4-square anyone ... ?

At FarmFest, I was invited by the President of the Lyon County Farm Bureau, Carolyn Olson, to attend the annual meeting on August 18 and give a keynote speech.
OK!
That was tonight, and I didn't even realize it until Carolyn reminded me, "This is your first meeting as a Farm Bureau member."
SWEET!
Our empty stomachs were filled with delicious barbecue ribs. One rib was enough, but one napkin was not. (I made sure to keep my OD nice and clean)
Kate Merna , Vice President of Marshall FFA, gave a great thank you speech to those in attendance of the meeting for the Farm Bureau's sponsorship of her trip to 'Red White and You.' It was evident that Kate had a great time based on her enthusiasm, humor and thoughtful words. I know Kate has a bright future ahead of her and can't wait to see where she will go.
The meeting was enlightening and full of great door prizes including a sweet daredevil lure I got with, of course, a Farm Bureau logo on the side.

After the meeting I took off, just down E College Drive to the High School where the Marshall FFA Chapter was having their monthly meeting. Members shared their summer experiences, upcoming state fair, and new plans for fall recruitment. I'm excited for them and wish I could be there.
BUT- My favorite part of our FFA meetings is the post-meeting activities. This night we played 4-square.
... for 2.5 hours! It was insane! My advisors were, on the contrary, not so insane. Mr. Sawatzke got into it, but the ball kept rolling through his legs and his arms would continuously flail to try to smack the ball. FAIL!
Once it got dark, Eli got his truck out and turned on his head-lights so we could see. We also discovered a vast ( and I mean VAST ) amount of frogs in the grass. I think I counted over 20, and we had fun just playing with them and scaring Courtney.

I love days like this!
...now to pack for college =)

PS: Check out the Minnesota Farm Bureau website for all of the great opportunities thye provide agriculturalists and FFA members like: Discussion Meet and Ag Pen Pals!

http://www.fbmn.org/page/home.html

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Timberland Leadership Camp !

Week #1 SUMMER !

What: Timberland Leadership Camp

Location: Sibley State Park: New London, MN

Date: June 1-3, 2009


What a relief it was to leave the high paced MNRER and find my way to the relaxing Sibley State Park, the traditional host of the Timberland Leadership Camp for the Marshall, Tracy and Sleepy Eye FFA Chapters. This was my second year, and it was a tough contest to tell which year was better, but I do know that I met some great FFA members and had a blast myself! I was enthusiastic to know that I would also be joined by my fellow teammates Emily, Crystal and your 2009 MN National Officer Candidate, Katie Zenk, to share the experience and help facilitate activities. This was our very FIRST time presenting and working with students since our election in April, so it was a good time to fine tune our skills and recognize where we can grow. I had the privilege to sit by campfire and listen to the beautiful voice of Kayla from the Tracy FFA Chapter, and roast some delicious marshmallows with Aileen from the Sleepy Eye Chapter. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t quite surpass the quality of Scott, the winner of the “Best Marshmallow Award”, from Sleepy Eye. The single most rewarding experience from camp was watching the openness of campers to get to know each other and create friendships and memories. Here are some awesome, random and fun things I learned from campers:


Brandon from Tracy, or as we call him ‘Schroeder’, has an art of drawing penguins!

Michael from Sleepy Eye is a speed demon in the 300 hurdles and loves gum drop towers!

Tony from Sleepy Eye aspires to become a veterinarian or a teacher. Oh yeah!

Alaina and Sam from Marshall are fearless as they dominated the Ropes Course at the Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center!

Emily from Sauk Centre gave life to the words, “Oh Yeah”, and made Kool-Aid consumption even more enjoyable.

Nate from Sleepy Eye is a dedicated runner, and even took me out for a run before 6:00 am!

Meghan from Marshall may be scared of heights, but she definitely has the guts to put on a frozen t-shirt for her team! (I could not do that …)

Crystal from Howard Lake has a singing voice that you cannot even begin to describe.

Katie from BOLD has given me advice that I will forever have on the inside of my FFA jacket.

We learned what it means to be an FFA member, took on a CDE challenge, set goals and defined our vision for life, challenged ourselves on the ‘Ropes Course’ as well as learning valuable and fun lessons in teamwork. (Thank You, Michelle, for finding the final tennis ball! ) The Banquet Officer Team did an excellent job on running a smooth banquet and handing out appropriate awards for each member present. I had the pleasure of escorting Aileen to the Banquet and she helped me discover how to cut our pork chops with a plastic spoon! After banquet, Mark, Scott and Nate got an “Extreme Make-Over: FACE EDITION” for their talent act I will never forget. What a great way to begin my service as a State Officer, with the members!

I miss everyone at camp, but I don't miss the catepillars, and can’t wait to see ya’ll again!