Sunday, September 27, 2009

"Fall" into FFA

Delaware FFA,

The summer flew by with exciting events such as the State Fair including displays, entries, CDE's, games, and the Annual Breakfast. FFA members all over the state are ready to jump back into action and start up the school year. Whether you were elected as an officer, or remaining to be an involved member, keep up the good work!

Over the past few months, the State Officer team and I have been working diligently to prepare for the upcoming year. We attended NLCSO in Gettysburg, PA (with Riley and Regina!), put on a lot of Mini-COLT's, did chapter visits, and much much more. We are so ready to "Rock the Blue, and Live the Legacy" with Delaware FFA members.

With COLT in just a few days, I cannot wait to meet everyone, put on workshops, and see what Delaware has to offer in the "FFA's Got Talent" contest. Bring your A game!! We have so many exciting things planned, so be ready!

Your State Reporter,
Amber Bullock

Thursday, August 13, 2009

July

Busy, Busy, Busy! That pretty much sums up the month of July for my team and I and I'm excited to finally have the opportunity to reflect on all of the experiences we've had.

The month began with Sam S. and I traveling to the West Virginia state convention, we drove the over 7 hours to Cedar Lakes and found ourselves having a great time. Cedar Lakes is the West Virginia FFA Camp and what I thought was really awesome about it was that many of the cabins and buildings were built by their FFA members as projects over the years. Sam and I presented our workshop to many of the WV members and it was crazy to realize that even though we come from different states, we still have the same common goals and interests in Agriculture Ed and FFA. While we were there we got to hang out with Regina Holliday, the Southern Region National Vice President and watch her present a workshop as well. We also received the opportunity to watch the outgoing officers who we had served the previous year with give their retiring address and got to see there new state officers be elected. It was overall a great experience and we are so lucky to have gotten the opportunity.

Next Lindsey and I traveled to Washington D.C. for the State Presidents Conference. There we got to be part of starting the delegate process, visit with congressman, see many of the national museums, and meet tons of new people. My roommates were great, they were from the states of Florida, Nebraska, and Michigan. I had a great time getting to know all of the other State Presidents and either Vice or Secretaries from around the country and getting the chance to work with them to be part of the history of our organization.

After we left D.C., we went straight to the fair grounds in good old Harrington, DE. I got there and couldn't wait to see all of the FFA exhibits that members from around the state had been working on and they were all outstanding. Congratulations to all who participated. I got to show my pig like always, and for the first time got to show a steer for the Breeding's and I was a little nervous, but Mrs. Breeding from Woodbridge really helped me before the show and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Working the Farm Bureau was exciting as always, I was in charge of making milkshakes.. and made a mess.. a really BIG one! Ha thanks to Amber and Brent for the help in making the messes and the milkshakes. The state officers and many members were invited and did ride in the parade each night, thanks to everyone who came out. We ended out a great 10 days with the FFA games, where there was a record turn out that not only included members but the Governor and Miss Delaware. Followed the next morning by our annual awards breakfast where we also had a record turn out. I can't thank everyone enough for making all of the events this year and the fair such a successful and fun time.

July was all kinds of fun and August has already promised to be the same. Good luck to everyone starting school soon. I can't wait to come to your classes and see what new projects you've got going on in your school.

Until Next Time,
Sam B., DE FFA State President

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Florida FFA Association State Convention

Hello Delaware FFA Members!!!,

I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of your summer break, I hope it turns out to be a great one for each and everyone of you! To kick my summer vacation off I had the opportunity to attend the Florida FFA Association State Convention. There is only one way to describe this experience and that is WOW!! While at the convention Mrs. Stacey and I assisted in the day of service event but specifically volunteering at the local food bank. At the food bank it was emphasised the importance of community volunteers and how hunger is simply overlooked. At the food bank I assisted the awesome Florida FFA members sort various food items by expiration dates. I truly enjoyed this experience, for I had the opportunity to learn more about their experiences in the FFA but also them individually, while most importantly serving a great cause!

The Florida State Convention quickly proved its self to be much larger than ours with over three thousand FFA members in attendance and ten general sessions. Amongst all this activity I had the privilege of presenting a workshop Wednesday and Thursday morning to some of the students in attendance entitled "Words on Everything". The Florida FFA members were very welcoming and an overall fun group to present to. Throughout the convention I enjoyed the many opportunities to speak with sponsors, FFA advisors, FFA members, community supporters, award recipients and both present and past state officers, and of course the Florida FFA Association state staff. I would like to congratulate the 2008-2009 state officer team Marshal Sewell, Will Leonard, Carly Barnes, Adrienne Boyette, David Swartzfager, Andy Mason, Jordan Fairfield, and Chanse Huggins on a job well done!!!! I would like to thank Mrs. Belinda Chason, Mr. Ronnie Simmons, and state staff for their great hospitality and assistance throughout the week, I had a great time! Finally congratulations to the Florida FFA Association 2009-2010 state officer team!

Delaware FFA members this coming week my team and I will be traveling to various industries across the state to educate them about the FFA but also become educated on their industries. Congratulations and best of luck to all the newly elected officer teams, I know you will all do a great job!

Lindsey Bethard
State Vice President

Friday, May 29, 2009

WOW

FFA Members, all that I can say about the past few weeks is WOW! I have had such a great time getting to know members from all over the state and have learned so much.

Ms. Stacey and I received the chance on April 30th to attend the Appoquinimink Middle Schools at A.G. Waters Middle School and give my keynote address where I had a great audience that included Members, Teachers, Administrators, Parents, and Family Members. Mrs. Lafferty, Mrs. Kirk, and Mrs. Colbert along with their Chapter Officers from A.G. Waters Middle, Redding Middle, and Meredith Middle made sure there was plenty of enthusiasm (and desserts) to go around. I got to listen to DJ (aka Frank) recite the Creed, as he won first place in the state at State Convention and we watched their slide shows, which showed all of their activities from the year, and it's so exciting to see that our Middle Schools are doing such a great job.

On May 14th Amber, Mike, Lori, Sam S., Ms. Stacey, and I attended the Sussex Central FFA Banquet and Sussex Central High School where Mike gave greetings on behalf of the State and Amber made a delicious PB&J sandwich during her keynote. After that we moved from the auditorium to the cafeteria where the cafeteria workers made us an awesome dinner and the always helpful Garth (who got selected to be Jr. Advisor) brought us our drinks. We then moved backed to the auditorium to hear Paige, Casey, and Tabby's retiring addresses, watch members receive awards, and also to hear the results for the 2009-2010 Sussex Central Officer team. Congrats to all who retired and all the newly elected Chapter Officers.

On Monday, May 18th Sam Squared traveled to Delmar Middle and Highschool where we got the chance to attend their first ever banquet. I got the chance to bring greetings and announce the 2008-2009 Officer Team (thanks Ms. Vent for going over the names with me beforehand) while Sam S. gave a great keynote on individual talents. Their school's new Culinary Club catered our dinner and it they did a such a good job. After dinner we got to hear about members and the awards they received, we got to hear remarks from Mrs. Nesbitt and Ms. Vent, we listened to the retiring officers, and also got to witness the announcement of the 2009-2010 Delmar Chapter Officer Team. A congrats goes out to the new President Jake and his new officer team. After it was all done we got to stay and talk to some students and hopefully convinced some to join the FFA in the upcoming year.

On Thursday, May 21st, Mike and I woke up early and made it to Cape Henlopen High School (my home chapter) by 8:30 to sit in on officer interviews along with the current Senior Officers, Mrs. Hastings, and Ms. Pepper to be a part of choosing the 2009-2010 Cape Chapter Officers. After a grueling round of interviews the decision was made and we got to enjoy ourselves at an end of the year picnic for the members. It was great to see so all of the members come out to have a great time, while competing in the Ag Olymipics. Finally it was the moment everyone had been waiting for, the announcement of the new officer, Amy Lingo, the current President got to reveal the new positions. Congrats to Megan Frohman the newly elected President and her team.

These past few weeks haven't only been about banquets though, on May 7th, all of the Career and Technical Student Organization Leaders gathered at Dover Downs for an awesome lunch where we all got the chance to mingle with one another, make new friends, and enjoy a great buffet. From there all of the CTSO Presidents were given the chance to speak about their organizations in front of the House of Representatives and the Senate! It was such a great opportunity to talk about all of the great things that our FFA members are doing, all of the State Officers also got to present to each Representative and Senator a Geranium grown by FFA chapters. To finish the day we got to meet in the office of Governor Markell, talk up the importance of Career and Technical Student Organizations, and got to have our team picture taken with him. All in all it was a great day, and May 7, 2009 was declared Career and Technical Organization Day.

Yesterday, I did something that I haven't done in a long time, but is so important to our Organization.. I gardened. I didn't just garden anywhere, however; I got to be a part of planting a vegetable/flower garden at Woodburn, the Governor's Mansion. Along with the help of 4 students from Dover Highs Plant Classes, and the help of 24 fourth grade students from a local elementary school! It was so great to see all of the young kids go from, "I don't want to get dirty" to "This is way more fun than I thought, what can I do next?" It really showed me that if you give younger kids the chance to learn about Ag and experience it, they have the opportunity to carry it with them for the rest of their lives. Members, I encourage to try and connect with a local elementary school and show them just how fun and rewarding Ag can truly be.

Looking back on these past few weeks, WOW, but looking ahead is even more exciting. We've got the State Fair quickly approaching and I encourage all Chapters to put together displays and students to compete in CDE's. That last week in July is such a great chance to showcase your abilities and maybe find or develop new ones. Work in the grange and barnyard and have fun with it and I'm sure I'll see you there!


2009-2010 State President
Samantha Burton

Friday, May 22, 2009

Banquet Season in winding down...

Hello Delaware,

I can not believe that banquet season is already over! I have had the opportunity to attend numerous banquets and I am so impressed with Delaware FFA. Every chapter has made me feel welcomed and truly did an amazing job.

Sam Steele and I attended Woodbridge FFA where we enjoyed a great chicken meal and watched many members be recognized for their accomplishments. It was nice to see Jose and other members again. Also, I was so excited because I won my first door prize ever!!

At Sussex Central's banquet I had the opportunity to give my keynote address, which was a lot of fun. The dinner was excellent, especially being served by Garth! It was interesting to see Paige, Tabby, and Casey give there retiring addresses/thank you's. Thank you and congratulations to Mary for being elected the new president.

Last night, Dr. Hutchison and I attended Christiana High School's banquet which was a lot of fun. I was thrilled to bring greetings on behalf of the Delaware Association and enjoyed eating dinner with their principals, school board members, and interim superintendent. Congratulations to Angelica for recieving the DeKalb Scholarship.

Tonight, Mike and I attended the Newark FFA banquet where I got to hear Mike give his keynote and watch 8 people recieve their Greenhand Degrees and 6 people recieve their Chapter Degrees. I really enjoyed talking with Talia, Ana, Dawn, Brandon who recieved the "livesaver" award, and Swanson who recieved the "bag of tricks" award. Also, Congratulations to the newly elected 2009-2010 officers as followed:
President: Anthony Swanson
Vice President: Atalia Ashcrav
Student Advisor: Trisha H.
Secretary: Megan Rise
Treasurer: Melissa Hall
Reporter: Jason Morris
Sentinel: Matt Brofey
Historian: Amanda Winword
(sorry for any misspelled names)
I can not wait to see everyone at the Delaware State Fair and keep in touch via e-mail!!!
Your State Reporter,
Amber Bullock

Friday, May 15, 2009

Banquets and Barbecues!

Hello Everyone:

These past couple of weeks my fellow officers and I have had the opportunity to travel to your chapter events and banquets. I had the opportunity to be on the nominating committee for the Lake Forest FFA Officer Team. It was really exciting to see the different goals that these students have and what they want to do with there FFA careers. Then yesterday I went the the Lake Forest FFA Barbecue and got to eat lunch with Brent, Cierra, Logan, and Joe. Thanks for having me and making me feel welcome.

At Sussex Centrals Awards banquet I watched the retiring addresses of Tabby, Paige, and Casey! I also had the opportunity to see the members receive numerous awards for there success in there Ag classes or for participating in a CDE. To conclude it all we heard the new team be announced.

I wish the best of luck to the 2009-2010 officer teams for the Lake Forest and Sussex Central FFA chapters! I would like to remind everybody of our State wide picnic this Sunday at Killen's Pond from 1:30 till 3:30. See you then and until next time!

Your state Sentinel,
Michael

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Banquets Galore!

Hello Delaware FFA!

Wow...this has definitely been a busy month. I had the great opportunity of attending Glasgow High School's chapter banquet last week where I was able to sit and chat with their officers, including past County Rep, Bianca, and also give greetings and hand out awards. I felt so honored to be treated so well, and even though I didn't win a gold fish, it was a fun time had by all.

Today, the SO's and I attended Legislative Day, where we collaborated with other Career and Technical Organizations in a luncheon and made a presentation to the Delaware Senate and House of Representatives. We were able to meet Lt. Governor Matt Denn and Governor Markell, which was a lot of fun. I also had the opportunity to share a little about our organization with Secretary of Education, Lillian Lowelry.

Tonight, Sam S, Ms. Stacey and I attended Woodbridge's Banquet, which was a blast. It was nice to see the retiring officers recieve their retiring gag gifts and watch the excitement of the newly elected officers. Also, Sam and I were ecstatic because we both won door prizes (and trust me, I have horrible luck; I never win anything)!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone really soon; whether it is at your banquet or not, and especially at the Statewide Picnic at Killens Pond on May 17th!!

Your State Reporter,
Amber Bullock