Monday, November 7, 2022

Highlights of National Convention!

The National Convention was an absolute blast this year! I reflected about last year’s convention and remembering how bittersweet it was to think that it would be my last convention in my jacket. But just like that, I was able to represent Indiana with “Association” on the back of my jacket. Seeing all of our amazing members in the sea of blue was unforgettable! Now I present to you, some highlights of my week!


  1. Losing my voice after cheering for every Indiana member up on stage.

While this one may sound a little goofy, it really made me realize how exciting it was to celebrate our members’ hard work! Congratulations to everyone who competed and represented Indiana throughout the week! (I’m still recovering as I’m writing this, so luckily, I get to type it, haha!)


  1. Sitting (and mostly dancing) on the Delegate Floor!

Being on the floor of Lucas Oil is absolutely insane! The energy of sitting in the second row, seeing the pure joy on some lucky members’ faces, and of course the pre-session dance moves. Whether it was boogieing down with the Kentucky State Officers, or maybe even Uriel from Oregon, those were some memorable moments that I will never forget. 


  1. Being a delegate!

Our entire State Officer Team had the opportunity to represent Indiana as delegates. Seeing first-hand what our organization needs, meeting and reconnecting with new people from all over the nation and learning more about parliamentary procedure was purely awesome! My chapter didn’t compete in Parli, so it was interesting to learn more about making motions and the process as a whole. 


  1. Competing in National Floriculture!

Our team consisted of 4 people, 1 at Purdue, 1 in Trafalgar as a State Officer, 1 back at home, and 1 at Iowa State. Although we couldn’t have any practices together, we still managed to place as a bronze ranking team, 3 silver individuals, and 1 bronze individual! For us who thought we did awful at the state competition, that was something to be proud of. No one from my school has ever gotten to compete on the national level in recent years, so that was an amazing accomplishment. 


  1. All of the embarrassing moments!!!

I started with a goofy one, and I’m ending with a goofy one. We had a lot of embarrassing moments throughout the week. Here are a couple of the most memorable ones:

  • Jenna dropped her phone in the Steak N’ Shake and wasn’t able to use it for the entire week. To provide some more detail, half of her screen is just black with one red and one green line on it. 

  • Jaden tripping over chairs. A total of 3 times. 

  • Jenna tripping going down the steps of the bleachers, she may or may not have lost a toenail. 

  • Anthony also tripped over chairs and completely fell on some of the Kentucky State Officers. 

  • And finally, I lost my shoe while fishin’ in the dark was on. Sorry, James from Pennsylvania, haha!


    Overall, I learned that celebrating special moments, dancing my heart out, being a delegate, competing, and the embarrassing moment are all equally important. While some are easier than others, they created a lot of unforgettable memories. My challenge to you is to look at some of these qualities in your life. Find out what unforgettable memories that you can make, no matter the situation. 


                                                                                    Living for these moments, 

                                                                                            Gracie Lee

                                                                                                    Indiana FFA State Reporter


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