National FFA Convention Celebrates Accomplishments and Inspires Futures

 

November 6, 2019

While attending the 92nd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Chinook Chapter members Rielly Weigand, Stacie Liddle, Brittney Cox, Shyla Benzing, Morgan Friede, Torin Cecrle, Rebecca Stroh, Ethan Liddle, Alyssa Gruszie, Halle Mitchell, and Patrick McMaster take a break from the sessions and workshops to capture a photo.

By Donna L. Miller

BCJ News

Not only the Chinook Chapter of the FFA but FFA members nationwide converged on Indianapolis from October 30-November 2 to attend the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo. At events like this one, members celebrate their accomplishments and find inspiration for their next steps. They hear motivational keynote speakers, attend energetic concerts, fulfill their learning with workshops, and visit the expo floor bustling with agricultural education and industry opportunities.

Eleven Chinook FFA members, as well as Colton Liddle who is earning his American Degree, departed for Indiana with their advisor Robin Allen and chaperone Kory Cecrle on Sunday, October 27. Along the way, they joined with Malta, Lewistown, and Big Timber FFA members to form a group of 35 travelers. They spent their first night in Laramie, Wyoming, after touring Wyo-Tech, a technical school that is sometimes selected by Chinook High School graduates for its core programs in automotive, diesel, and collision and refinishing technology. Boasting that it prepares students for careers as technicians in the automotive and diesel industry that surpass the rank of "ordinary mechanic," WyoTech also offers six specialized training programs that build on its core program training to give graduates "the opportunity to learn a deeper skill set that makes employers take notice."


After travelling in snow and single digit temperatures on Monday, the group toured Hornady® Manufacturing in Grand Island, Nebraska. At the factory, they visited with engineers and craftsmen who have been producing award-winning bullets, ammunition, and reloading products for over half a century. Although the tour did not include every aspect of the ballistics manufacturing process, FFA members received a comprehensive overview of the facility, which uses many of the original methods and equipment developed by the company's founder, J.W. Hornady. Describing the tour as "pretty neat" and "cool," they all came out of the tour with a hat!


On Tuesday morning the group toured Hawkeye Breeders Service (HBS) in Adel, Iowa. HBS is an export facility that ships semen from qualified bulls to points all around the world. They offer cattlemen a full line of services for all of their custom semen collection and bull fertility testing needs to help producers capitalize on their most valuable genetics.


According to Allen, "Although Hawkeye can hold about 300 bulls, they have five barns dedicated to semen collection for the European Union alone."

The travelers' next stop was Featherlite Manufacturing in Des Moines, Iowa. Featherlite is a leading manufacturer of all-aluminum horse trailers, stock trailers, car trailers, recreational trailers, utility trailers and specialty trailers.

"What's interesting about their company is that they will do custom trailers. They claim, 'If you can dream it, we can build it.' We saw some really cool specialty trailers in production, such as a tiny home concept. Another unique one was two stories so the top slides up for offices above. Our tour guide also talked about the production side of the company and showed us the processing lines, saying that they needed welders," Allen reported.

During Opening Session of the FFA Convention on Wednesday, October 30, members heard inspirational words from Bob Goff. Goff calls himself a "recovering lawyer" because after practicing law for 25 years, then becoming the Honorary Consul to the Republic of Uganda, he gave up his law firm to pursue writing and speaking full time. The U.S. Department of State recognizes Goff as a diplomat due to his work with Love Does, a non-profit organization he founded, which conducts humanitarian projects in Nepal, India, Uganda, Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan.

Goff asked FFA members, "What are the goals you've always wanted to achieve but have never taken the time or opportunity to pursue?" He shared with them, his Dream Big Framework, what he calls his "method to the madness of making life more awesome." Driven by a desire to help others unlock their potential, Goff challenged the group gathered to stop putting off their dreams because of fear or daunting and defeatist thoughts.

"Stop thinking you can't do it or it's too hard. You need to quit letting fear call the shots and charge into your next adventure," Goff said.

Goff's message resonated with FFA members who believe that "some people dream of success; we work hard to achieve it," a slogan the organization has used since 2016.

See Page B3: National FFA Convention

Later Wednesday night, Chinook FFA members attended an Old Dominion concert, calling the experience a convention highlight. Blending old-fashioned country charm, lyrical wit, and rock n' roll grit, Old Dominion is one of the hottest breaking bands in country music. Two-time American Country Music Group of the Year, the band consists of lead singer Matthew Ramsey, lead guitarist Brad Tursi, multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rosen, bassist Geoff Sprung, and drummer Whit Sellers.

Thursday's highlight was getting to meet Jess Lockwood, a 22-year-old Professional Bull Rider (PBR) from Volborg, Montana, a small community located approximately thirty miles northwest of Broadus. With 6,185 World Points, Lockwood is Number Two in the world rankings, behind Jose Vitor Leme, a Brazilian rider from Ribas Do Rio Pardo who has racked up 6,681.66 points.

Lockwood was in Indianapolis to meet with FFA members after coming off of a records high-marked ride of the year at PBR competition in Greensboro, North Carolina, on October 12-where he boasted a flawless three-for-three showing, earning him a second-place finish overall. By riding Heartbreak Kid, Lockwood shattered the bull's Streak of 38 consecutive buck-offs on the premier series and denied the Kid the chance to surpass league-leader Bushwacker. Lockwood rode to the eight-second buzzer in dramatic fashion for a colossal 93.75 points.

Lockwood posed for photographs and signed autographs to FFA members who were scheduled to attend the Cinch-sponsored World's Toughest Rodeo at the Indiana Farmer's Coliseum on Friday night. Lockwood did not ride in that event, as he was one of the headliners at the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Las Vegas on November 2-3, which was slated as "one of the most fiercely contested World Championship races in PBR history."

Before attending the evening rodeo event, the group visited the Indianapolis 500 Speedway.

The remainder of the convention was spent attending workshops like "After the Jacket: Transforming FFA Skills into Careers in Agribusiness" and hearing keynotes like that delivered by Michelle Poler. With a message similar to Goff's, Poler spoke during the Sixth General Session on November 1.

Born and raised in Caracas-Venezuela, Poler is a creative and passionate social entrepreneur, keynote speaker, fear facer, and branding strategist. In efforts to re-write her definition of fear, Poler completed a project where she faced 100 fears in 100 days. At around day 40, the project was discovered by the media, and it became a worldwide viral phenomenon.

Poler is also the Founder of Hello Fears, a social movement empowering millions to step outside of their comfort zones and to tap into their full potential. During her speech to convention attendees, she encouraged FFA members to live bravely, to find their authenticity, and to embrace their growth paths.

On Saturday, Chinook FFA members attended the Awards Ceremony for fellow member Colton Liddle, who followed his growth path to earn the coveted American Degree. A story about that achievement will be featured in next week's issue of the newspaper.

En route to the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, FFA members from Chinook, Malta, Lewistown, and Big Timber stopped off in Adel, Iowa to tour Hawkeye Breeders Service, an export facility that ships semen from qualified bulls to points all around the world.

From the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo, local FFA members came away renewed, inspired, and enriched by memories and experiences that they can put to work, transforming FFA skills into future accomplishments.

 
 

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