It has, for sure, been a LONG TIME since I have had the opportunity to sit down and type ! What a busy past two weeks. But, enough of my jabber, here are my thoughts on the 2009 National Leadership Conference for State Officers !
Nonetheless, the week was spent at The Leadership Center outside of Aurora. http://www.tlcaurora.org/
Nebraska is so lucky to have a facility like that with a 13ft pool, water volleyball, basketball court, ponds for paddleboats, sand volleyball courts, cabins, hotel-style rooms (we got those), and a cooking staff that still makes my mouth water. (the food, not the staff)
I left my house @ 2:30 and met with the gang: Mike, Katie, Emily, Crystal, Labecca and the awesome Addington family in Worthington, Minnesota to begin our adventure to Aurora, Nebraska! We arrived in Aurora at 11:00 that night, so it was a long trip, but don't worry each minute was filled with an extremely competitive game of My Cows!
... I was up to 7,607 until I was blindsighted by Emily as she yelled, "Kill Kirby's cows!"
... I was up to 7,607 until I was blindsighted by Emily as she yelled, "Kill Kirby's cows!"
* still contemplating our friendship...
Rest in Peace my cows.... rest in peace.
Nonetheless, the week was spent at The Leadership Center outside of Aurora. http://www.tlcaurora.org/
Nebraska is so lucky to have a facility like that with a 13ft pool, water volleyball, basketball court, ponds for paddleboats, sand volleyball courts, cabins, hotel-style rooms (we got those), and a cooking staff that still makes my mouth water. (the food, not the staff)
State Officers from Kansas, Nebraska and our western neighbors, South Dakota joined the Minnesota team. We weren't just 'there' by ourselves, we were joined by two outstanding National Officers: the Eastern Region Vice-President, Hannah Crossen and the National Secretary, Nessie Early. From my experience with the two for the week, they exceeded my expectations of what it means to be a National Officer and taught me a lot about how to be an effective team member and officer.
Here are some fun things I learned from my friends at NLCSO:
Here are some fun things I learned from my friends at NLCSO:
Garrett the State President from Kansas, was one of my room-mates for the week along with Zach and Mike. He qualified for the National Extemporaneous Public Speaking Contest this fall at National Convention ! It was cool to find someone else who shared my passion for speaking on the fly like Garrett and also attended the Washington Leadership Conference.
Dani from Nebraska, shares my same desire to work on an international level with agriculture and teach people new ways to raise their livestock and crops for sustainibility. ( It was a cool moment )
Chelsea from South Dakota, is the most extreme 4-wheeler/dirt-bike rider I have ever met. Her scar story definately tops the puny one on my arm.
Hannah from Ohio, was hoping for a tornado during our week. ... Her wish did come true, and we spent a good 45 mintues in a Conference Room huddled together under a table waiting and hoping and praying for the best. At first I thought it was a joke, or not too serious, so I began doign the "twist", in tribute to the twister. Then things got serious as we were told of the location and direction of the storm, towards Aurora. Covering our heads, we prayed. (This was my FAVORITE memory for the week because it showed how united we were, although from many different backgrounds, that night. Someone just started praying, and everyone joined in. Powerful.) Thankfully, we were all safe from the 1/4 mile wide tornado that ripped through a house, trees and damaged an Iams Food warehouse, but no one was hurt. :)
Sydney from Nebraska, is one of the funniest people I have met and I can't think of a better story teller than her. Sydney would like to become a medical doctor.
Amanda from Nebraska, is a beast on the basketball court. Playing a game of two-on-two with her against Garrett and Zach was to my advantage because she dominated. I can proudly say we one, but it is more like she won.
Brady the State President from South Dakota, is a genuine gentleman and a great guy. I have met few people like Brady that care so much about others, and agriculture.
Nessie from California, is short, sweet and a fan of the Cal Poly team that beat my home town college, SMSU at the NCAA Elite Eight. BOOO! . I remember her from the Minnesota State Convention and how she just sat down with my Crops Team and talked. Nessie is a great leader and example, and she is a part of the motivating force for me to asipre for more beyond state level leadership.
Zach from Kansas, is crazy fun. I honestly felt like it was "friend at first sight" because of the similarities I have with Zach and his enthusiasm. He will be competing at National Convention in the Horse Evaluation CDE, and knows a lot about H2O.
Hannah from Kansas is, just like me, a proud Roman Catholic! Watch out 2009 delegation, because she plans on having an Elephant proficiency award area opened up. Hannah is a lot of fun, and knows how to have fun.
Katie the State President from Nebraska, is a true team player. She shares my love of speech and is memorable, in my book, for her reflection on building.
The time I had this week with the Minnesota Team was definately worthwhile as we worked on finalizing workshops for the State Greenhand Leadership Conference (the next week), made vision and mission statements for or chapter visits in Region I & II, survived a tornado, killed each others cows and (Drum roll please... ) decided the theme for the 2009-2010 year!
Minnesota FFA members, I am proud to announce this years theme is...
...on the next blog!
A big thank you goes out to our NLCSO sponsors: The Monsanto Company, ADM Company, John Deere, Land O' Lakes, Wrangler and The Mosaic Company.
Special thank yous to the representatives from Monsanto and Mosaic for their presentation, and to Wrangler for their donation of a pair of pants!
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