FILL Conference

This weekend, I was in Annandale for the FILL Conference. This was only the second year of this conference's existence and is focused at chapter members who have already been to a leadership conference. Over ninety attendees made the weekend a huge success. Derek and Caitlin spent Friday night at Camp Friendship while Pete, Sydney, and I camped out for night two on Saturday. The conference was presented by Mark Jewell and Angela Fredericks but we, unfortunately, didn't get to see much of them. As they led the participants through exciting challenges like creating their own communities, we worked on different pieces of convention like our RA's with Ms. Lavyne Rada, the Hutchinson FFA advisor. On Saturday night, we kicked it up with a dance, open gym, ping pong, and even Twilight. Even though it was probably my last time doing the FFA dance as a state officer, it was sure a good time teaching it to a whole new group of people. After a short reflections program, we delivered cookies to the cabins and even had the pleasure of watching Austin Sheehan proudly represent the Marshall chapter by eating a dead box elder bug for $5. After a short night sleep in some really interesting beds, we had breakfast where I was serenaded by the lovely ladies of region 8 to commemorate my nineteenth birthday and headed back to the U.

Redwood Valley FFA Banquet

Over the last week, I went from a fiftieth anniversary to a groundbreaking very first banquet! Redwood Valley certainly put a lot of effort into their inaugural program. I loved their skit about the history of agricultural education and their corn and candle center pieces set the right atmosphere. Even the piano music during supper was first rate. The script was full of clever puns and they had some real claims to fame with a stack of accomplishments and even a national AgDay essay winner. The very strong Alumni chapter served root beer floats after the awards as a great way to wrap up the night. Everyone involved should be very proud of this fifty-five member strong chapter that will surely only continue to grow!

AgriBank

AgriBank may be one of the friendliest organizations we've had the opportunity of working with this year. They believe so much in the mission of FFA and welcome any chance to help out our organization. Caitlin, Justin, Cindy Young, and I spent a few hours with them today to share some of our experiences from China since AgriBank helped sponsor part of our trip. We had a great time discussing different parts of our journey and answering their interesting questions. I only wish we could have stayed a little longer!

Parkers Prairie 50th Anniversary

On Friday night, Derek, Caitlin, and I had an interesting time at the MPLS-STP Airport looking for one National Eastern Regional Vice President. When we did find Ms. Hannah Crossen, she couldn't find her luggage! Luckily it arrived shortly at her hotel shortly after we had supper.

Saturday afternoon, Hannah, Caitlin, and I loaded into a Department of Education van with Mr. Larsen and made the trek two and half hours northwest to Parkers Prairie to join in the celebration of their chapter's fiftieth anniversary. Over 230 people were in attendance and that's saying something since the town's population is only 991! Some special guests of honor included the very first chapter president, state degree recipient, American degree recipient, female member, a three generation family of members, and a whole bunch of alumni. The current members did a great job putting the program together and gave some of the best introductions I have ever heard at a chapter banquet. We had the privilege of listening to Hannah deliver the keynote address as well as an inspiring tale from a the state vice president from forty years ago! After the program, they took some very cool pictures of each decade of members who attended. A dance followed the banquet but we headed back to the cities since it was already a late night. Thanks for letting us share in your celebration and great job!

Roland Peterson Science Fair

On Wednesday, Derek and I helped Jackie Koch and Dr. Roland Peterson set up rooms for the science fair. On Thursday, Caitlin and I, along with other U of M students, rejoined Doc Pete to help out with the 70 participant strong contest. It was great to see the amount of junior high representation as well as how excited the purple ribbon winners were. I never knew about this event when I was in high school but it sure is a great way to highlight agriscience!

Minnesota Turkey Growers Annual Meeting

I was in fantastic company on Wednesday for the MTGA annual meeting. It was held at the RiverCentre and I had the chance to sit next to their director and MN FFA Alumni's past president Steve Olson. The Commissioner of Agriculture and the president of the National Turkey Federation both offered greetings. It was a great way to spend time with a great industry!

Board Meeting and Proficiency Review Day

Thursday meant the spring board meeting where we covered an impressive amount of information, almost all of it having to do with convention. The night before, Derek and I thought everyone might like a treat so we made two layer cakes and decorated them ourselves.

Friday was the proficiency review day and nominating committee training. We worked on convention planning in a room between these two events. Proficiency review meant a few nervous jitters for a couple of us. The nom com training allowed us to chat with this year's nom com. They were so fired up about their very important role that I can't wait to see who they select!... well, maybe I can wait 38 days... it isn't too far away!

Morris Chapter Visit

Justin and I headed north on Monday to visit the junior high class taught be Ms. Mortenson at Morris. The whole class was incredibly willing to try anything as they made blind-folded peanut butter sandwiches, stretched to their limits, and even made some human tables. Their excitement was a great way to start off spring break.

AFSA Overnight Leadership Conference

After spending the morning at Alliance Pipeline and the afternoon working on state convention planning, Derek, Caitlin, and I headed to the Academy for Science and Agriculture in Vadnais Heights to attend their OLC Lock-in. This is a very cool idea that Ms. Pint brought all the way from her experience in Pennsylvania. The conference had a super hero theme and started out with a table decorating contest between groups. My group, the Incredible Hulks, were clearly the most creative as we had live entertainment and matching blue headbands. Then the three of us got to present a workshop that included play doh and then had a pizza supper before heading out for the night. We were sorry to miss the rest of the conference but decided to get a jump on sleep before heading into a hectic spring break.

Alliance Pipeline

On Friday, we had the chance to spend the morning with Alliance Pipeline at their North American headquarters in Eden Prairie. They are a large gas pipeline that runs from Canada to Chicago and comes within just a few miles of my house. They are also a fantastic sponsor of FFA and provide camp scholarships for many members ever year. Our meeting was incredibly interesting as they gave us a tour of their offices which includes a "war room" in case of emergency. Their community centered business approach was also very impressive. Thank you!

State Alumni Convention

Caitlin, Sydney, Justin, and I had the chance to attend the state alumni association meeting at South Central College in Mankato last weekend. The day started with a keynote by Mr. Rod Hebrink, a former FFA member and state officer from my neck of the woods in Renville. Then attendees had a choice of a few workshops, including Caitlin and mine about growing community support and member involvement. Then we moved into region groups to discuss the current issues and moved into the business meeting. The day concluded with a banquet and awards for outstanding alumni member and outstanding coach. We definitely appreciate all that the alumni do!