July 2009

July was a really busy month for the State Officer Team.

We started July off by traveling to Conneaut Lake in Crawford County for the Western Pennsylvania Leadership Conference.  I had a lot of fun conducting our first conference and getting to know the members that were there, even though the hotel was supposedly haunted.  We stayed at the hotel over the weekend because the Pennsylvania Association of Agriculture Educators was held at the same hotel the following week.  It was nice to get to know a lot of the Ag teachers from across the state that we will be working with for chapter visits.

We went to a picnic at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.  It was one of the best picnic’s that I have ever went to because there were two pigs, corn roasted over a fire, and ice cream.

On the 20^th, we all meet up in Lancaster County to go to the Lancaster Farming headquarters and to tour Wenger’s of Myerstown.  After our tour, we went to Fox Chase Golf Club to get ready for the Monsanto Golf Tournament.  The tournament was successful with only a short rain shower.

We were at the Penn Atlantic Nursery and Trade Show near Valley Forge during the last week of July.  We helped set up the show, made sure it ran smoothly, and helped tear it down.  I never thought I could have as much fun at a plant show for a week as I actually did.  It was a lot of fun helping out and learning about the nursery and landscape industry. 

It was a great month that flew by way to fast.

Billy Saylor

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June 2009

June was an amazing month. Almost all of the State Officer Candidates went to a training weekend in Mechanicsburg where we all became friends and learned about the interview process and how to better prepare ourselves for the interviews at Activities Week.

FFA members all across the state covered the campus of Penn State for FFA Activities Week on June 9-11. There were several interview rounds that the State Officer Candidates had to go through with the Nominating Committee. I am sure that the selection of the new State Officer Team was extremely difficult for the Nom Com because all 19 of the Candidates were amazing and would have served the PA FFA Association well. The new Officer team was announced at the last session.

We went to the Wenger’s cabin in Lebanon County for BLAST OFF. We had a lot of fun spending the week together as a team and got to know one another better. We spent three and a half days in a conference room learning how to serve and be a better State Officer from our instructor, Jesse Eller. We got to spend a day with the Past State Officers while at the cabin to have some fun and get some advice. There was a picnic for our families on the last day that we were at the cabin.

We traveled to the Huntingdon Country Club on the 21st and got ready for the Hoss’s Fore FFA Golf Tournament. The next day, we made the golfers omelets for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, and did numerous other tasks to help make the day successful.

We had the rest of the month to spend at home.

Billy Saylor