The First, Original State

After weeks of training and preparation in December, our work had finally paid off!

Delaware is known as, "The First State," because it was the first to state in our country; not only was it the original state, it was the first state we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with FFA Chapters and members!

Before we traveled to Delaware, we stopped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to meet up with Justin, Sara, and Amanda (the DE State FFA Officers) and Mr. Cole (the DE State Executive Secretary) and to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall... as well as to eat an authentic Philly Cheese Steak! Then, we went to Dr. Hutchison's, the State FFA Advisor, house to enjoy a meal Tyler and Caroline Hutchison (Dr. Hutchison's children) and the rest of their family and friends.

Friday was our first FFA Chapter visit at Caesar Rodney. Other chapters we visited between January 4 and 10 were: Polytech, Lake Forest, Sussex Central, Milford, Woodbridge (where I met Isaac, an absolutely amazing carpenter), Cape Henlopen, Smyrna (home of the bull-rider and FFA member, Codie), Middletown, Newark, Networks, Glasgow and McKean. Wow! Each FFA Chapter had so many really neat and different aspects to offer its students, and it was amazing to see first hand.

While in Delaware, we also had the chance to visit Dover Downs NASCAR Track and Harness Racing, enjoy dinner with Governor Minner in her mansion, meet Secretary of Education Woodruff and Secretary of Agriculture Scuse, visit Delaware State, Delaware Tech, and University of Delaware, and even meet with officials at DuPont.

Because there were too many things to put into this blog, I'll sum up my experiences in Delaware with a quote from Dr. Randolph Guschi, Director for the Center for Collaborative Research and Education at DuPont. "Have you ever heard of an organization that has learning by doing as its philosophy? That is exactly what the FFA is all about."

Seeing FFA members and agricultural educators in action on the east coast has been an experience - one I'll never forget. They are learning by doing; from extremely diverse Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) to school farms, and from student motivation to proven community support, this association and these chapters no what it is to be a member of the greatest youth organization: FFA.