FFA WEEK!!

FFA week = The coolest week of the year! : ) This is a brief overview of FFA week from my eyes!

Sunday: The team + some Collegiate FFA members+ The intern+ Wyatt Dejong started the week off right by painting the free expression tunnel at NCSU! Now everyone that walks through the tunnel will know a little more about FFA and agriculture in North Carolina!

Monday: Cory, Mr. Bledsoe, and I attended a lions club meeting and got to share the story of FFA with some Harnett county citizens who are all about service! We also go to hang out with some awesome Triton FFA members at dinner, and learn what their chapter is up to!

Tuesday: Bring on the madness! The morning started with a 8:00 am visit to Midway HS for a meet and greet with some of NC FFA's finest and some pictures! From there, we were off to Lakewood HS! At Lakewood, we got to hear Mr. Wyatt Dejong give his keynote address about becoming a true superhero! We also got to meet the chapter officers and some very awesome FFA members! Next on the agenda was a small off road adventure as we gave Wyatt and Mr. Larry Gossman a drive-by tour of the NC FFA center at White Lake. Next, we got to hang out with the members of the Bladen Agriscience Academy! Thanks for the amazing FFA cupcake! Cory and I jetted from White Lake to Southern Guilford to give a greenhand workshop for their federation Leadership Conference! Great times and Great people! Lastly, I headed to Southern Pines to meet with Miss Jamie Boudreaux as we planned for the next day!

Wednesday: It all started at Union Pines! What a great group of people! We got the GRAND TOUR which helped to let us see what great things this FFA chapter is doing for their school and community! Before heading out, we had a Q&A session with Mr. Wyatt and got some awesome pictures! Next on this crazy journey was Sun Valley! We had an awesome time mingling and getting to know FFA members over lunch while we tried our hardest to get the secret recipe for their famous chicken! I learned so much! They taught me about welding, horticulture, and their community service projects! These FFA members also taught us some amazing animal noises like an angry squirrel, ducks, and turkeys! Yay for a great visit! Next, we traveled to Northwest Cabarrus! Talk about a sweet ag program! They took us on a tour of their facilities which includes an arboretum, sheep and goat pastures, and a horse barn! We had an opening Q&A session with Wyatt, and then everyone dispersed and went through a 3 rotation workshop. After workshops, members gathered to see one of the coolest things ever - an FFA cake! EPIC! Afterwards, there was an FFA fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings! After a fine time, we said our good bye's and headed to the hotel!

Thursday: Today we started at North Iredell! A chapter with over 500 members!! Ahh! Totally cool! We had breakfast with the chapter officer, heard a keynote from Wyatt, and received THE TOUR! Next, we made a pit stop at North Surry! We got to meet with some pretty ball-er FFA members! We said our goodbye's and went on and adventure! We all piled in the van and away we went! We went on a tour of Mt. Airy, home of the Andy Griffith Show (and Mr. Bledsoe) We stoped by Opie's Candy Store where we each got a bag of candy! Here is where Mr. Goosman introduced us to a ZOT! Let's just say, there is a reason you can't buy these things at just any candy store! We picked up some souvenirs, drove on the blue ridge parkway, and saw a granite quarry! We ended the day at the depot. It was absolutely gorgeous! We got to meet some of Mr. Bledsoe's family! They were all so kind!

Friday: Woo! What a week! Friday brought back the reality of college classes! After class, we learned that "the dog walked" so we got to spend an extra day with Wyatt! We all went out to dinner, and then went ice skating with the Wake Federation! Thanks guys for a great night!

Thanks to all the members, Mr. Davis, Mr. Bledsoe, Mr. Gossman, Wyatt, and my teammates for making this FFA Week the best one ever!