Over the course of the last few months, life for my teammates and me has been bustling. From early morning chapter visits to late
nights working on LDW and Soar curriculum, we haven’t had a second to sit down
and take a deep breath.
Just a
little over a week after the Farm Progress Show, it was that time. Leadership
Development Workshop #1! We all had a blast being superheros and empowering
teams to take what they learned at camp home.
We focused on learning about service and getting involved in our
communities. Whether I was presenting or eating lunch with members, I had an
awesome time talking and laughing with members.
The weekend
after LDW it was camp time again, and we were at Premier Leadership Training
with all of the district officers, section directors, and band and chorus
officers. Jacob Mattox, Indiana’s
National Officer candidate, was our facilitator for this conference. He did a
great job teaching us about our leadership positions and giving us the
opportunity to grow as a team. I quickly
realized how blessed we are to have such great leadership in this organization.
The very
next day after PLT, it was time for our next mission. We started chapter visits
and district kickoffs in District XII and moved on up the east side of the
state for the first week. I spent my
time with Ethan that first week, and I experienced Southern Indiana for the
first time. I guess I neglected to
understand the concept of a hill until Ethan was driving like a racecar driver over
them. You see, where I’m from hills
don’t exist so this was quite the experience for me. We traveled through the
beautiful downtown Madison, and we saw the tree in the gutter of the Greensburg
courthouse. For week two, I was with
Kayla and the week went very similar to the first. We started in the south
central District XI and finished in the north central District II. We saw sights like Lake Monroe and ate at
cute little hometown places like Netter’s Restaurant in Bremen. Then finally we
started week three in District X. Sarah, Cameron and I took the final leg
together. We began the week down by the
river and finished up in the good ole wind turbine country of District IV and District I.
Not only did we see the most beautiful Indiana
sights, but we also met some of the most amazing people. We watched chapter members grow closer through
chapter visits and saw them come out of their shells in awkward situations at
district kickoffs. We were very grateful for the families that welcomed us into
their homes over those three weeks.
One short week after chapter visits, it was time for SOAR. We were all so excited to become astronauts, scientist, interns, air traffic controllers, and even an alien as we SOARed Out of this World! The 354 campers and counselors were pushed out of their comfort zones to make new friends and become awesome leaders. We all participated in activities like the low ropes course and creating a skit to put on for the whole conference. I think it's safe to say that every member at the conference took something home with them, whether it was a new friendship or an impactive story.
Then it was time to hit the road again and head south. We were Louisville, Kentucky bound! National Convention started on Monday, October 28th for the eight Indiana FFA delegates. The delegates included the seven state officers and Dakota Westphal, the District I President. On Monday we worked alongside other delegates for the Delegate Day of Service. We spent our time building boxes, sorting clothes, and setting up tables. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent building committee reports to help The National FFA Organization continue to excel. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent in session after session. Every second of convention was hectic and amazing. Whether we were at the Dierks Bentley concert or watching retiring addresses, you could always find the state officers smiling.
From getting up early to go to delegate sessions to falling down curbs heading in to a school for a
chapter visit, every second of the last few months has been a blessing. Thank you for being involved in all of those
little seconds and smiling and laughing and making my days a little brighter.
Shelby Sigman
Indiana FFA State Reporter
2013-2014
No comments:
Post a Comment