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