FFA Chapter Travels to “Not” State Convention
On April 8 and 9, the Pierce FFA chapter traveled down to Divots to participate in the #Not State Convention. The actual state convention was held virtually by the Nebraska state officers, so our district decided to host our own version of the event. We had 16 of the 19 schools, or around 400 students, in our district come to Norfolk to partake in the convention. Ayden Thelen, the Pierce FFA Parliamentarian, says, “Given that we didn’t get to have state last year, it was really amazing to be able to get together with our local schools and still have a state convention!” The Pierce FFA chapter wants to extend a huge thank you to everyone, especially Steve Prince, Katie Prince, Kate Siebrandt, Bonita Lederer, Amy Fleer, Candy Stemick, Lisa Neal, Jennifer Fritz, Jake Jensen and last but not least, Mr. Neal. All of these amazing people helped put this event together! The members had an awesome time!
The first day of the state convention began with two keynote presentations, one who touched on the history of FFA and different aspects of agricultural education. The other presentation discussed the importance of women in agriculture, entrepreneurship in agriculture, and the necessity of communication in the agricultural field. In the afternoon, we attended one of the official state convention sessions via Zoom. The first day ended with a social and dance with all of our surrounding towns. The 2nd day of the convention started off with a career fair with over 30 businesses which helped show the students all the different sides of agriculture and FFA.
Finally, the state officers announced all the results from the state LDEs (Leadership Development Events) and CDEs (Career Development Events). Mark Venteicher received 3rd in Extemporaneous Speaking. An Agricultural Issues team consisting of Abygail Streff, Brielle Unseld, Haiden Magnussen, Makinzie Parsons, and Sarah Miller placed 3rd in their event. An Agricultural Demonstration team consisting of Brielle Unseld, Larissa Meier, Zach Meier, and Kyla Knox placed 4th at state. Haiden Magnussen received Gold in Natural Resources speaking. Abygail Streff received Silver in Prepared Public Address. Our teams in Agronomy, Natural Resources, Livestock Judging also competed at state.
Once again, the Pierce FFA would like to thank everyone who contributed their time to help put on this convention. It was an amazing and memorable experience for all. Thank you!