Weiser FFA Chapter participates at national convention

by Nicole Miller

 The Weiser High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) program recently sent 12 students to the FFA national convention and expo in Indianapolis, Ind. 

 Teacher Robi Salisbury  shared that FFA is all about growing the next generation of leaders to change the world. The FFA National Convention is one of the largest student conventions in the world with the goal of inspiring, growing and developing this generation of leaders in business, science and technology of agriculture. Bringing a group of students from rural Idaho does just that. 

 Being in a room with 50,000 other FFA members and partners that want nothing more than to see each and every one there succeed really changes the students’ perspectives.

 Kasey Kautz, Clayton Moore, Banzer Arnett, Wyatt Erickson, Shae Kunz, Emri Kunz, Maddie Cobb, Macy Maloney, Kellie Petersen, Erin Larsen, Elaina Hoffman and Quinci Marvin were all selected based on an application process. The application was based on involvement in the Weiser chapter, reflection questions,  and academics.

 The students raised money for the trip from May to October. One girl held a  gun raffle, another did a silent auction, and two had a food booth at the rodeo.

 “Without community support our students would not have been able so thank you Weiser for always supporting our students,” Salisbury said.

 Making sure they kept their grades up to attend this trip was another priority for these students. They worked hard to make sure they were all squared away to miss a week of school by arranging with the teacher in advance for their absence. 

 Salisbury and her co-leader Patti Matthews spent the last few months planning out the trip.It was a jammed packed week, most days starting at 7 a.m. and going until 10 p.m. 

 The group flew into Nashville on Monday. They spent Monday night and Tuesday morning touring Nashville, where they saw the Country Music Hall of Fame and went to the Gaylord Opryland. Then they drove to Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon.  

 Wednesday morning they explored Louisville, where they did a backside tour of Churchill Downs and watched the race horses practice and even got to talk to a retired jockey who now trains race horses. 

 After that they went to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum and watched the process of making the world famous bats and what they are doing to help our natural resources.

 From there they went to Indianapolis. Wednesday night they attended a Brett Young concert put on by National FFA so it is only convention attendees. 

 Thursday and Friday they spent all day at the convention attending the opening session, workshops and exploring the college and career expo. 

 On Friday they also went to  Go Ape, an obstacle course and zipline, and attended a convention attendee only rodeo on Friday night. 

 Saturday morning they spent exploring the Indianapolis zoo before flying home. 

 The goal for this trip was to expose these students to how big the world of agriculture is. They make connections with peers, industry leaders, and colleges who all believe in the future of agriculture, an opportunity to learn how vast the agriculture industry is and what impact you can have on those around you.

 Salisbury shared that she would definitely classify this trip as a success. The students came back tired, ready to nap for days but also they came back more confident in themselves and with a better understanding of what being a leader means to them. 

 “Attending the National Convention as a student were some of the best times I had during my high school career but taking students as an advisor is so much more rewarding. Getting to experience and see these students grow throughout the week makes the hours of planning and lack of sleep all worth it,” Salisbury said. 

 Kasey Kautz  shared that attending the National FFA convention taught him confidence and its correlation to leadership. 

 “In a workshop I attended at the convention, we learned that in order to be an outstanding leader, you must have confidence and respect for yourself. This will make leading others more efficient, as well as make others view you with a greater respect,”  Kautz said. 

 “ I learned the value of hard work and leadership, this trip taught me how to be a valued member of a team and have empathy towards others,” Maloney said.  

 “I will never forget the 94th National FFA Convention. Being as this was my first, and last, nationals trip it’ll stick with me forever. I never truly understood how massive the FFA organization was. To walk down a hallway and see the sea of blue jackets, the feeling is unimaginable. I learned when you zipped up that blue jacket you have something in common with people in every corner of the country, no matter how different you are. You get to sit there and listen to others story and how FFA changed their life. To think that the people at the convention is only a fraction of how many people are in FFA. It goes to show you can truly do anything one blue jacket at a time,” Clayton Moore said.