Teachers Conference

Justin and I arrived in Raleigh last Monday expecting to go to the State Presidents Conference held in Washington D.C. To our surprise the conference did not begin until the following week, so we had the privilege of going to the annual Teachers Conference in Greensboro. We arrived before most of the crowd, but it did not take long for thousands of teachers to pour into the convention center.

Throughout the week my team had the opportunity to meet representatives for CTE from all across the state. Almost three hundred Ag teachers were in attendance and the workshop presentations were very informative. My favorite experience during the week was going to a dinner at A&T State University. The Southern Guilford FFA Alumni sponsored a dinner in honor of the retired Ag teachers in our state and they did a wonderful job.

On the Road

On June 24, 2010 my dream became a reality when I was elected as the North Carolina FFA State Vice President. The 5th general session lasted a LIFETIME! All of the candidates waited to hear the committee report read by Alyson Moore. Finally, when the time came, we stood in a line and held each other. They began calling the names of the 6 state officers and cheers filled the room after the announcement of each name. When they reached my name the world changed and I embraced Caroline Yopp who I was replacing. During that moment my heart was beating out of my chest and emotions consumed me. One at a time the past state officers installed us into our positions and we were on our way to the state office after convention. I will never forget walking up the stairs in the state office and seeing our names listed on the bulletin board. The reality was still far from registering in my mind, but seeing our names together on the board was an indescribable feeling.

Soon after election we made our way to White Lake where BLAST OFF training and SLC commenced. The first two days were spent in BLAST OFF training learning how to develop our speaking skills and grow together as a team. The training was a great way to get us pumped for SLC that week! When the members began filling the camp directly after our training I was filled with excitement and could not wait to meet all the members. The week was filled with learning experiences, meeting new people, and a lot of laughter. My small group from Union Pines, or better known as the Western Sizzler’s was very enthusiastic and I enjoyed the time we had together. SLC was a great success and my team cannot wait until the second week in August!

After our first experience with members at SLC we traveled far south to Daytona Beach, FL to attend the National Leadership Conference for State Officers (NLCSO). On the way down we made a pit stop at the famous Paula Dean’s restaurant, Lady and Son’s and the food was delicious! At NLCSO we had the amazing opportunity to meet state officers from all over the southern region and two national officers. One thing I have noticed on my journey thus far is that FFA is full of fantastic people no matter where you go.