star Greenhand. Immediately after the announcement, state staff realized that there had been a mistake. Another member from the Casa Grande FFA Chapter, Preston Sipes, actually received the honor. After talking to both students, their parents and advisor, it was determined that there would be a correction ceremony later during SLC. During that ceremony, Preston addressed the convention assembly stating, “We will continue to be everlasting friends.” Preston accepted his plaque as the real State Star Greenhand, but then took off his medal and gave it to his friend and competitor Byron. Both boys showed everyone at SLC the heart of FFA and the essence of “Remember the Titians.”

My three days in one of the hottest states I’ve ever been to were AWESOME and I met tons of FFA members from some great chapters.

Take a look at some of my pictures from SLC! A big thanks goes out to the Antelope, Red Mountain, Buckeye, Wilcox, Basha, Camp Verde, Dobson and Gilbert FFA Chapters for hanging out with me!