State FFA Leadership Conference a success

May 5, 2017

Bonners Ferry FFA Chapter after receiving the National Chapter Award.

By Katelyn Hutchinson FFA Chapter Reporter 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. 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!