Adventures in August

We were only a few thousand feet in the air on the final Cape Air flight of the evening from the Indianapolis International Airport to the Evansville Regional Airport last Friday. The lady beside me had been to Las Vegas with her sister and mother, both in-laws, and I could tell a week together was more than enough for them. As we shared a bag of barbeque potato chips—all six passengers, the pilot included, we identified towns and cities beneath the almost-clear night sky. I thought, “How does a small-town farm kid from Southern Indiana get to do this?”

National FFA Convention is just around the corner! We finished up initial preparation for our estimated 53,000-member event in Indianapolis this October 22-25, and our entire team jumped on a series of long flights to Los Angeles, California en lieu of our team retreat. Snorkeling off the coast of Catalina Island, football on Venice and Pismo Beach, a stroll in Hollywood, and fellowship with my five teammates describes most of our relaxing before our final stretch of office. We left for Kari’s house in Hermiston, Oregon as the final leg of our retreat. White water rafting rounded out our stay in Oregon.

Morgan and I departed on August 24 for Minneapolis, Minnesota to begin a six-day, six-state tour of FFA corporate supporters. In Minnesota, Georgia, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin we met at the world headquarters of Tyson, Wal-Mart, Wahl Clipper, John Deere, Ecolab, and several more. We also had dinner with a retried farming couple who has pledged almost a million dollars in corn! As soon as we finished our visit at Seneca—packer of Libby’s canned vegetables and other foods, I boarded a flight in Chicago and flew to Indianapolis to board another small flight for home.

Still munching on chips as we neared the Evansville landing strip, I thought about how any one of over a half a million students in FFA could be right here, right now, on a flight home to rest three days before his or her last weeks serving FFA… and to think the tens of thousands of companies, families, teachers and more who allow young people to do this. Wow.

I spent the few days at home with family and friends and even played a pick-up game of soccer with a few buddies and two of my brothers. All of the team met in Erlanger, Kentucky for a visit with Toyota, and we are now in the midst of National FFA Convention planning. This small-town farm-kid still cannot believe all the experienced has entailed, and I cannot wait to see what the end of October brings as we convene in Indy!