Hartington-Newcastle FFA students attend national convention
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Six students from the Hartington Newcastle FFA organization, Ali Ford, Jade Ford, Kora Kneifl, James Pick, Cris Kneifl and Colton Campbell, got the trip of a life-time by attending the 96th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. The students along with their advisor, Emma Lammers, took the long bus ride to Indianapolis with four other schools, Osmond, Verdigre, Madison and Stanton.
The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 945,988 student members as part of the 9,163 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success though agricultural education.
The four-day trip was packed with leadership, new friends, and many new places to visit. After the long ride, members started their first and second day at the convention center. The first day consisted of going to the FFA mall, which is where participants can purchase shirts to blankets to anything you can think of. The career fair opened later during the first day, where over 400 companies and colleges were set up to speak with all the members who attended from across the nation. At the Opening Session, students listened to the National FFA Advisor speak, heard the national band and choirs, and had an amazing keynote speaker, Juan Bendana, inspire us to be the best we can be and no one else. We topped off the night by attending the world’s toughest rodeo at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds, where students got to interact and watch some of the top bull riders in the nation.
To start off the second day, HNS FFA students took a short trip over to the Indianapolis Speedway to see the track and museum where the most famous race car race is held, the Indianapolis 500. They headed back to the convention, where the students saw new farm equipment, and talked with other vendors. One of the extra things they got to do while on this trip was to travel a bit farther on the third day to see some of the sights students may not have been able to see previously. Heading to Kentucky, members got to go see firsthand how the bats are made for most major baseball players at the Louisville Slugger factory. They then headed over to see Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is held, to see horses working out on the track, getting ready for the races of the day. Then we stopped at the Indiana Caverns, where we took a boat tour one mile underground to explore the natural wonders of the state. The last stop of the trip was on the way home Saturday, to give the students time to stretch their legs, they got to explore the museum and headed up the arch of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.