ROPE - SW & WC

After about four hours of sleep, Cory, Jamie, and myself packed up for our first ROPE Conference. We went to Providence Grove High School to conduct the Regional Officer Training class for the SW and WC Regional Officer Teams. It was an early morning but all of the Regional Officers were excited and ready to start their journey as representatives of North Carolina FFA. Goals were set, visions made, and mission statements were documented. The Southwest and West Central Officers were ready to take on their RLCs. It was also really neat to meet the miniature horses and rabbits that live in the beautiful barn at Providence Grove.

State Leadership Conference Week 2

The summer adventures really concluded with a bang during SLC Week 2! I wish I could name the many new friends I have now because of the great relationships I formed at camp. Writing this blog is actually bittersweet because I miss everyone so much. However, I am forever blessed because of how my life as a leader was impacted because of the friendships formed at White Lake.

The week started out with the usual chapter pictures, orientation, dinner and flag lowering. Everyone during the first day is usually getting adjusted to camp. Tuesday started off the week of fun workshops and activities. The chapter officers that attended camp worked on their skills as leaders and FFA members while forming their chapter's POA for the upcoming year.

Wednesday night live was a highlight when cheerleader Daniel and myself pulled off another cheer routine for the Spartan Chess Team. Also, thank you to all of the FFA members who have decided to embarrass us by posting our dancing and cheering videos over the web (lol).

I cannot express enough how much I love the ARTIC! The chapter officers from Triple S High School and Person High School are amazing! I wish them the best of luck throughout their school year.

It was also great to have Paul Moya, 2008-2009 National FFA President, join NC FFA at SLC Week 2. His words for Thursday night reflections were very powerful and it was great to be able to share a little bit of NC with him.

Dancing, SLC Banquet, Workshops, WNL, food and friends made State Leadership Conference Week 2 an amazing experience.

Career and Technical Education Summer Conference 2010

During the week of July 18th, I had the great opportunity to attend the 2010 CTE Summer Conference. The conference is for all CTE teachers in North Carolina. It gives teachers the opportunity to be the 'students' for the week as they go through various workshops to sharpen their skills. It really was a privilege to attend because I got to meet some great agriculture teachers who are also wonderful FFA advisors. My duties during the week began when Cory Wade and myself assisted with registration. During registration, we got to meet several different state officers of other clubs such as Skills USA, TSA, FCCLA, FBLA, HOSA, and DECA. Attending the various discussions was also a great opportunity I was able to take part in. Also, attending all of the NC ATA events really strengthened my passion for becoming an agriculture teacher in North Carolina. The dedication that agriculture teachers and FFA advisors put forth each year is amazing. The week was a great way for the FFA State Officers to network with the agriculture teachers and learn about CTE in North Carolina.

NLCSO

"We WORK HARD in Here to CELEBRATE THEM Out There!"

That would definitely have to have been the motto for our week at NLCSO! During our week in Daytona, Florida, we learned and worked with our skills to better ourselves as leaders and FFA State Officers. The knowlege and experience that we gained will be put to great use throughout our year of service and throughout our lives.

However, the week was also full of more than just great leadership workshops. It a great bonding experience that started off as soon as we all loaded into the vehicle, headed to Savanna, Georgia. The six of us officers and Mr. Davis just had to stop by and visit Paula Dean at her restaurant, 'Lady and Sons'. We did not see Paula but we all sure filled up our stomachs with her country favorites. Then it was off to our final destination...FLORIDA!

The NC FFA State Officer team went through various workshops throughout the week in order to form us all into a 'High Impact Team'. Bethany Bohnenblust and Randa Braune were the two National FFA Officers that presents the curriculum. I believe I learned more about leadership and workshop presenting from watching the two of them present than I ever had before. The dynamic duo made our week at NLCSO unforgettable. One of the other best parts about NLCSO was that we had the opportunity to form friendships with the State FFA Officers from South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. I know I cannot wait to see them all again at National Convention in October.

After a long and great week of training, we all went out for some team bonding time. Well if you consider racing each other on go-carts, or chasing each other through intense games of lazer tag bonding. The six of us and Mr. Davis had a great time at the Daytona Lagoon Park. However, beware of Jamie B. and myself when we are paired up in a go-cart. It can definitely get dangerous! We all rested up and took advantage of our five hours of sleep before we all got up before the crack of dawn to load up on a charter bus. That charter bus was taking everyone from NLCSO to the one and only WALT DISNEY WORLD! Oh yes, I am serious. We were all taken to Disney to go and spend a 13 hour day at Epcot. We started off the morning at Epcot with a leadership program that Disney offers. Walking around the park before it had opened was really neat, especially when just the FFA crowd got to ride 'Soarin' before it had opened for the day. The week at NLCSO ended with a bang while watching the firework display at Epcot.
NLCSO was a great and most unforgettable experience.

SLC Week 1

I woke up Monday morning on June 28, 2010 with one thing on my mind. That was that I would be a small group leader at State Leadership Conference for the first time. I will never forget the impact that the small groups I had been in made on my life as an FFA member. I couldn't wait to meet with the soon to be "Arctic" group! SLC consisted of many long, late nights, McDonald's trips, crazy skits, and a week of forming friendships. White Lake has always been my home away from home and it was the best experience to be a member of camp staff for the first time. I enjoyed my wonderful small group so much and of course all of the FFA members at camp. SLC Week 1 was a great start to my summer as a NC FFA State Officer!

"THE ARCTIC - Small Group Week 1"

BLAST OFF (Building Leaders And Strong Teams of Officers)

Blast Off Training was the first leadership training activity that the 2010-2011 NC State Officer Team participated in. The National FFA sent Ms. Josie Melvin to facilitate our three day training workshops. Josie and the Blast Off curriculum had a lot of new and exciting ideas, tips, and tools to offer to myself and the rest of the officer team. I had the opportunity to sit with Josie when we went as a group to San Jose Restaurant in Elizabethtown. I was able to hear her viewpoint and opinions on different issues along with learning about opportunities she was able to experience throughout her young adult life. Blast Off was more that just reading and discussing issues; it was about bonding as a team and beginning to learn the strengths of the team. This training workshop was a great way to ‘BLAST OFF’ a new and wonderful year of service.

The Run Down...

The few days after elected were some of the most fun and truly eventful but I will try to describe it in the condensed version. After elected and after the Raleigh Convention Center was clean and cleared, I attempted to drive to the office. (Note I said attempted, because of course I got lost since my gps has a mind of its own) After finally making it to the office to meet up with the other officers and state staff, we all sat down to enjoy our many McDonald's Happy Meals! Soon after we packed up and went to go take team pictures where we all almost melted because of the extreme heat. Even though it was so hot outside, none of us still wanted to take our great corduroy FFA jackets off! We then went back to the office to take our strength finder tests and get ready for our first outing to the Capital City Club, on the 21st floor of the Progress Energy building. We had a wonderful dinner that was provided by the NC Farm Bureau, with representative and guest Jay Boyette dining with us. After a great night full of fun and laughs, the officer team called it a night as we finally took off our jackets and slept at the Brownstone.

Friday morning we all started our day off right by eating at IHOP as a team. Soon after we went to spend time with the state staff before we began our shopping trip at Crab Tree Valley Mall. Shopping was surely an adventure in itself, especially for the six of us. I honestly didn't know there were so many different types of stockings for ladies to wear! We went straight from Raleigh to my neck of the words, Newton Grove! We went through my hometown to get to White Lake, NC. However, we traditionally stopped and ate at Skipper's Restaurant in Clinton. We almost got stuck in Clinton because of the horrific weather. Nevertheless, not even bad weather could have kept us from White Lake! Everyone safely made it there were we met up with the past State FFA Officers and went to sleep. We needed our rest because Saturday was going to start another cool activity...BLAST OFF!

FFA Motto and FFA Mission using Wordle :)

Learning to Do,

Doing to Learn,

Earning to Live,

Living to Serve!

The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

The Journey Begins...

I have decided that the day of June, Thursday 24, 2010 was the longest, craziest, but most memorable and rewarding day I ever experienced in my life. That morning I had been restless, worried, and very anxious for the results I could have only dreamed to hear. That night, Thursday 24, 2010, I ended up spending time in our hotel with five other unique, wonderful, and dedicated FFA State Officers who I can call not only my teammates but friends. We were all reminiscing, comprehending, and amazed about our journey ahead of us. I still remain in astonishment of the year ahead of me. I wish I could describe that day in a better way but I am really at a loss for words. With my family, friends, and my Midway FFA Family there to support me, it was a great day that I will never forget. I shall try to recapture the moments throughout my whole year of service because I have a feeling this will be a year I will never forget.