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State FFA Leadership Conference a success |
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May 5, 2017 |
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| Bonners
Ferry FFA Chapter after receiving the
National Chapter Award. |
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By Katelyn Hutchinson
FFA Chapter Reporter
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| TJ Smith,
Conner Underhill and Jesse Sandelin
competing in a potato stacking contest. |
Over the week of spring break, April 4-9, the
Bonners Ferry FFA Chapter took a bus down to
Twin Falls, Idaho, for the 56th Annual State FFA
Leadership Conference. Chapters from all over
Idaho traveled to Boise along with all of the
state officers.
During our trip to Twin Falls, the chapter
stopped in Boise for the first night, and the
next morning we toured Les Bois Farms owned by
Nadine Schwartzman. Our chapter toured the farm
and got to see the dressage horses, the arenas
and also a first-hand view of how dressage
horses move.
After visiting Les Bois Farms, we took the bus
the rest of the way to Twin Falls and checked
into our new hotel.
The first session was that night at the College
of Southern Idaho with the rest of the chapters
and the state officers, where we learned of a
pre-session dance and where TJ Smith, Jesse
Sandelin and Conner Unherhill participated in a
potato stacking contest.
There were many different competitions at the
State Leadership Conference and Shawna Siver
competed in the Extemporaneous Public Speaking
contest. Mary Fioravanti and Shawna also sang
the National Anthem and Mary sang a solo as part
of session entertainment.
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| Mary
Fioravanti, Brittany Spangler and Shawna
Siver after being interviewed for the
National Chapter Award and
Extemporaneous Public Speaking. |
The chapter went on some industry tours to a
dairy farm and to a production plant; we got to
personally see where our food comes from and how
it gets from the production line right to our
grocery stores.
We also participated in Days of Service, where
we helped clean a local food bank and presented
a lesson on agricultural literacy to help teach
children about agriculture at the Boys and Girls
Club.
Jesse Sandelin, TJ Smith, Tori Smith and Mary
Fioravanti received their State FFA Degrees –
the highest degree that can be awarded at the
State level for FFA participation and Supervised
Agriculture Experience Projects.
The highlight of the week was winning the
National Chapter Award, which makes the Bonners
Ferry FFA Chapter eligible to compete for a one,
two or three star rating at the National FFA
Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, this fall!
Only nine chapters from the State are selected
to represent Idaho on a National level.
On the day before we had to leave Twin Falls,
all of the chapters got to go to a dance at an
indoor arena. The whole arena was lit up with a
light show and it was all thanks to Music Monkey
Productions that provided the music and the
amazing night. The last day of being in Twin
Falls, we had our last of six sessions and the
new state officers were elected.
Saturday night, we had a North Idaho District
mixer, where all the chapters from the North
Idaho District went to Wahooz in Boise. Members
rode go-karts, played laser tag and arcade games
and more. After our fun night at the park, we
went to the hotel and spent the night, and the
next morning we started the long drive home
again.
The trip was a lot of fun and such a learning
experience for all those that attended! We
advocated for agriculture, gained leadership
skills, participated in community service and
made life-long friends! |
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