Dirt Roads to the Big City
Launch the media gallery 1 playerby Isabelle Skrdla
The Pierce FFA packed their bags and hit the road toward Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 26 after school. The crew met up with four other schools, and they all camped out overnight on the bus. They arrived at their hotel bright and early in the morning. Right away they eagerly got ready and headed to the convention center. There the members were able to sit in on a variety of different sessions, or they could go to the huge FFA shopping mall and career fair. After a long day of fun, the crew danced the night away at the Brett Young concert.
As soon as the alarm clock went off the members were up on their feet ready to start the day. The first thing on the agenda was the big opening session in the Lucas Oil Stadium. The members spent the remainder of the day exploring the areas around the convention center and in the career fair. The crew got a nice big dinner and the night off to hang out.
Junior Haiden Magnussen states, “I had a great first experience at National FFA. My favorite movement was watching the speech competitions. I also really enjoyed spending time at the career fair, they had a lot of fun events to interact with, and I learned about many different agriculture businesses.”
The next morning the bus was off to the Newfields Museum. The students got the chance to explore and spend their morning in the museum. The bus then traveled into Davenport, Iowa, and the members spent the evening socializing and ice skating.
The final day rolled around and the crew was ready to go home, but first, a quick stop was made at Cinnamon Ridge Farms for a small tour and a lot of insight on the business and production side of an automatic dairy farm. Shortly after the bus was back on the road, but not for long, unfortunately, the bus experienced technical difficulties just shy of Des Moines. The crew sat tight and headed off for home in no time thanks to the awesome bus driver, Robert.
Senior Makinzie Parsons says, “As a senior, I would say nationals overall was a great experience. I greatly appreciated my time there and I wish I could go back again. Even if the bus broke down, it was still a good time.”
Keep your eyes open for more FFA fun, there are many more upcoming events. Fruit sales have started and end November 17, soon after the blood drive will be at the high school.
