Take Convention When You Go

November 8, 2007

Reminisce. You are back in Conseco Fieldhouse moments before an intense, electrifying session at the National FFA Convention. You can feel your fellow FFA member's corduroy sleeves rub against yours as you stand and cheer the arrival of the National FFA Officer Team, opening ceremonies, FFA members who will be awarded, and some phenomenal speakers. The music is powerful, forcing you to move to the beat, and the lights are zooming by. Although you and your friends are yelling and singing along, you can't hear them, let alone hear yourself. It's overwhelming; it's uplifting; it's national FFA convention! But don't stop there. Then, the moment you've been waiting for; the music softens a little, and a voice comes over the speakers while the screen lights up. Countdown to Showtime: 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!

Now, it's been a few weeks since the 80th National FFA Convention, but that doesn't mean we have forgotten the feeling and excitement of the largest gathering of the National FFA Organization. As I think back to experiences at national FFA conventions, both the most recent convention and those before, I can recall certain feelings I take with me when I leave the convention hall to return home... but what happens to that excitement, passion, and drive once I'm back at school the following week? When emotions are that distinct, how do they disappear so quickly?

If you could describe the feeling you get at convention, which words would you choose? Would you consider words like "fun," "energy," "loud," "speakers," "motivating," "impacting," or maybe even "tiring"? Those are good words, but I think I would choose the words, "Living in fullness".

Whenever I'm with other FFA members at conferences or schools, and especially at the national FFA convention, I feel like I can truly be me, Tyler Tenbarge: a fun-loving, outgoing, energetic, "the glass is half-full" type of FFA member. Don't get me wrong; I am like that everywhere, but at convention it's amplified. I walk up to other FFA members in their blue jackets just to say, "Hey," or maybe to find out where we have met before. There is a "bond" when we can all gather that is strong, deep, and extremely powerful. After our experiences together are finished and we head for home, where does that powerful bond go?

Author Marianne Williamson writes, "In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it." As FFA members we realize the challenges, both large and small, facing our communities, state, nation, and even our world. We work hard in our own towns and areas, but when we can all gather under our one purpose, our one mission, we become exponentially more empowered; it is through this empowering that we derive the same influence that has been implemented by our organization throughout the years.

Making a positive difference is the National FFA Organization's mission. As FFA members, we strive to make sure that positive difference begins with us and gathering together gives us strength. Although we may feel more powerful while at an FFA event, our real, lasting impact will happen over time in our own communities, "From Alaska to Puerto Rico and from Maine to Hawaii." It is through the empowerment we experience at national convention that we can make a brighter future for our home communities.

Let's not let that spark, that powerful bond that is magnified at national FFA convention begin to weaken. Our communities, our schools, and our fellow FFA members need us to show them our passion for the FFA. We have the power and ability to use our own spark to light the way for others. The next time you leave an FFA conference, event, or even convention; don't leave your passion and bond with other FFA members behind. Carry your passion for the FFA with you every single day, and show it everywhere you go!

Your fellow FFA member,

Tyler