Indianapolis, IN---National FFA Convention
Julie Halley
Hunter B. Halley & Courtney R. Guffey (college sophomores), American FFA Degree recipients
Our family had a great opportunity a week ago. Our daughter earned her American FFA Degree at the FFA national convention in Indianapolis last week. Putnam Co. R-1 was represented well. Our local FFA chapter had three girls who achieved this award: Hunter Halley, Courtney Guffey, and Katelyn Gillum (unable to attend the ceremony). We should all be so proud of these girls knowing that they are continuing a strong tradition within our county--their love of agriculture. Growing up in a larger town, I was never involved in FFA and did not know much about it until my daughter became involved with it. Along the way I have learned that agriculture consists of so much more than just crops or livestock. It involves crops, livestock, all aspects of animal production, food production, and many more aspects within the agricultural world. My daughter continued down a similar path that her father started when he attended Putnam Co. R-1 and as she stayed with FFA, she learned that she loved it. She was on contest teams, attended state conventions, national conventions, local events, and got to know many other peers through FFA activities.
This trip was a rather humbling experience for me. There were students attending this convention from nearly every state. Everywhere I looked there was a sea of dark blue jackets. We met families from Nebraska, California, and Ohio. It definitely made an impact on me seeing all these motivated young adults who will someday be making decisions for America. As we entered the Lucas Oil Stadium (at 6:30 am), there was a continuous flow of people entering, despite the frigid temperatures and yet, everything went very smoothly like a well-oiled machine. As the ceremony began, the announcer stated there were over 26,000 attendees. WOW!!! This is an organization with long-standing traditions that require specific attire, responsibilities, manners, leadership skills, self-motivation, respect to others, and student involvement activities. All life worthy lessons lasting a lifetime that are not always stressed in today's culture. And yet, all these members want to be there and many continue on to reach the highest degree, American FFA Degree, by their own choice. Powerful, very powerful. If your son or daughter ever wants to get involved with FFA, please encourage them to do so.