MHS Students attend FFA National Convention in Louisville, KY
Nine Manchester High School students attended the Future Farmers of America national convention in Louisville, KY, Oct. 30 – Nov. 2.
Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. It’s the FFA Motto. The Future Farmers of America (FFA) is almost 580,000 members strong and is committed to agricultural education in order to help its members develop their own talents and to explore a broad range of career paths. Randal Smith is the FFA Advisor of one of ninety-nine Michigan chapters based right here at the Manchester High School.
Mr. Smith has been the FFA Advisor for ten years and strongly believes that the “FFA organization provides an opportunity for students to grow their social and leadership skills through agriculture and natural resources. The Manchester FFA has grown over my tenure and I am proud that students take an active role in the program.”
With that purpose in mind, Mr. Smith encouraged members to attend the national convention that was held October 30 through November 2 in Louisville, KY. Nine members of the Manchester FFA group crowded into two buses with members of the Milan and Dundee groups, to make the journey to Louisville, KY. This year’s national convention was the largest ever, topping out at 62,998 attendees. Attendees represented all fifty states and Puerto Rico. According to Mr. Smith, at the convention “students had the opportunity to see the national relevance of the organization, meet students from around the country and see national level competition.”
The students also visited the National Museum of the Air Force near Dayton, OH.
The Manchester students that attended this year’s convention were Mitch Bristle, Erin Glavin, Jacy Wacker, Cody Wacker, Mason Horning, Abigail Walkowe, Kayla Knasiak, Justin Walz, and Maddie Kemner. Mr. Smith was unable to attend the conference, so each student was required to have a parent accompany him/her on the trip. The group made the most of the bus trip, stopping along the way to tour the Pioneer seed plant, explore the Air Force/Air & Space Museum, discover the Bluespring Caverns Park, and visit the Churchill Downs.
Mason Horning attended the conference with his mother, Lynda Horning. When asked, Mason indicated the best parts of the convention were meeting people from all over the country with similar interests and the inspirational keynote speech by Louisville basketball coach, Rick Pitino.
According to the FFA convention website, Rick Pitino, who coached 28 seasons, discussed his relentless passion for basketball. From his failures personally and professionally, Pitino was inspired to share his leadership experiences through speaking engagements and books. About these failures he quipped, “Failure is the fertilizer to help you.” His presentation focused on personal stories and he shared five ways to become a strong leader: 1) Surround yourself with positive people, 2) Live by a one-day contract, 3) Know the time and place for technology, 4) Listen to be an effective communicator, 5) Look at adversity with great courage. Pitino’s sentiments resonated with many throughout the convention center.
Another fantastic component of the convention was the career fair. The field of agriculture encompasses everything from the skills it takes to run a business, to knowing how to run the equipment, to knowing how to grow food and keep animals healthy, to the logistics of bringing products from the farm to the table. So, while there were the expected representatives from the seed and equipment companies and university agricultural programs, there were also representatives in the fields manufacturing, accounting, communications, marketing, economics, on-farm field services and more.
“One of the biggest hurdles to jump is for students to understand that it is not just for “farmers””, said Advisor, Randal Smith, “Agriculture encompasses a wide assortment of topics, jobs, and opportunities many of which, students are unaware.”
In the words of Rick Pitino, “Persistence and determination and working hard toward your goals, your dreams, and not giving up and not being afraid to do work that other people think is beneath them will take you far,” he said.
This may just sum up the best part of being a member of the FFA, coming together with like-minded individuals from across the nation and realizing that the same struggles that a member faces in Michigan, other members also face. Whether that person is another FFA member from Dundee or Milan, or from Montana, together they can build a collegial bond that can last a lifetime.
For more information about the FFA, visit their website at www.ffa.org.
Rick Pitino’s speech, along with other sections of the national convention can be seen on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjFuodf-kDI
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