Bridgewater-Emery Attends National FFA Convention
By Sydney Hoffman on November 1, 2017
I CAN, WE WILL: Bridgewater-Emery FFA members attend the 90th annual National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana Oct. 24-28. The national theme this year was “I Can, We Will.”
The National FFA Convention and Expo is held at Indianapolis, Indiana every year. The 90th convention was celebrated this year with over 64,000 FFA members in attendance from across the U.S. representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The 2017 convention and expo took place Oct. 25-28.
Bridgewater-Emery’s FFA chapter took a small group down for the experience including students Cassie Kerkhove, Kristin Kotas, Sydney Hoffman, Sarah Schultz and Taylor Clark. These students have been working hard to fundraise for this event by packaging meals for farmers during the harvest season. Students also sold bingo squares for the chance to win 50 dollars.
The B-E students left at 8 a.m. Oct. 24 and drove all day, driving through St. Louis to view the arch. They stayed outside of the city that night, but they woke up early the next morning to finish the trek toward Indianapolis. After arriving, checking into the hotel, changing into FFA official dress and eating lunch, the students attended the convention’s opening session Oct. 25. This session included a welcome to the city and government officials from the organization along with an appearance from the national chorus and band. This session also included a keynote speech from Laila Ali, a former American professional boxer and daughter of the famous Muhammad Ali. After session, the students changed once again to attend the Rascal Flatts concert in the Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thursday Oct. 26 began early in the morning with community service at the Maplelawn Farmstead where different FFA members together fixed fence, built picnic tables, raked leaves and chipped old paint off buildings.
“My favorite part of the experience was attending the days of service. This is something that I would like to bring home to our chapter,” junior Sarah Schultz said.
Next, the students were able to walk around the FFA store and many expo booths. The expo highlighted FFA state, college and company booths. Later, the group dined at a nice restaurant and finished the night early, leaving time to catch up on rest.
“I thought that this year was more fun than last year because we were given new opportunities. This year we participated in the days of service. Experiences like these allow us to strengthen our understanding of service and the ‘living to serve’ portion of our organization’s motto,” junior Kristin Kotas said.
Friday, Oct. 27 began with more expo booth exploring. Many booths provided entertainment as they were very interactive. Some included line dancing or scavenger hunts, but all of them included free items. Next, the group attended a Falling Waters
Farm career success tour right in Indianapolis, where students learned about that company’s system of plant growth and their aquatic science. Later, they attended the seventh general session, this one highlighting Leadership and Development Event awards, a retiring address speech from national officer DeShawn Blanding and the keynote/motivational speaker Jon Petz.
“National convention was a fantastic way for me to experience new things that I have never done before. I would have to say that one of my favorite parts of the convention was getting to go to the Rascal Flatts concert. I also really enjoyed the service project at the Maplelawn Farmstead and getting all the free items from the expo. If I get the chance, I would really like to go again next year,” junior Taylor Clark said.
The group headed home Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6 a.m. Eastern time and returned 7:30 p.m. Central time.
Bridgewater-Emery’s FFA chapter took a small group down for the experience including students Cassie Kerkhove, Kristin Kotas, Sydney Hoffman, Sarah Schultz and Taylor Clark. These students have been working hard to fundraise for this event by packaging meals for farmers during the harvest season. Students also sold bingo squares for the chance to win 50 dollars.
The B-E students left at 8 a.m. Oct. 24 and drove all day, driving through St. Louis to view the arch. They stayed outside of the city that night, but they woke up early the next morning to finish the trek toward Indianapolis. After arriving, checking into the hotel, changing into FFA official dress and eating lunch, the students attended the convention’s opening session Oct. 25. This session included a welcome to the city and government officials from the organization along with an appearance from the national chorus and band. This session also included a keynote speech from Laila Ali, a former American professional boxer and daughter of the famous Muhammad Ali. After session, the students changed once again to attend the Rascal Flatts concert in the Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thursday Oct. 26 began early in the morning with community service at the Maplelawn Farmstead where different FFA members together fixed fence, built picnic tables, raked leaves and chipped old paint off buildings.
“My favorite part of the experience was attending the days of service. This is something that I would like to bring home to our chapter,” junior Sarah Schultz said.
Next, the students were able to walk around the FFA store and many expo booths. The expo highlighted FFA state, college and company booths. Later, the group dined at a nice restaurant and finished the night early, leaving time to catch up on rest.
“I thought that this year was more fun than last year because we were given new opportunities. This year we participated in the days of service. Experiences like these allow us to strengthen our understanding of service and the ‘living to serve’ portion of our organization’s motto,” junior Kristin Kotas said.
Friday, Oct. 27 began with more expo booth exploring. Many booths provided entertainment as they were very interactive. Some included line dancing or scavenger hunts, but all of them included free items. Next, the group attended a Falling Waters
Farm career success tour right in Indianapolis, where students learned about that company’s system of plant growth and their aquatic science. Later, they attended the seventh general session, this one highlighting Leadership and Development Event awards, a retiring address speech from national officer DeShawn Blanding and the keynote/motivational speaker Jon Petz.
“National convention was a fantastic way for me to experience new things that I have never done before. I would have to say that one of my favorite parts of the convention was getting to go to the Rascal Flatts concert. I also really enjoyed the service project at the Maplelawn Farmstead and getting all the free items from the expo. If I get the chance, I would really like to go again next year,” junior Taylor Clark said.
The group headed home Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6 a.m. Eastern time and returned 7:30 p.m. Central time.
