Kansas FFA Convention

South bound and out!
Our first out of state event as State FFA Officers, Derek, Caitlin, Sydney, and I took a road trip to the Kansas FFA Convention in Manhattan Kansas. Leaving from Albert Lea the drive down was a fun one, whether we were jamming out to the radio, making state officer bracelets, or cracking jokes the drive flew by.
Rolling in to town late afternoon on Monday we were welcomed with open arms by Sharita Lacey. Sharita is a past KS State FFA Officer, and has attended the MN State Convention several times. Jumping right into it all we started our tour on town and the K-State University. The K-State campus a beautiful one, old historical buildings, green grass, and smiling faces made us feel that much more welcome. Getting hungry the four of us grabbed a bight to eat with Sharita, Shawn, and Morgan. After dinner we toured town a bit more and we went up to Manhattan Hill. Standing at the top of the hill we were overlooking the city of Manhattan. With the long drive from earlier in the day it called for an early bed time, so it was time to hit the hay.
Day 2: Waking up early Tuesday morning hearing the birds chirping and the sun shining we got dressed into our Official Dress, the four of us got our healthy breakfast at McDonalds. The plan for the day was to help where needed! We helped stuffing envelopes for each chapter, placing parking passes, awards dinner tickets, and dance tickets. We also made name badges, alphabetized proficiencies, and lastly in the afternoon time for a treat! We got ice cream at Call hall, A ice cream shop run by K-State boy was it yummy, I was little sad I didn’t get to try the K-State purple pride ice cream. It was time to get into some comfortable cloths and start thing about dinner. What dinner? I just stuffed myself with two huge ice cream cones. Well Grizzlies was the place for dinner! Am I glad we went there; I had the best chicken fried steak, and tried something new fried pickles! From dinner we went to went to “The top of the world”, talk about a wonderful view of Manhattan! The best part of the night was Pillsbury’s crossing, this about a 20 minute drive out of the city but wow! The view, the sound of water trickling over the rocks, and the feel of Kansas water running through your toes, it was beautiful! Time to meet the Kansas State FFA Officers, so we went to AGR house on campus and got to hang with them for a while, along with the National FFA Secretary Becky Sullivan. Rounding up the gang we got our orders from Sharita for tomorrows activities, and where we needed to be and when. Day #2 gone and I think Kansas is starting to grow on me!
Day 3: Again waking up early all bright eyed and bushy tailed we got into our O.D. and again got breakfast at McDonalds. Arriving to campus, all of us with our duties, I headed to Blue Mount Hall and was able to sit in all the Extemporaneous Speaking Contest and video tape each contest. By the time this contest was over I regrouped with everyone and got lunch at the student union. Talk about lucky! They have Subway, Taco Bell, pizza, and Chinese to pick from for places to eat. In the afternoon Sydney and I got to be time keepers for the FFA Creed contest. It was interesting to listen to the FFA Creed again, and see how passionate these young FFA members about agriculture and FFA, it sure made me recall back to when my freshman year when I was a creed speaker. Later in the afternoon Caitlin, Sydney, and I helped load vehicles with scrapbooks, a boat load of pop tabs from a pop tab drive contest, and materials to head over to the convention hall. By now it was snake time and time to start heading over to the convention hall for the first general session. It was really interesting see a different convention, how other states do it. Something that was cool was the laser show before each session. It was a night session so it got over about 8:30. Ha-ha but no the night was not over yet, the night was still you, it was time to get our grove on!!! We all got changed and headed to the FFA dance at the shopping mall. Talk about a great time, all the pizza you can eat, loud music, and 500 FFA members having a blast! After the dance I got to have my first Sonic experience, and while we were there we got to meet and talk with some Kansas FFA members! There is no better way to end the night better than going back with my grape icy, my fellow state officers, and all of us cuddling up on the couch with our laptops and facebooking!

Day 4: Thursday morning the sun is shining and one worm and muggy day! We kind of have and order going on here, but once again got dressed in my O.D. and headed for our favorite breakfast spot…. McDonalds!!! So it was a day filled with Sessions, sessions 2, 3, and 4 were held. Tons of great speakers, young individuals being recognized for their hard work and moving retiring officer addresses. After the first session we grabbed a bite to eat in “Agievillle” at a little Mexican restaurant, wow what a yummy meal! Just around the corner was the Kansas State University clothing store, and all of us got our purple K-State pride shirts! After lunch it was time to cash in for a little nap, and write thank you letters to everyone who helped us on this great trip. We then attended the second session. We heard from a very amassing young lady, Becky Sullivan the National FFA Secretary. Once this session was over it was time to start thinking about coming back to Minnesota. So we got out bags backed and everything in line to hit the road. Attending the 4 session more awards were given, one heck of a Keynote speaker. It was over before I knew it. My time in Kansas was almost over, it flew by so quickly! I didn’t want to leave, these people are great, and formed so many new friendships, and got to catch up on some old ones. But sooner or later you must say your good-byes. So we posed for some final pictures, and handed out our great Minnesota hugs, and we were north bound and down by 10:30 Thursday night, but not before we hit up the McDonalds one last time on the way out of town! Do we have everyone? “Buddy!” So does everyone have their buddy? Yes we used the buddy system on this trip. Derek had Caitlin, and I had Sydney. 10:30 P:M we hit the road, stuffed from McDonalds! The first shift Derek and Caitlin get us started while Sydney and I were catching our Z’s in the back seat.
Day 5: Friday morning 2:00 A:M, somewhere in the middle of… well it must have been Iowa because there was nothing there we made our rotation. Sydney starting us off and I in shot-gun we keep on trucking north. It didn’t take long for Derek and Caitlin; they were sleeping before we knew it. Gas and potty stop! 4:00 A:M we make a stop in Ames Iowa fill up and it’s my turn to drive and get us home. I must say it has been a long time since I last saw the sun rise. We made it! Getting to Albert Lea around 5:30 we dropped Caitlin off and the rest of us went on our way. Crawling into my own bed at 7:00 A:M and falling asleep by 7:05 felt great! But that didn’t last for long, chores need to be done and it was time to start unpacking and start my laundry.
What was I thinking? Here I wasn’t even going to join my fellow officers on this trip, boy am I glad I did! It was an unforgettable trip. I got to know my fellow officer much better, got to see how another state organizes and runs their convention, and I also got to see a different part of our country. So thank you Kansas FFA and MN FFA for a wonderful opportunity, and thank you Derek, Caitlin, and Sydney for letting me join you and have a wonderful time, were had moments and memories I will never forget!