News : VS FFA members attend National Convention; chapter earns highest rating

The guys of VSHS FFA in a lighter moment.

The VS FFA Chapter visited Churchill Downs in KY.

FFA hat ladies: Emily, Sydney, Hannah, Jessica and Sibel.

Kyle Henkle tries the large slide.

Caleb Svoboda and Emily Cashman receive congratulations for the VS FFA 3-Star Chapter Award.

From October 29-November 2, 2013, the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter attended National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The chapter had nineteen members and six chaperones attend this event.

A few FFA members including me (Reporter Emily) were on TV! Click HERE to see that.

On Tuesday October 29, 2013 the members and chaperones began their trip to Louisville at 6:30am. On the way to convention the chapter stopped in Columbus, Indiana to tour the Cummins Diesel Test Plant. Where they were taken through the facility and showed a variety of things, including them testing different engines to check for engineering flaws and seeing what each engine can withstand. The next stop was at 240 Sweet, a gourmet marshmallow factory. There, they sampled marshmallows, learned a little about them, and many members bought them. The group stopped for supper along the way and made their way to the hotel in Shepherdsville, Kentucky at around eight o’clock that evening. The members then had some down time to have fun and hangout at the hotel.

On Wednesday October 30, 2013, the members were up, dressed, eaten, and headed out by 7:30am. The first stop on this day was Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby takes place. The members were given a tour of the place, got to see some of the riders and their horses, went through the gift shop, and watched a short movie on the Kentucky Derby. While there, our chapter happened to be one of the few that had the opportunity to be interviewed on TV for the local news that night. WLKY news interviewed Co-Reporter, Emily Cashman, on what it was like to be at nationals, what our chapter and FFA was all about, and what opportunities there are in FFA.

After Churchill Downs, the chapter made their way to the convention center. There, the members had time to shop around in the FFA Mega Store and the Career Fair. Many members bought new FFA merchandise and souvenirs, as well as went and talked to various colleges and companies from across the U.S. The members then attended the first general session in Freedom Hall. At the session, the members witnessed the artistic talents of Dan Dunn, listened to the keynote speaker, basketball coach Rick Pitino, and watched many other things to kick off convention with.

After the first session, members went back to the hotel to change and then headed to the KFC Yum center for the concert. The concert this year was Jana Kramer and Dierks Bentley. Even though it was a very late night getting back to the hotel, the chapter still enjoyed their time at the concert.

On Thursday October 31, 2013, the chapter headed straight to convention in the morning. The members then had time to do more shopping, career fair, and and attend workshops. The second general session was next on the agenda. At this session, the flags of the states were presented along with the amount of members and chapters in each state,

Top Chapter Ranking: 3 Stars

National Officer, Brennan Costello, gave his retiring address, and Emily Cashman and Caleb Svoboda went across stage to receive the National Chapter Award for being a three star rated chapter, which is the highest ranking a chapter can receive.

After the second session, the members were given more time to finish any and all trips to the career fair, workshops to attend, and make their last purchases from the mega store.

The members then attended the third general session. At this session, among other things, they recognized all of FFA’s sponsors, we heard a speech from seventh generation farmer, Katie Pratt, and National Officer, Joenelle Futral’s retiring address.

To finish up the night, the chapter went back to the hotel and had their pizza night sponsored by Farm Bureau, as well as had time to relax and hangout for a while.

On Friday November 1, 2013, the chapter, for the first time, did not spend their day at convention. They first went to Georgetown, Kentucky to a Bi-Water Greenhouse and farm. Here, they took a tour of the farm, learned more about what they did, and then got to enjoy their Autumnfest. Members spent time around the farm doing a variety of things, including, the sky high slide, people spinners, ducky derby, the lost pumpkin mine, playing with baby farm animals, and buying things from the gift shop. They then went to a park to have a picnic for their lunch.

After the Bi-Water Greenhouse and Farms, the next stop was Tucker Farms, a family owned tobacco farm. Here, the owners gave the chapter a presentation on how tobacco is grown, harvested, and cared for. They showed the members around the farm, and showed them the tobacco as well as the workers stripping the leaves of the plants. All of the members and chaperones agreed that it was a very cool experience to see a different side of agriculture, and how labor intensive it is.

The chapter then headed to the rodeo to finish out the night. It also just so happened, that over a third of the cowboys in the rodeo were from Iowa. Once the rodeo was over, members went back and enjoyed their last night in the hotel.

On Saturday November 2, 2013, the members were up very early, packed and ready to go. Before they could leave for home however, the chapter went to convention to attend the eighth general session. At this session, Stephen Stinson was to be receiving his American Degree award. Though Stephen could not be with us to receive it, Steven Henry received it on stage in his place.

The chapter then loaded up and headed for home. After a long day on the road, and minimal stops along the way, they pulled back into the high school a little after seven o’clock at night. Overall, the members had a great time at nationals and made memories they will never forget.

The members that attended National Convention were Jessica Alderson, Dillon Brummer, Emily Cashman, Blaik Cooper, John Eden, Cole Emrich, Tim Haerther, Kyle Henkle, Steven Henry, Katie Isbell, Karys Lilly, Jacob Patrilla, Bastian Primmer, Emily Reisch, Riley Ries, Hannah Seitz, Sibel Sen, Caleb Svoboda, and Sydney Walker.

The chaperones who attended Nationals with the members were Dave Degner, Tina Eden, Kim Emrich, Louise Fleming, Susie Henkle, and Sarah Kirschbaum.

Also, at State Convention in April, Timothy Houtchens received first place in his Agriculture Sales Proficiency. This passed his application onto the national level to be judged. In August it was released that he had received a bronze at the national level. Though he was not recognized on stage for it, it is definitely an accomplishment to be proud of!