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.

With Love,

Shelby Sigman

Indiana FFA State Reporter

2013-2014

A Month Away From the Place We Call Home

As Indiana FFA State Officers there comes times when we are away from Trafalgar. August is one of those times. It is a time full of travel and time away from the Indiana FFA Leadership Center. It begins with Indiana State Fair setup, and it ends with the Farm Progress Show in Illinois. On August 1st, the state officers and executive committee put the final touches on the Indiana FFA Pavilion so that it was looking its best for opening day at the Indiana State Fair. On Saturday, August 3rd, we made our last commute between the house and state fair to move into the dorms at Discovery Hall for the duration of state fair and the clean-up days following it. The weather was beautiful for the opening weekend of the Indiana State Fair, and it attracted large crowds. The best part of it all is that the beautiful weather and the crowds were a trend for the Indiana State Fair this year! The Indiana FFA Country Market worked hard to keep their shelves stocked, the Caddyshack could barely keep putters inside of it, and the petting zoo was buzzing with people wanting quarters or carrots to feed the animals! Besides the usual events around the pavilion being a success, our special attractions were quite a hit too! Children enjoyed decorating popcorn bags and receiving free popcorn as well as planting flowers at the "Pick & Plant" station, and crowds of all ages loved our free concerts on the deck of the Indiana FFA Pavilion. As the fair wound down, the Indiana FFA State Officers stayed busy with some awesome experiences. Rebekah, Shelby, and I attended the dedication of the Youth Arena and the first Celebration Awards ceremony, and I introduced governor Mike Pence. Mrs. Pence also came to visit the Indiana FFA Pavilion, and the state officers gave the First Lady and her entourage a tour. The last few days of state fair also consisted of preparing for FFA Day at the Indiana State Fair and the plant sale on the last day. As the doors closed at the Indiana FFA Pavilion, the state officers, alongside Mr. Back and Mr. Martin, began furiously cleaning. The following day, Mr. Hickey walked in to find a team determined to get clean up done in one day, and with state staff by our side, we did. Once back in Trafalgar, the state officers geared up for the upcoming camps in September with facilitation training from Mr. Back. It seemed we were only in Trafalgar for a few short days before the state officers were off to Decatur, Illinois for the Farm Progress Show. We showed up at Mrs. Ariens house in the morning on Monday, August 26 to load up in a the recently famous yellow fifteen passenger van supplied to us by Bill Estes. Once in Illinois, the Indiana FFA State Officers and the Illinois FFA State Officers prepared to work hard at the Farm Progress Titan Tire FFA Benefit Auction. Both teams spent hours collecting donations from companies present at the Farm Progress Show. The opening day of the auction was certainly not a disappointment as a record was set, but the next day proved that heat is no feat for FFA supporters. The second day of the auction broke the record set the day before, and we finished with a total from both days that added up to over $85,000! As the team rode back from Decatur, there was a realization that during the month of August we had spent less than seven days at the state officer house! However, our time away from home was well worth it. The state fair was a complete success as well as the auction at the Farm Progress Show! The Indiana FFA State Officers are incredibly lucky that even when we are not at home we are surrounded by some of the best staff and supporters that could ever exist! Thank you to the advisors and students who helped setup and worked at the Indiana FFA Pavilion. Thank you to Mrs. Melody Warner for all of her hard work and guidance at the pavilion. Thank you to Mr. Martin, Mr. Hickey, Mr. Back, Mrs. Chaudion, and Mrs. Ariens for accompanying us on all our trips away from home. Thank you to Janna Oxford, Ross Newton, and Cody Long for being awesome interns to work with during state fair, and thank you to the many companies, like Titan Tire, who are committed to working with the FFA. It is because of all of you our month away from the place we call home was such a success! -Ethan

This week was our first chance opportunity as an officer team to interact with members at a camp and it was a blast!!! There were many great memories made during our recreational times and the night filled with numerous water games!  Throughout the week there was the Battle of the Barns  and it was a neck and neck fight to the finish with a tie for second, but the horse and pony barn finished in 1st place.  After experiencing our first camp together, we cannot wait until state fair and our future camps!   We can't wait to see and meet everyone this year!

Training, Training, Training

We are finally home from the National Leadership Conference for State Officers, and training with officers from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri was a great experience! Our team had such a fun time getting to know officers from other states as well as Clay Sapp, the National FFA President, who helped facilitate the event. We left on Monday, and after singing the whole 3 and a half hour car ride, we arrived at the Illinois FFA Center in Springfield. Once we arrived, we went to a social at the center with the other officer teams where we got a chance to get acquainted with each other. While the other officer teams were playing football and talking, leave it to Indiana to engage in a rescue mission. While Rebekah and I were showing up the boys at football (Ha!), we noticed a bird fluttering around in the grass. We decided to go check it out and found a baby bird who had not yet learned to fly. Thus, we did what any practical person would do: return it to the nest! With the help of a few officers from Missouri, we set out to find the nest. Once we found it, we had a new problem. The nest was located in a tree covered in long thorns which made it impossible to climb. Therefor, we called in our residential cheerleader, Miss Allie Abney to help us. With Ethan back spotting and Allie and I doing the heavy lifting, we hoisted Rebekah up to the nest. A few scratches later, the sounds of a baby bird chirping in its nest reached our ears, and we returned Rebekah to the ground.Thursday brought another fun night as we watched fireworks in Springfield for the 4th of July. Friday brought another 3 and a half hour car ride home after saying goodbye to all our new friends. I think I speak for the team when I say I can not wait to reunite with them at National Convention! Kayla 

From FFA: Following the Future of Agriculture

New Beginnings

Wow!!! Another awesome Indiana FFA State Convention is in the books... it’s been one short week since we were elected as the 2013-2014 State Officer Team and so much has happened! After being elected on Thursday, we spent the weekend at home packing and preparing to move into the State Officer House. As we traveled to the center from various locations in the state, we were reminded how blessed we are to have been elected to serve over 10,000 Indiana FFA members throughout the next year. The officer team is as follows:

President - Allie Abney, Franklin

Secretary - Kayla Hoenert, North Posey

Northern Region Vice-President - Rebekah Frey, Prairie Heights

Southern Region Vice-President - Ethan McNeely, Scottsburg

Treasurer - Cameron Frazier, Riverton Parke

Reporter - Shelby Sigman, Benton Central

Sentinel - Sarah Dirksen, Jay County

This week the team moved into the house and began our first team training, Blast Off. We have grown individually and tremendously as a team through this training. Next week we will be traveling to Illinois for National Leadership Conference for State Officers, NLCSO.

P.S. We plan to update the State Officer bios and pictures once we take pictures from NLCSO in our new official dress jackets!

Allie

From FFA: Following the Future of Agriculture

Driving down memory lane

This past week was definitely one for the memory books! After attending 3 banquets, 3 State Contests, and putting over another 1000 miles on my truck it is hard to grasp that my year as an Indiana FFA State Officer is coming to an end! It seems like just yesterday that our team went swimming for the first time in the lake under the moonlight and recited our "opening ceremonies" part. Though this year has flown by, I will never forget the memories made with my teammates, and FFA members across the state! Some of these great memories come from this past week. On Monday I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the Heritage FFA Chapter Banquet, a chapter near my hometown, and a chapter that I have grown close to over the past year! At their banquet I had the honor to deliver a keynote address to the members and guests about "Confidence". The next night my teammates and I went out for a fun-filled evening to relax and bond as a team. Our first stop of the evening was SkyZone, an indoor building full of trampolines where we jumped, laughed, and dodged each other....p.s. no one was injured....then we headed over  to Applebee's for dinner. On Wednesday and Friday I found myself behind the wheel of my pick-up truck traveling North to the North Judson San Pierre banquet, and Traveling East to the Randolph Central FFA chapter banquets. These were two outstanding banquets, that really showed how much their communities support FFA and the agriculture industry. After my banquet at Randolph Central I traveled back across the state to Purdue University where the Indiana FFA State Dairy, Poultry, and Livestock CDE's were held! All day Saturday you could find the state officers running cards, tabulating scores, and passing out awards! Although it was a very long day, I am still amazed by the time, hard work, and dedication the advisers, members, and coaches put into the contests! As you can tell we have been very busy this past week, and will continue to be in the weeks to come prior to our 84th Indiana FFA State Convention! "Although you may outgrow the jacket, you will never outgrow the experience!"

From FFA: Following the Future of Agriculture

Tis the Season for Banquets!

I have been having a complete blast driving around the state of Indiana attending FFA banquets! All of them have been outstanding. I love seeing FFA members rewarded for their hard work. From witnessing members receive their Greenhand Degrees, Chapter Degrees, and Hoosier Degree Chains to seeing FFA members receive special awards like Star Greenhand and Star Chapter Farmer, it never fails to be a special moment. I had the opportunity to go back to my home chapter's banquet where I was reminded that this is where it all starts for every FFA member; it starts at your home chapter. We learn and grow and become exemplary leaders through the help of our advisors, family, and fellow members. With the school year coming to a close, don't forget to thank your advisors for all that they do for you as an FFA member! The state officer team cannot wait to see you all at convention!   Pictured above are members from the McCutcheon FFA Chapter of District IV at their annual awards banquet! Great job McCutcheon!