Agriculture Gala @ the Republican National Convention

WOW! What an opportunity to be invited to the Agriculture Gala at the Republican National Convention. Walking in to the Depot in downtown Minneapolis to a red carpet lined with stalks of corn definitely set up the atmosphere to how cool the night was going to be. Styx, southern cowboys, porkchops on a stick and all the free icecream you could eat were other hightlights of the Gala. Having the opportunity to wear the blue courdoroy in front of so many important progressive agriculturalists was a honor that will be with me for the rest of my life. Check out mattaddington.com for pictures of the awesome event!

Minnesota Get-Together

ProntoPups, Australian Potatoes, Caramel Apples.
Livestock, butterheads, and the Miracle of Birth Center.
All of these iconic items go along with the Minnesota State Fair which I had the opportunity to attend as an agricultural advocate. What an amazing week it was showing livestock in Open Class and FFA and working at the FFA Chapter Leadership House! It was great to see FFA members from the summer and meet past FFA members who once proudly wore the blue jacket.
I showed three pure yorkshire boars, (showing boars for the first time in my life, AHH!) in open class and in FFA and had quite the successful week. In FFA, my March boars won Grand Champion and Reserve Champion, which was a pretty successful day!
In open class, my boars placed second and third in their class.
I will say however, that my favorite part of the Minnesota State Fair is the FOOD! Everything on a stick you can even imagine--even pictures on a stick at the Miracle of Birth Center! I can't wait to go back next year--I never did make it down to the chocolate covered bacon on a stick stand!

SLCCL 2008!

SLCCL 2008
July 12-18, 2008
Deep Portage Conservation Reserve
Hackensack, MN

Mission Possible! Wow what a week it has been at SLCCL! Reuniting with old friends, starting relationships with new ones, it was definitely a week to remember. Finally, after attending FFA Camp six times, my small group, The Purplaz!, finally won the volleyball tournament! YES!! After pure cooperation and team domination, the volleyball tournament was ours!


Another highlight of the week was the service project on Thursday! My group signed up for the dirty job of invasive species removal! Basically, we picked thistles and ragweed for three hours! We did have a blast, though, and as a collective effort picked over 1100 pounds of invasive species! WOW!

The State Officers had plenty planned for the 147 FFA members in attendance. From sessions on meeting new people to effectively presenting a Key Message, there was always something to be learned throughout the five days of camp.



National Officer Candidate, Brad Lanoue, helped out throughout the week presenting sessions, speaking at the banquet and giving helpful advice to the State Officers and Campers! He is also a phenomenal dancer and shared with us his talent throughout the week and at the dance. We wish him the best of luck as he prepares for interviews throughout the rest of the summer!

Thank you to all who made SLCCL a huge success! The memories and times I’ve experienced at Deep Portage will never be forgotten!

RLC 2008

July 1st, 2008
Howard Lake High School
Regional Leadership Conference

Kaylee, Rachael, Pete and I traveled to the town of Howard Lake to attend one of the Regional Leadership Conferences. Bunking at Rachael’s house the night before, we had a musical marathon, which included Guys and Dolls! Pete sure enjoyed that. I think he was the first one asleep. HA!

We got up the next morning and traveled to Howard Lake where we were able to see many chapters excited about the upcoming year. Brad, Lezlie, Amber, Josh and Jon did a fabulous job presenting new leadership ideas to the chapters in attendance. One of my favorite sessions was De Bono’s Six Hat theory which demonstrated different characteristics of individuals on a team.

Finally it was time to say our goodbyes and after taking many pictures, Mr. Weininger, HLWW Advisor, gave us many t-shirts as parting gifts! Thanks Winnie!

Day at the Dome!

FFA Day at the Dome
HHH Metrodome
Sunday, June 29, 2008

What better way to top of a week at Greenhand Camp than FFA at the Dome? Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins along with Minnesota FFA members, Alumni and Sponsors celebrated FFA at the Dome on Sunday, June 29. Starting at 11:00 the Minnesota FFA Foundation hosted a tent of Famous Dave’s BBQ for all FFA supporters in attendance! It was great to see familiar faces from CHS, Farm Bureau and all of our supporters and familiar FFA faces!!
Finally it was game time, and the Minnesota State FFA Officers took our seat on the third baseline along with many FFA members from across the state, and cheered on our Twins as they beat the Brewers in a fantastic game of baseball!! The South Dakota State Officer team was also there cheering on our team and it was great to see Brian, Shad, Shane, Josh, Wyatt and Maria again! Thank you to all who attended this day and cheered on the Minnesota Twins to victory!

Go for Gold!

State Greenhand Leadership Conference
Deep Portage, Hackensack, MN
June 23-27, 2008

State Greenhand Leadership Conference has been my favorite activity since being a Greenhand, however, now after reliving it as a State Officer, I can honestly say that it is the number one best thing FFA members can do in FFA to develop their passion as FFA members.
Arriving in Deep Portage on Sunday, it felt right like home. The Deep Portage Staff was so welcoming and helpful with everything we needed! We are so grateful that they let us use their great facility. Sunday was the day of setup. Hanging decorations, installing our “fake” FFA wall, and setting up tables and chairs for 150 campers was a work in progress. However, once it was finished, we were able to look back on all we had accomplished and know that the campers were in for a fantastic week. That night, each of the SOs got together with their presentation partners and finalized preparations for the sessions later that week.
10:00 AM Monday morning, and Greenhand Camp was well on its way with 150 campers from across the state of Minnesota all arriving in Hackensack, Minnesota for a week of leadership, friendship, and fun! Lunch started at noon and the afternoon brought the beginning of the sessions of SGLC!

Being a part of “the dirties” volleyball team was definitely a highlight of camp. Even though we didn’t win the volleyball tournament, smearing mud on our faces and showing off our skills to everyone was priceless! The members in my small group were also phenomenal individuals who each brought a different perspective on camp and life to the group. Meeting these members and getting to know them one on one definitely made my camp. The coolest part about the small group meetings was hearing each of their individual goals. When members came forward and said that because of camp, they now had goals to become a state officer, it made the whole week and all the work proceeding it, worth it.
Between rock climbing, volleyball, canoeing, and playing football, the campers were able to bond and meet new members from different chapters across the state. The best part for me as a State Officer was seeing the friendships that formed throughout the week at Greenhand Camp. Members who had never met before Monday, at the end of the week were promising that they would be friends for life; and I could see that just from being around them. The talent show and dance on Thursday night were highlights for many, and saying goodbyes on Friday had never been harder.
One of the members of the volleyball team, “the dirties” summed the week up when he said, “Before this camp, I loved FFA because my dad did. Now I do because I love FFA!”

Rent!

Rent
Ordway Theature, St. Paul
Saturday, June 21, 2008

I got back home from Nebraska on Friday night at about 5:00 PM. After a night full of laundry and camp preparation, I was on the road again the next day at 9:00 AM! Kaylee and I picked up the sound system for camp at Nate Janssen’s house, and were on our way to the cities. The Department of Education was our destination, and crunching camp booklets was our task. That night, Derek, Katie, Pete, Kaylee and I were also “sharpening our saws” by getting dressed up and heading to the musical, RENT. After three hours of crunching booklets, it was finally time to head back to Farmhouse (thanks guys for letting us stay!!) and get ready for the musical! However, we all decided to take a little snooze, since not much sleeping had been done in days before! So after about an hour nap, we got up and got ready! Traveling to downtown St. Paul was a blast! We got to see a wedding in action, shop at Macy’s and lounge around in the city atmosphere! Finally, it was time for the show to start at the Ordway! Katie, Kaylee and I were already Rent fanatics, and after seeing the show, I bet the boys are too! After the show, we made the executive decision that there is FFA at the Dome, FFA at the T’Wolves, and there should be an FFA Day at the Theatre!! It was time to head back to Farmhouse and catch some zzz’s because we were leaving for SGLC in the morning.