Chelsea's Travels: Where did summer go?

Bethany's Blessings-New School Year

i have always been delighted at a prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start with perhaps a big of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. ~Joseph Priestly

(chase the cross,

love Jesus,

serve Him above all else)

A week ago our team got back from retreat which kicked off National Convention Prep. Yeah, no kidding! We can't believe it ourselves...convention is in t-minus 56 days! Over the last 10 months we have had too many laughs, inside jokes, and memories created with you---how we love reliving some of these stories! But we realize that as we're preparing for the BIG celebration of the year most of you are starting a new year of school with a new class schedule, new chapter officers, and maybe even a new advisor.

A good friend passed this on to me-i think it sums up some of the new freedom that we find each new school year. Most importantly, it holds the reminder to be 100% ourselves.

(Love yourself as He does)

Fresh Start

Here marks a fresh start

a new freedom for my heart

My chance at being me,

doing what I want, totally free.

And it won't be a big deal.

It's nothing like I thought,

I survived the battles I fought.

My thoughts are all gone,

like the night at down.

My soul is free of sorrow,

I'll do what I want tomorrow.

I can't be held or bound.

I will spread my wings and leave this ground.

Distraction has no control.

My life will no longer be dull.

I will have the power.

I'll pass the highest tower.

Don't try to stop me now,

'Cause you won't know how.

For I will be totally free.

And I'll be one hundred percent me!

by xOx

The Adventures of Alex: Toyota Visit to the Catholic Childrens Home

It’s time for another leadership blog… YIPPEE! Hooray! OOOOHHHH Yeah!! Boom, boom, firepower!

But, this leadership lesson isn’t from me. It’s not about influence, character or SMART goals. This lesson isn’t an easy one. It’s from 12 Kentucky students who are at least two years younger than our freshman members. These students live at the Catholic Children’s Home near Toyota’s Erlanger offices and have had to deal with situations most of us can’t even imagine.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.

Levy, Chase, Chelsea and I had the privilege of spending a day with these students per request of one of our dedicated sponsors, Toyota. When we met the students, they seemed pretty average. They had just dried off from the pool and almost all of them had multiple silly bands.

We jumped into some pretty regular workshops, completed some fun activities and attempted to teach some leadership lessons. But, they ended up teaching us more than we ever could have taught them.

One moment of the day that has really stuck with me was when Chase asked the students how their lives will change when they get a job. Expecting the typical, “Having money,” “Buying a house,” “Starting a savings account” answers, I didn’t think much of it.

I was blown away by what the students replied.
“Taxes.” “MORTGAGE.” “Getting fired.” “Quitting.”

One of the students even said, “Well you can keep your family and friends if you have a job.”

Timeout: What happened to the days when a kid’s biggest concern was whether Scooby-Doo came on before their bedtime? How could boys and girls be exposed to these big, scary adult words when some of them haven’t even learned to read a chapter book? Isn’t everyone’s childhood a lot like mine?!

It’s called “The Transitive Property of ME (TPOM)” – well, that’s what I just titled it. So many times, we assume that the privileges we were afforded, the family we have, the opportunities we’ve been given, the world that we know is the same as everyone else’s. I’ve had the realization that this ISN’T true on multiple occasions, but I always seem to slip into TPOM.

The day at the Children’s Home helped me snap back to reality once again.
It was evident from the job comments and our conversations the rest of the day that these students didn’t have the same home life that I did. In fact, these students were robbed of part of their childhood and have had to put up a wall to protect themselves from a harsh world they were thrown into WAY too early.

So many kids, like the ones we met at the Children’s Home, have to worry about things we can only dream of. Parents who do drugs. Families ripped apart. No role models to look up to.

Think about how blessed we are! We might not have a perfect life and we may have encountered difficult situations. But, our lives aren’t harder than anyone else’s.
Stop assuming that we are all the same. The TPOM doesn’t apply to our world whether you’ve had a past that looks a lot like the Brady Bunch or a childhood that mimics the beginning of “The Blind Side.” We are not all the same nor are our backgrounds. So stop treating everyone like they are on a level playing field.

We can make a change. We have the power and the opportunity to change those children from the home and other’s future. Be a Big Brother or Big Sister. Start a PALS program in the elementary school. Live a life others would be proud to model.

But until we quit generalizing people’s backgrounds and lumping others into pretty categories, we can’t genuinely care about people and respond with action according to their needs and wants.

Stop presuming that just because you don’t have a problem, that there isn’t a problem. Poverty can be found outside of Africa. Crime surpasses the city limits. Pain is in our backyard. TPOM isn’t realistic because no two lives are exactly the same.
Take responsibility. Seek to understand before telling or giving others what they “need.” Ignorance is not bliss; it’s a lack of ownership.

WE can make childhood sacred again. WE can stand against the ugly forces those kids at the Children’s Home had to experience and live with. WE can do better by taking out the ME.

Randa's Journey- Texas FFA Convention!!

Hello Friends!!

What a whirl wind this summer has been! After finishing up some rocking NLCSO’s with Bethany, we parted ways as I headed down to Texas and on to my home convention! Texas FFA rocked out in Corpus Christi, Texas with 12,000 members in attendance! There are simply not enough words to express how impressed I was as I watched state officers: Kaleb McLaurin, Miles Vann, Katie Heinrich, Allison Grainger, Kody Kale, Jeremiah Miller, Aron Hutchins, Layton Norwood, Tyler Bradfield and Dakotah Williams give retiring addresses that will forever have a lasting impact on my life. The week kicked off by recognizing all of our Lone Star degrees, watching a meaningful Vespers and having an awesome time with members at the Kyle Park Concert. As the week progressed we watched award winners receive scholarships, proficiency awards and even watched remarkable FFA talent. To cap off our week of convention the annual Fun Night was held with the theme of “Vegas” and we finally installed the 2010-2011 Texas FFA officer team. The overall theme of the convention was “It Starts with One” and I watched over and over again this start officer team sparked that one passion in lives of thousands. Texas FFA will always have a special place in my heart and I am just blessed to see so many familiar faces and feel right back at home. To overview my week I have the top 5 things you can learn at the Texas Convention :

1) No matter what kind of music is playing there will definitely be two stepping.
2) You can count on ALL the areas to yell loud and proud.
3) The state officer RA’s and Vespers will impact your life.
4) Fun night will always be a time to remember with awesome skits and videos.
5) That Texas heart for this organization truly starts with the members their ONE desire for success.

A special thank you to the Convention Chronicle, the Foundation Ambassadors, state staff and the 2010-2011 Texas FFA officer team for making this an experience of a lifetime. I’m extremely blessed to call Texas home :)


Only in Texas would the Official Kick-off dinner involve a skeet shoot!



Miles and Jeremiah during Vespers

Awesome members dancing in the hallway during the concert :)

My little brother, Trevor, showed up to convention! So nice to have family around.

Shannon from New Mexico and Kyle Park

Kody and Dakotah all dressed up during the fun night of convention.

Our extremely talented chorus

Some of the incoming state officers about to give their election speeches. They were incredible!

So proud of this team that just retired, all amazing individuals.

The new team tapping the gavel to end convention.

Bethany's Blessings- State Presidents Conference

'ONE ELEMENT'

State Presidents Conference


Representatives from 49 states and Puerto Rico came to our Nation's Capitol July 27th thru 30th. We spent the week advocating on Capitol Hill, kicking off the Delegate Process, and making friends across the nation.
(love)

Coolest Things we Got to Do

*Cheering at the D.C. Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves Baseball Game
*Ride a tram through Arlington National Cemetery
*Tour the monuments at night
*Meet some of our sponsors from ADM and Dow Agrisciences
*Metro Surf
*Listen to Sen. Sam Brownback speak....Yahoo Kansas!
(love)

Delegate Issues Selected

*Vet Med CDE
*Using American Supplies for FFA Supply Service
*American Degree Components-Research
*SAE Standards in National FFA Awards
*Increase Student Voice on National Level
*At-Large National Officer Selection
(love)


For a little 101 on the Delegate Process: it's the primary way the student voice is heard in the National FFA Organization. State associations submit issues for consideration. Committees are created that gather at national convention and the 475 delegates, allotted by state membership numbers, vote on recommendations and proposed amendments to the constitution & bylaws. This process starts at SPC with issue proposal/selection and concludes at National Convention. For more information about your role, contact state staff.
(love)

Best Parts of SPC
*Our families got to join our officer team for the week.
*We got to spend time with some of the greatest FFA members ever!
*Reminded that we're all apart of the One Element (theme for the week) of the FFA!