On the first day of March the three of us Eastern Region people found ourselves at Delaware Valley College for the Del Val leadership conference. State Officers as well as members from Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey attended this conference put on by collegiate FFA at Delaware Valley College. After putting on our workshops that morning we had lunch followed by our motivational speaker, Mr. Steve Bixler alumni from the Tri-Valley FFA chapter and former state officer.
The next week on the 11th we had the opportunity to participate in an international forum at the department of agriculture. There were people from New Zealand, Ireland, France, and the UK present. Most of the members there had never heard of the FFA before so we definitely had enough to talk about with them. The next day we met for a day to get ready for SLLC before having dinner at a Japanese steakhouse, which was a first for many of us.
The following day we met at the Holiday Inn in Harrisburg with the second year scholars to get ready for SLLC. The next few days were spent with us debating bills with our members, running caucus meetings, and general assemblies. On Sunday night of the conference our second year scholars performed reflections. The only word I can think of to describe their performance is AMAZING!!! If you weren’t there you missed out. The Following day it was time for SLLC tours we toured Wengers of Myerstown the Lebanon Wildlife Refuge and a compost facility before we made our way back to the hotel for the dance. After the dance that night we had the opportunity to perform reflections for the members. “Add color to the world”
On March 18th it Billy Saylor and I headed out to Oley Valley for our first FFA banquet. We had the opportunity to see the hard working members of Oley Valley rewarded for all their hard work. This chapter is amazing even winning at the national level this past year.
From March 25-27th we got to help out at the Keystone Truck and Tractor Pulls. We sold programs collected tickets, and did whatever else was needed of us. When the day was all said and done what was left to do other than watch the tractor pulls!! Lets keep in mind that I’m from Philly and we really don’t have tractor and truck pulls. Let alone the tractors or the trucks.
The following week it was already time for Eastern Region SOCS. They were thirteen members in attendance from the east. I must say the eastern region has a strong future in the Association. Good Luck you guys.
As March winds down that only leaves us with two more months before convention. It’s sad to think that in two more months I will be retiring, but exciting to think that I get to meet the future state officers.
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February a short month with a very busy schedule!! After spending a week recuperating from SELC, our team had the opportunity to meet with Senator Brubaker at the capitol. After our meeting we were able to sit in the gallery and watch as the senate accepted a resolution for national FFA week. Hearing our names on the floor of the capitol was an awesome experience that I will not forget any time soon. The next day we were back in Harrisburg to kick off CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organization) week students from all different programs including cosmetology, nursing, and law enforcement were in attendance that day. Unfortunately CTSO week was cut short due to the massive amounts of snow that fell on Pennsylvania that week. After being snowed in at the Walmer household and playing countless games of Uno, life, and we even got to go snow tubing Myerstown style. We packed up and battled our way out of the snow for the first weekend of ACES.
All Aboard!!! On February 13th 500 FFA members filled the Sheraton hotel for the ACES conference to learn about diversity, FFA Knowledge, Global agriculture, Community service, and professional networking. I had sooo much fun with the members in my diversity workshop with Abe Mellinger were we met some rather interesting potatoes, including an Amish one from North Korea. Around 30 potatoes and 100 flying markers later it was time for dinner. This year at ACES we had two guess speakers after dinner. All I can say is:
A) To know that talk about OUR Mid Winter Convention made it all the way back to the white house is not only exciting news, but rewarding and..
B) WOOPOW!!!!
After dinner we danced the night away before giving our reflections which were inspired by Nickelbacks “If Today Was Your Las Day” The next morning our time of inspiration was performed by the Praise and Puppet Theatre. Complete with a black light show. After our breakfast we did our regional workshops. As state officers we wanted to know what YOU as members think we need in the FFA. A million pictures and hugs later, our team headed home to rest up and prepare for ACES #2.
On February 16th I attended Region 1 Farm Bureau day in Montgomery County. It’s always a privilege to spend time with members of Farm Bureau and hear what their members are doing since November when we last saw them.
On the 17th Molly and I went back to ELCO high school for a second semester visit. We had the opportunity to see how much their chapter had accomplished since the last time we saw them back in October.
Before we knew it was time for the second weekend of ACES. For the most part it was the same as the first weekend with only two exceptions.
1) We were joined by the six members who were chosen as 2nd year scholars Casey, Adam, Kerri, Alli, Calli, and Jill. We had so much fun hanging out with them that weekend and couldn’t wait to work with them again at SLLC.
2) As the conference ended our National Central Region Vice President Mr. Chase Rose from Montana showed up to spend his week in Pennsylvania.
On the morning of the 23rd our whole team volunteered at the Central Penn Food bank. We were joined by members from West Perry and Big Spring FFA chapters and spent the whole morning working with them before getting to hang out with them for the rest of the day. After the morning at the Food Bank it was time for Meet your State Officer at HOSS’s night. Billy and I headed to Litiz with members from Garden Spot, Grassland, Manor, Cloister, Little Dutchmen, Hans Herr, Manheim, and Solanco. Senator Brubaker even stopped by to join us. Like I said February was short but busy. Time to get ready for March!! Counting down the months till state convention. See you there!!
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Not only does January bring a whole new year it also brings the Pennsylvania Farm Show!! On January 7th the state officers met up in the Harrisburg for the first of nine days at the Farm Show complex.
In addition to a weekend full of practicing for Mid Winter, we were able to attend the unveiling of the butter sculpture, the governors reception, the opening of the Farm Show, and intending a scholarship breakfast for 4H and FFA members.
On Monday January 11 we held our Mid Winter Convention where Attorney General Tom Corbett, Senator Casey, and Secretary Redding all spoke. In addition to some amazing speakers we also witnessed 165 first year FFA members earn their very own FFA jacket and 247 members receive their Keystone degree. Congratulations to all members who were honored at Farm Show!!
The rest of our time at Farm Show was spent watching chapter demonstration, helping out at our Foundation food booth, visiting chapter displays, and attending the greenhand quiz bowl. We had an amazing time at Farm Show this year. You can definitely count on me being there next year.
After a brief break to recuperate from Farm Show we all met up in Mechanicsburg to visit the AgChoice Farm Credit office. After a morning in Mechanicsburg learning about all the different parts of AgChoice we headed down to Chambersburg to meet with the Cumberland Valley branch. We had the opportunity to hear about all the jobs and responsibilities that come with AgChoice and we shared our stories as FFA members.
The next day on the 30th Molly, Billy, and myself headed up to Twin Valley high school for the South Eastern Leadership Conference. With students from Twin Valley, Garden Spot, Headwaters, and my home chapter of Philadelphia, this 12 hour pirate themed conferences held workshops about individuality, professionalism, teamwork, communication, and leadership. There were even sessions on public speaking and community service. As well as “Are you smarter than a pirate” and “The pirate dating game. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life. This was definitely one of my favorites in my five years of being in FFA. The Twin Valley officers did an amazing job with this conference. Now it’s our turn to try out this whole conference thing with ACES next month. I hope we can do as good of a job as they did with SELC. We’ll see in February. See you there!!
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December 2009
December!! We all know what that means. Our year is half over. Six months down and six months to go!!! December was a good month.
December 1: Oxford- Alex came down to spend some time in the eastern region as we traveled to Chester county to spend some time after school with Oxford we taught them a lot about FFA event though we weren’t there long we enjoyed our time there!
December 3: Upper Darby- A brand new chapter that was just chartered the next day at our board meeting! With a former state officer from New Jersey as an advisor, I’m expecting great things from their chapter in the future!
December 10: Reading Muhlenberg CTC- A chapter who I can honestly say that I can’t wait to see them again. Molly and I had such a great time with these members.
December 11: Raystown- After leaving Reading Muhlenberg we spent the night in Huntingdon then spent the day with Raystown FFA. I learned some new stuff about sensitive plants, chinchillas and….. Bear bologna?? I know I’m not in Philly anymore.
December 15: Pine Grove-Spent some time with their officer team, they are hilarious! Can’t wait for your banquet!
December 16: Penn Manor- Me and Billy S. spent the day with Penn Manor as they were finishing up their fruit sale. I’ll see you guys at Farm Show good luck with your display.
December 17: Solanco- Time flew by at Solanco high school, talking about all the memories of our high school FFA chapters!
December 18: Grassland- After classes we had the entire FFA chapter come down to learn the secret art of…. Towel flipping. We had so much fun with them and learning about “cupicake island” See you guys at ACES and have fun at Farm Show.
December 22: Chambersburg- After a day of workshops we sat in on their chapter meeting. Followed by dinner that night at HOSS’s with the Franklin county FFA members. What a night. We had a blast that night with Travis, Brittany, and Matt.
On December 23rd Billy B., Caleb, Heather, Alex and I had the opportunity to witness the oath of office the 24th secretary of agriculture Mr. Russell Redding. We helped set up before heading to the capitol building in Harrisburg to witness Mr. Redding take his oath of office. It was an experience that we will never forget. Thank you once again to Secretary Redding for allowing us to be there!!
December was an amazing month and it’s the halfway point. So you guys know what comes next right?? The Pennsylvania Farm Show!! See you guys there. Good luck to everybody competing and congratulations to all the Keystone degree recipients!!
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November 2009
Wow the months are just flying by November has come and gone already. Soo much has happened this month. Let’s see…..
November 4: Elizabethtown- Alex and Sam joined Billy and me in the east for the day to spend the day at Elizabethtown. Probably some of the best games of captain’s coming ever. We even learned Mr. Bittner’s fool proof formula for ordering pizza. (SHHH it’s a secret!) All I can say is HIT THE DECK!!
November 5: Technical College High School- Good time in Chester county we were even there to hear who their new chapter officers where.
November 10: CAT Brandywine- Found some people who like rats as much as I do. J
November 11: Octorara- Our time there was short, but we can honestly say that we enjoyed the visit.
November 12: Little Dutchmen- Spent some time with the seniors and their record books and taught a lot of freshmen and even eighth graders about the FFA!
November 23: Northern Lebanon- Mushroom pizza is good and I don’t care what anybody says! Made some new friends at NL how can you not bond over puzzles and pizza???!!
November 24: Tri-Valley- A group of people with so much school spirit and excitement. I met a few interesting three headed monsters ;)
Our team spent November 16th and 17th in the sweetest place on earth. That’s right the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Convention was held in Hershey Pennsylvania. Along with meeting members from our county Farm Bureaus, we had the opportunity to help out during the delegate sessions, where we learned what the Farm Bureau does, there was even a health fair where I got to meet an EXTREMELY smart guide dog named Trout. The Pennsylvania Young Farmers and Ranchers committee even invited us to sit in on their meeting and we had the opportunity to see what they do, which is very similar to the way the FFA works. After a banquet on Tuesday night and a performance by Recreation (Volunteer song and dance group, they were pretty good) we headed out and said our good-byes to the members of the Farm Bureau…… for now at least!
On November 19th the three of us in the east met up at ELCO high school for the Lebanon Schuylkill leadership conference. Members from ELCO, Northern Lebanon, Cedar Crest, Little Dutchmen, and Tri Valley FFA were in attendance. After some ice breakers (compliments of Tri-Valley FFA) and helping with the Greenhand Quiz Bowl. We did a workshop with seniors and juniors for recruiting new members. You guys had some good ideas. Good luck with your chapters. That was a really cool night where we got to see the Lebanon county officers shine and saw the hard work that some freshmen put into studying for the greenhand quiz bowl. Congratulations you guys!
On November 20th the entire team found themselves in the very heart of my hometown of Philadelphia. For the first time Farm City Day was held in the middle of the largest city in the state. Where there were exhibitors from different agricultural companies, Pennsylvania Dairy Royalty, and even a few members from my home chapter of Philadelphia FFA. It was an exciting day where we even got to celebrate Mr. Russell Redding’s birthday with Russell Reddings ripple chocolate snickers ice cream compliments of the students at Saul high school.
Thanksgiving Day brought the team once again to the heart of the City of Brotherly Love. Our team had the opportunity to walk in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia with the Campbells soup float. In addition to FFA members the Campbells float held Bianca Ryan winner of America’s Got Talent and Bobby Eakes .Our time in Philly on Thanksgiving was SOOO much fun AND we all still made it home for Turkey!
As November comes to close I come to a realization that our team is at its halfway point. Six months down and six more to go! Can’t wait to see what happens in the last half of our year!
Brittany
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October 2009
October was an EXTREMELY busy month for our team and it flew by. It started off on the 3rd with us meeting in Camp Hill for the annual Blue and Gold Ball/ Past State Officer Reunion. It was a night full of fun with the 2008-2009 Team and previous years. After our ball we had the weekend to rest up and it was time for our month to get started!!
On October 17th we met up in Mechanicsburg to make our way out to Indianapolis, Indiana!!After driving to Ohio we spent the night in a hotel that was made out of Silos. Yes I said silos. The following morning we made our way to into the city of Indy. This was my third time at National Convention, but seeing the Indy welcomes FFA banners around the city will never cease to amaze me. We spent Sunday hanging out with some old friends from NLCSO.
The next day was our Day of Service. Our team had the opportunity to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity our team and one member from the Vermont team (an adopted Pennsylvania member) worked all morning to put siding on the house. It was an extremely fun morning getting to know our home owner Mark Anne and helping to build the house, but next time for the safety of myself and others I think I might have to leave the actual pounding of nails to Tyler and The Billy’s……… just a thought
From the 20th- 22nd we worked on our delegate issues. Not only did I get to participate in issues that would affect our organization, but I met with state officers from across the country. On the morning of the 22nd we attended Opening Session where we go to hear from Mike Rowe as the Keynote Speaker. The rest of our week was spent attending sessions and hearing from amazing speakers such as Josh Sundquist and retiring addresses from the 2008-2009 National Officer team. On the 26th we watched 47 members from the state of Pennsylvania receive their American Degree including Tyler and the 2008-2009 national officer team retire and the election and installation of the 2009-2010 National Officer team. I had a blast at nationals meeting so many new friends, such as Jason and Diego from Puerto Rico and me and Alli’s roommates from Colorado Rhonda and Courtney. My week spent at National Convention was unforgettable.
On October 15th our team had the opportunity to tour Penn National Race Track. We had the opportunity to learn about the racing industry and got to see the facilities where the horses were kept and treated. Even though a few teammates almost lost their jackets to a horse and it was a rainy, cold day, we learned a lot and really enjoyed our time with the people at Penn National.
That night Billy, Molly, and I made our way to Lebanon County get acquainted night held at Katie Donmoyers house. The first time I wore a Carhartt!!
October 6: Ephrata- What does it take to build a tower out of spaghetti?? According to the kids at Ephrata mad skill and I learned that a
pilot is the most vital part of agriculture J
October 7: Bangor-A new chapter where I learned that The human knot probably isn’t always as easy as it everyone thought it was lol
October 12: Manheim- Spend some time having fun with the Manheim crew after all their hard work on the Manheim Farm Show.
October 13: Garden Spot- Had a blast with the officers at Garden Spot and learned a thing or two about Lancaster County J
(Such as everyone hunts… literally, seriously I didn’t know that I’m from Philly cut me a break!)
October 14: ELCO- The three of us in the east headed to ELCO for the day where there were a few intense games of ninja and we got to
meet the ENTIRE ELCO FFA chapter.
October 16: Cedar Crest- Good Day with the Cedar Crest officers before getting ready for Nationals!!
October 27: Conrad Weiser- Let’s see a rooster named Jeffrey, a cow named Chance, a tank full of cockroaches and a seven legged puppy??? Just a few things we saw with our time at Conrad Weiser high school.
October 28: Berks CTC- Another brand new chapter with some very awesome members, can’t wait to see them in the future!
October 30: Philadelphia- The month ended with the entire team headed down to my home chapter of Philadelphia. After a few interesting games of who’s the leader, we spent some time in the ag room with the chapter officers. It was good to be home J
October was probably our busiest month so far, Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will hold!
Brittany
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September 2009
September already??? It feels like school just ended and another year has already started - but not only did school start, so did Chapter visits!! On the 16th our entire team headed to Bermudian Springs to spend the day with the members. We had so much fun working with them all day and learning about their Ag program from Mr. Wardle and Ms. Dellinger.
The next day it was time for a road trip as our team met up in Harrisburg. For all you math folks out there let’s see - what is at the end of a seven hour ride in a fifteen passenger van with eleven state officers and the Brammers??? Give up? The BIG ‘E’!!!! On the 17th our team arrived in Massachusetts ready to help with the competitions. After catching some sleep we headed to the Big ‘E’ fair grounds where I got to help with one of my favorite CDE’s vet skills, and spent some time with the team from Penn Manor. The next day I teamed up with some state officers from Maryland to work with the Natural Resources CDE which included us making our way down to the pond……in full official dress. That night at the banquet all the teams were recognized for their hard work. Congratulations again to all the teams and individuals who competed at the Big ‘E’ (You guys gave Ohio some stiff competition J ) after leaving Massachusetts it was time for the All American Dairy Show.
From the September 21-24 our team was in the presence of royalty as we teamed up with state and national dairy princesses at the All American Dairy Show. While passing out ribbons, helping out at the info booth with Mr. Bob and helping with sonograms our team learned a lot about dairy cows. Some of us even got to lead a few during a dairy judging competition where members competed. Good job to everybody who competed that day.
On the 24th we left Harrisburg and headed down to Gettysburg Area High School for the Adams Franklin York (AFY) Leadership Conference. That evening we did workshops with the officers according to office and we did one with each individual chapter. Alex and I got to work with the Battlefield FFA chapter. You guys were great!! Before dinner we participated in a workshop led by Britney Marsh which focused on the different areas of agriculture not just the traditional, you know beyond the traditional like ‘Beyond The Blue’ (Where have I heard that before??) I know I speak for the whole team when I say that we enjoyed being with the members at AFY.
The next morning Molly, Billy Saylor and I took a trip to Twin Valley high school for their final day of greenhand rush week. We had an amazing time doing workshops with the members all day before the tailgate that night, where there was plenty of food and none other than…. Rockband. That’s right when it comes down to it the kids from Twin Valley know how to rock and when it comes to the human table they don’t mess around. I know that we had fun that night with the TV FFA crew and we can’t wait to see them again!!
October is right around the corner which means time for more visits and…………. NATIONAL CONVENTION!!! Good Luck to all the members who are competing that week and Good Luck to Britney Marsh our national officer candidate. September was a great month I hope to see you all in Indy!
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August 2009
From State College to the Gettysburg battlefields we’ve spent another fun-filled month traveling the state of Pennsylvania. August started off with our team meeting in Gettysburg on the eighth for NLCSO (National Leadership Conference for State Officers). State officer teams from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey including national officers Regina Holliday, and Riley Branch all came to Gettysburg Pennsylvania for the conference. We spent our week at NLCSO working with our teams as well as learning some rather interesting things about the other states (by the way if you ever get the chance ask some Delaware state officers to bust a rhyme for you, or some Virginia SO’s for a game of ninja J ). We had the chance to watch the West Virginia and Virginia state officer teams perform reflections and each state had the chance to perform opening ceremonies. Also we got to tour the battlefield in Gettysburg before heading to The Gettysburg High School for dinner prepared by the Battlefield FFA chapter. We even got to check out their Ag department, which I might add is pretty cool. Thanks again to the chapter officers and the advisors for coming out over the summer and showing us your school. On our last day of NLCSO we headed to Mason Dixon farms for a tour from Lance Waybright of their facilities where they use robots to milk the cows, that’s right I said robots. After our tour the states parted ways. We can’t wait to meet up with them again at Nationals and The Big ‘E’!!
After a short break on the 17th our team headed to state college for Ag Progress Days. We spent our time working in the foundation food booth and working our display in the children’s building. Thanks to everybody who helped out in the food booth - it was long and tiring, but we had fun!! When we got some free time to tour the park and weren’t running for cover from the rain J there were so many displays and booths and lots of tractors. I learned something about this guy named John Deere??? Just kidding!!
Billy, Molly and I then headed to Altoona for The Mellnick Blind golf tournament. Where we helped the Mellnick family and got to learn about them and how they work with the Blair County Association for the Blind. We spent the day doing whatever they needed us to do and we were treated to some delicious meals.
Our month ended with us at PDA once again. This time we were each assigned to an employee to shadow them for the morning. I got to shadow Lana Adams and I spent the morning learning about diversity in Ag. Who would have thought about how many different careers and jobs were involved in agriculture. We all met up again for lunch where we got to share what we learned that morning and we learned some fun facts about PDA. We spent the rest of the day learning about multiple careers at the USDA FSA Office before going our separate ways again.
September is just about here which means time for The Big ‘E’, All American Dairy Show and……. Chapter visits!!! Can’t wait!! It’s been a long, fun summer, but our team is ready for the school year. PA FFA - GET READY!!
-Brittany
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July 2009
July started with our team meeting up at PDA on the seventh for a team meeting. We were all excited to see each other after being apart for two weeks. We got to meet with The Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Dennis Wolf as well as the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Russell Redding, and his Executive Assistant Jean Lonie.
After our meeting we all met up again on the ninth to head out west for the Western Pennsylvania Leadership Conference at the Conneaut Hotel. Our first day was spent with the members going through different workshops, followed by a party on the beach complete with a hula-hoop contest, a floating dance floor, smores, and even ghost stories about the haunted hotel (hum?????) After our party our team had the opportunity to perform reflections before catching some sleep. The next morning started early with us heading to the beach to do workshops with the members. Me and Heather had a scavenger hunt which sent people running across the beach searching for various items, and in some cases people (sorry Mr. Brammer!) After our workshops we had the opportunity to listen to a guest speaker talk to us about manufacturing he even brought us a cool Harley to get his point across. After everyone left our team spent the weekend hanging in the hotel and at the lake and we even got to go canoeing!
The following Monday the ag teachers showed up to attend the PAAE conference. We got to meet teachers from all parts of the state and I know that I can’t wait to see them again during chapter visits. We spent the week helping out with different workshops, and tours. I got to tour a few really cool farms during the week. On Thursday as we headed home I think our whole team could agree that with the help of some cool members, ag teachers, and even our new friend Elizabeth (haha) our time at the Conneaut Hotel was a very exciting experience.
After a short break it was time for our second golf tournament this time in the east. Once again there were omelets made and golf carts driven for deliveries to the golfers, complete with an auction.
Our last week in July ended with the whole team headed to ‘Philadelphia’ for the Penn Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (PANTS) We spent the week helping out with whatever was needed whether it was holding doors and moving plants or fetching ice. Even though we had some early mornings and late nights in the end our team can honestly say that we enjoyed our time with PLNA at PANTS.
July was a very full month, the summers half over though can’t wait to meet you guys in the fall!
Brittany
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June 2009
From June 9-11 I got to watch members from across the state of Pennsylvania shine in their chosen CDE’s at state convention. We watched as some talented students performed for us during sessions, received awards in different areas and during the longest general session I ever had to sit through we watched your 2008-2009 state officer team be recognized for all of their hard work and then retire. Before the candidates knew we were huddled in front of the stage waiting, and our eleven names were called as your 2009-2010 state officer team!!!
The Monday immediately following convention we headed up to Wenger’s cabin to spend our week doing BLAST OFF training with Jesse Eller. Our week at the cabin was spent getting to know our fellow teammates. We had an amazing view at the cabin, we were treated to some delicious meals, as well as some good music (compliments of Tyler Funk) That Saturday the past state officers came up to visit and the following day we had our family come up to see the cabin and to meet our teammates. After saying good-bye to our families we headed to Huntingdon County for a golf tournament. We spent the afternoon setting up for the following day before we headed to Raystown for some sleep. Then the next morning we were back to help with the tournament. Heather, Billy S, Alex, and I had the opportunity to flip omelets, taught by none other than the Pennsylvania Omelet king himself. The rest of the day was spent with our team making sure that the golfers had what they needed Andy Fisher and Kelly Over even came back to join the fun. After a good dinner and an auction our team parted ways at the end of the night. It was weird knowing we weren’t going to see each other again for two weeks after being together for so long , but we knew what we learned during our time together at the cabin will help us better serve the members. Can’t wait to meet u guys this year. PA FFA get ready for your 2009-2010 state officer team!!!!
Brittany