The National FFA Convention was held in Louisville, KY. Chapters from all 50 states including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands attend convention in Louisville. The Fayette FFA Chapter officers traveled there this year and experienced speakers, tours, and various college opportunities at the trade fair.
This year the speaker at the 86th National FFA Convention and Expo was Rick Pintino. Mr. Pintino is a re-nouned basketball coach. He has coached many teams and delivered a great message to the members about never giving up and not always taking the easy road.
Louisville holds a career show during the course of the convention. Students had to opportunity to play games and win free things. Many colleges were there to offer help to those looking for a future in agriculture.
With down time during National Convention the officer team was able to attend the Hypnotist Al Snyder, as well as Buckeye Bash. Not only did they have a blast, but it was good being able to mingle with others from other parts of the United States and in our own state of Ohio.
Every year at National Convention the officer team takes tours. This year’s picks was 240 Sweet, The Kentucky Derby and a Trail of Lights. 240 sweet is a company that prides themselves on fined crafted marshmallows. These marshmallows range in flavors from dill pickle to caramel corn. It was a great way for the officers to cure their sweet tooth. The Kentucky Derby was fascinating for all of us. We were able to explore the rich history of the derby, see a few horses and even watch a stakes race. Finally we toured a trail of lights, which consisted of over 10,000 carved Jack-O-Lanterns. There were carvings big and small and it was amazing to see what the artist could do with a pumpkin.
This year the Fayette FFA also had four American FFA Degree Recipients. These members were: Darrell Randall, Sarah Kovar, Clay Burkholder and Rebecca Rash. These members were part of the only one percent of FFA members that received the degree this year. These members have worked hard not only in high school but out of high school to reach this amazing plateau of achieving the highest degree and honor possible in the National FFA Organization.
National Convention is a great learning experience and a good time for those FFA members who attend. It has so much to offer and a good experience to get out and see what other FFA chapters are doing. The officer team had a good time and got to experience things together at the 86th FFA National Convention and Expo.