At a Glance-Nov/Dec

Speeches and training and travel, oh my! Since election to National FFA Office on October 27, 2007, my teammates and I are becoming ever more equipped to serve the 500,823 FFA members and countless others involved in our organization. So, where does the corn-gold brick road of FFA training take national officers?

November 25 through 30 was spent in Indianapolis, Indiana with National FFA Staff. Each team in the organization spoke with us about their area of focus, from convention and awards to membership and merchandising. The highlights of the week included a surprise dinner with Dr. Larry Case, FFA CEO, National FFA Advisor, and icon to a half million students, and presenting Lt. Governor Becky Skillman with her Honorary American FFA Degree. Putting our training on pause, we headed out for our next week of adventures in California.

After landing in San Francisco, we headed to several popular tourist sights, ate some fresh seafood, and previewed our touring agenda. We visited many agricultural operations, businesses, and advocates, including: Harris Ranch Beef Company and Processing plant, World Wide Sires, Monrovia Nursery, and even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office. We met with CEOs, Directors, and general laborers to get a feel for the scope of American agriculture and its diversity. Bidding farewell to "The Golden State," we boarded the plane to return to Indy.

On Saturday, December 7, the day after our return, we began training in writing and facilitating workshops and writing and delivering keynote speeches. These workshops will be presented to groups ranging in size from 10 to 300; the speeches will be delivered at state conventions to groups of 300 to 15,000, and both will be presented throughout the year. After preparing our workshops and speeches, we traveled to Lebanon, Hamilton Southeastern and Eastern Hancock to see members and receive feedback. Also, during those two weeks, we went to a Pacers game where we received our own, personalized jerseys from the manager of Conseco Fieldhouse. On December 20, we had finally finished our training, and we each headed to our homes to celebrate the holidays with family and friends.