Connecting With Kids

While livestock is easily my favorite part of agriculture, the FFA organization has to be a close second. Growing up I was incredibly involved in my chapter, spending most of my free time in my ag building. As an adult, I joined my school’s FFA Alumni Chapter where I hold the office of secretary.

In early June, I asked the chapter advisor if she needed any help with summer activities. “I could use a chaperone for our officer retreat” she replied, which is why, as I write this, I am sitting on the deck of a posh cabin on the Iowa-Wisconsin border.

This year’s officers, eight in all, are a fun group. Led by a president that I can only describe as dedicated, they revamped their chapters Program of Activities (POA), calendared out their year, started a National Chapter application, recreated their committees, decided on a poster theme, designed tee-shirts, came up with new fundraisers and community service activities, and even did their officer team photo shoot!

An afternoon of cannoning brought both smiles and sunburn and for their evening, the students played a game involving a twister board, washable paint, and shaving cream. The picture below says it all!

Just as we were wrapping up the mess above, it started to downpour. Unfortunately, the storm knocked out electricity, which meant cold showers. Not to be put off, the girls grabbed a garden hose and their conditioner and washed their hair in the rain, which was great because shortly after we also lost water. The well was struck by lightning and would not be fixed until morning.

The next morning was our last and after a quick trip to the Amish bakery for heavenly maple cinnamon rolls, we were on our way! The students had a great time and I stole tons of new ideas to use with my NE Student Council kids. Thanks for an awesome trip, guys! I can’t wait to do it again!