By: Elizabeth Bok
The 96th National FFA Convention was held from November 1st through the 4th. Nine members from the Fairview FFA Chapter had the opportunity to attend this convention. The National FFA Convention is held in Indianapolis, Indiana every year.
The members who were able to attend the convention this year were Miguel Garcia, Emma Zeedyk, Dalton Haver, Brady Zeedyk, Breavan Williams, Kayla Mavis, Kortney Grinnell, Summer Hiler, and Kalvin Woodring. They departed the school at 5:30 on Wednesday morning of the 1st. On their way to Indy, they stopped at RSG (the Reproduction Specialty Group). At RSG they got to tour their goat and sheep breeding facility. They started their time in Indy by exploring the FFA Expo Center. Here they got to talk to colleges, businesses, and military representatives. Then, the members attended the first session to kick off the 96th National FFA Convention. To end the first day in Indianapolis they went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
On Thursday, they started the day by traveling to Louisville, Kentucky for the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE). They went to NAILE to watch Sara and Renee Bok, fellow Fairview FFA members, show their Guernsey dairy heifers. From there they went to the Squire Boone Caverns in southern Indiana. After that, they went back to Louisville to tour the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory. Once the tour was over the members got to explore downtown Louisville and see the Ohio River.
To start the third day of the convention they went to the 4th General Session and got to see contest results and listen to a speaker. Then, the students got to attend a student workshop, “The Power of Questions.” From there, they headed to the World’s Toughest Rodeo at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. To finish the day, the members went to the 6th General Session and watched our region’s National Vice President give her retirement address.
To finish their time in Indianapolis, four of the chapter’s graduated members received their American degrees. At the 7th and final Session, the nine members who got to watch the Degree ceremony were Evan Saylor, Dakota Shaffer, Blake Zeedyk, and Kaitlyn Zeedyk all received their American Degrees.
