Last week 10 members of the Wayne Trace FFA Chapter attended the 96th annual National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN along with members from Crestview, Lincolnview and Parkway High schools. This year’s convention theme was “Evolve” and we helped set a new record with over 72,900 members from all over the United States attending.
We left bright and early on Tuesday morning and traveled to Platt Show Pigs and Upper Hand Genetics in Roanoke, IN, where we learned about their swine breeding operation. They house over 50 boars and sell semen across the US, as well as, several other countries. Their veterinarian was there so we also had the opportunity to watch a vet procedure on one of their prospective show pigs.
From there, we traveled to Moline, IL and got a chance to visit the John Deere Pavilion. The pavilion houses some of the first John Deere tractors and other equipment made. We learned about the history of the company and picked up some cool John Deere souvenirs.
After spending the night in Moline, we put on our nice, new quarter-zips, sponsored by Harting Farms and CCT Co., and traveled across the river to Davenport, IA to visit the John Deere Development Works. We toured the factory and learned about the various construction and forestry based equipment they build there. They use over 75,000 gallons of paint a year and have over 500,000 pounds of steel delivered every day.
On Thursday, we got dressed in our finest official dress and traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium for the opening session. During the session we listened to the keynote speaker, Juan Bendana. He spoke about facing your fears and his adventures in Hawaii with poisonous snakes, crocodiles and his miniature horse, Pepe. We also listened to the National Officer’s retiring addresses and helped the National FFA Choir celebrate their 75th anniversary. Following the session, we traveled to the convention session and spent time visiting the Expo and FFA Shopping Mall. We also attended the 2nd session and watched multiple members from Ohio receive recognition for their hard work. Later in the evening, we went Fowling – football bowling. It was a new experience for everyone and we had a great time.
Friday morning, we got up early, checked out of our hotel and headed back to Lucas Oil Stadium for one last session. We listened to Corey Flournoy, the first African American and urban National President. He spoke on diversity and fitting in when you don’t fit the “norm”. One last trip to the Expo and Shopping Mall and we were ready to head home, tired but glad we got the chance to attend.
On Saturday, three of our graduate members traveled to Indianapolis to receive their American FFA Degrees – Faith Meraz, Ethan Noggle and Tianna Cooper. The American FFA Degree is earned by less than 2% of the national membership and we are proud of their accomplishments.
