Twenty-three members represent Mountain Lake Chapter in Louisville
The 87th National FFA Convention was held in Louisville, Kentucky from Monday, October 27 to Saturday, November 1, with 23 members of the Mountain Lake Chapter, as well as Chapter Advisors Lindsey Brown and Stephen Funk, were on hand for the event in the “Bluegrass State.”
Following is a first-person account of the six days of the convention by Mountain Lake FFA Chapter Secretary Carly Paulson:
“I had the privilege of attending the 87th National FFA Convention. This is the second year I have attended the convention – and each year I love it even more.
“My favorite part of the convention is walking around the career fair. The fair is held in a huge building that is filled end-to-end with different booths, such as ones for colleges around the United States, companies advertising themselves and companies showing off new technology. The favorite thing for the FFA members to do is go around to each booth and pick up the free item that each business is giving away. These free items can vary from a piece of candy to college information to a duffel bag. A lot was learned about job opportunities in agriculture and how FFA students can impact everyone around us.
“Another fun thing the Mountain Lake group did was attend the first opening session – along with 50,000 other FFA members. The National Officers are in charge of the sessions; and throughout the sessions, there are speeches and performances by various people. The keynote speaker of the night was Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs. He has spoken about his life, as well as bullying, in 44 countries – and how he has managed his life without limbs. He was very motivational, making sure each person is aware that they are loved and have a purpose in this world.
In addition to the opening session, the Mountain Lake members had the opportunity to tour a few different places in Louisville. We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum, which is where the Slugger baseball bats are made. The second place visited was the GlassWorks Museum, which had hundreds of handmade glass sculptures that have been stained many colors. Another place visited was the Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky, which is a beautiful facility that holds races and trains thoroughbred horses. The final stop was a family-owned candy shop and museum where the family makes their own candy using old-fashioned tools to press and cook the candy.
“It was also great to see students from the Mountain Lake Chapter perform onstage. Caitlin Oeltjenbruns, on flute, and Levi Jahnke, on trumpet, both had the honor of performing with the National Band. They performed at various times throughout the convention, and each of them had a solo during a performance. Britton Pankratz performed his yo-yo act at the National Convention for the second time. At the end of his act, he received a standing ovation and more cheers from the crowd than any other presenter at that session.
“Alex Schultz, Daniel Oeltjenbruns and Darby Harder received their American FFA Degrees at the convention, as well.
“Overall, this trip is an amazing learning experience. It is a great time to get to know FFA members from all over the United States and learn about how FFA impacts their lives.
“Thanks to all who support our FFA chapter; without your help, adventures like this one could not have happened!”
Below are photos from the national convention:
