Lights Out Ceremony

Wow! What an experience! On Friday night some on my teammates and I witnessed history. The Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fair had its official lights off ceremony. I have had many great experiences in the coliseum growing up, and now the coliseum will be going through renovation. The renovation is the start of a new chapter for the Indiana State Fair. The coliseum will be under construction until 2014 when it will reopen. The ceremony would not have been possible without FFA members from around the United States participating. Each person at the ceremony was given a flashlight to be turned on once the lights were turned off. The end portrait of all of the flashlights lit was truly beautiful. The ceremony brought tears to my eyes and I was honored to participate in and witness the event.

From FFA: Following the Future of Agriculture

Creating your Environment

Tonight at the 85th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, we heard the retiring address of Western Region Vice-President, Seth Pratt. In his retiring address Seth stressed the importance of the environments we put ourselves in throughout our lives. Environments consist of what is in our surroundings, whether this be the people we are with, or the lifestyles we choose to live. As FFA members, we need to remembers this inspirational insight from Seth. We choose what environment to put ourselves in. If one does not like the environment they are in, then there is only one solution. You must build your own environment...by doing this one can better focus on their goal, reach their goal, and continue to be successful throughout their lives. The Indiana FFA State Officers will do just that, and we challenge you all to do the same! We hope to see you here in the final days of the National FFA Convention!

From FFA: Following the Future of Agriculture

       The past week has flown by, of course that is what happens when you are having fun! All the State Officers left Sunday evening for northern Indiana to continue Chapter visits and District Kickoffs.  Through random Walmart stops, many McDonalds runs, much needed naps, talking to Michelin Men on the side of tires, and singing loud to the radio, Shelby and I had an amazing week traveling the great state of Indiana. Our GPS was acting up on the last day of traveling, but that did not slow us down. Just a few wrong turns, and short circles later we would eventually reach our destination! I would like to thank District II, V, VIII, and XI for a great week! Briley and I got invited to attend the Pumpkin Show Parade in Versailles, IN this weekend. It was an absolute blast to walk in the parade and pass out candy with the Milan FFA Chapter. Jac-Cen-Del and South Ripley FFA Chapters also had an FFA float in the parade! The parade was an overall success and we thank Ripley County for being so welcoming to us both! This next week the officer team will be getting everything ready for S.O.A.R. so I hope everyone is excited!

From FFA: Following the Future of Agriculture

The week was a crazy one that is for sure. LDW was held on Friday to Sunday.  After camp ended we went out for pizza and then began packing for District Kick- Offs and Chapter Visits. It was finally time to hit the road with my travel partners for the week, Katherine and Briley. We were rocking down the road in Katherine’s spacious vehicle all the way to District I. Throughout the week you may have heard us singing as we drove through DI, DIV, DVII, DX. We voted and we definitely know that we will not be going on American Idol, anytime soon. All I know is that we had an awesome time and I loved every second of this last week. As I got to know the students and the FFA members, I loved to hear what they were truly interested in. It amazes me how truly blessed our state is. On our travels we conducted classroom presentations during the day and then headed to the Kick-Offs at night.  It was a wonderful week on the road. Even if I felt like I was living out of the car, it was still magical and worth every second of it. Happily sleeping in my own bed again,

Indiana FFA State Officers are getting ready to lasso up some leadership at LDW 2012!We have been busy planning sessions, shooting videos, and getting pumped up for over 100 FFA members around the state to come to the Leadership Center! We are looking forward to three days jamed pack full of team bonding and leadership building activities!

 

Work Hard Play Hard

      If I could describe this week at the state officer house in one word it would be productive! The officers started out the week well rested from our weekend home. We went straight to work on scheduling chapter visits, planning district kickoffs, and working on the first Leadership Development Workshop. The team is pumped to start traveling the state meeting members! :) Besides FFA business, the team has had a ton of fun after office hours this week! We've been the ultimate movie junkies, Facebook creepers, swimmers, interpretive dancers, and trampoline jumpers! Needless to say we have made some funny memories! We can't wait to see everyone next weekend at the Leadership Development Workshop, Premier Leadership Training, or chapter visits! Get pumped Indiana FFA members!!! :)

Practicing my dance moves on the mini trampoline at the state officer house...always a fun time! :)

A Truly Sensational Summer

     Don't blink, or you'll miss it. That's how this summer has felt. It's been two short months since we were elected as the 2012-2013 State Officer Team, but since then, so much has happened! Three days after being elected, we moved into the Leadership Center and it was time for our first team training, Blast Off. After that it was on to Illinois for the National Leadership Conference for State Officers, another team training. At NLCSO, we met state officers from Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois as well as gaining valuable skills that will come in handy throughout our year. From there, we jumped straight into our first camp - Summer Challenge! The theme was CSI: Trafalgar and members discovered the true power of community service. It was truly amazing to see what my team could do with just two days to plan a conference.

     Once Summer Challenge was over, the state officers had one thing on our minds, State Fair! All in all, we spent 32 days there between set up, the fair itself, and tear down. Many visitors told us that they think the pavilion looked the best it ever has. This tells me one thing...that Indiana FFA members are truly talented! After all, it was everyone who came to help set up the pavilion that made it look truly awesome. While it was exhausting, it was a good time of team bonding, meeting members, and telling the story of FFA and agriculture to the fair going public. With August coming to an end, school starting back up, and the temperatures getting cooler, I look forward to starting chapter visits and seeing all of you at district kick-offs.