President Regan Peters – The 94th National FFA Convention and Expo was held on October 27-30, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Convention Center. Nearly 69,000 attendees were present representing all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The National FFA Organization holds this event each year (with the exception of 2020) for members to meet other students in FFA and network with Ag related businesses and industry professionals. The Indianapolis Convention Center serves as the main hub in which most of the networking takes place. Here, thousands of booths are set up, ranging from companies, colleges, universities, and boutiques. Businesses enjoy the opportunity to meet with students and recruit them as potential employees because they are the future of agriculture!
The First General Session was held at 3:30 on the first day of convention (Oct 27). The session opened with the presentation of state flags and the National Anthem presented by the National Band and Chorus. This was followed by keynote speaker Courtenay DeHoff, Professional Bull Riding host and podcast host. Her message was to keep showing up and doing your job. Though it may take days, weeks, months, or even years, success will follow. She then tied it to her personal experiences and how she landed a career in the PBR and television industry.
Reporter Torey Tentinger – Everyone was excited for an in-person National FFA Convention this year. The week was filled with exciting and fun adventures. The ten FFA members traveled on Tuesday October 26th and took a pit stop at Mrs. Sam Schroeder’s Family Farm to see and learn about aerial application with Bell 47 Helicopters and stayed the night in Iowa City. The next morning the FFA members traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for the First General Session. They saw a Brett Young Concert, shopped, seen and talked to many vendors, and ate a lot of Culver’s Custard. There was a virtual reality tent put on by the Army, building and painting boxes for community pantries, climbing a beam supplied by the chainsaw company Stihle, and tie-dyed shirts. The FFA members had many learning opportunities and college reps to talk to. On the way home, the Group stopped at an educational farm called Fair Oaks where they did an obstacle course as well as watch live birth from a dairy cow. The trip came to a conclusion with the annual escape room and hotel stay in Peoria, Illinois. The National FFA Convention was a great experience and MMCRU FFA members would like to give a huge thank you to chaperionse Mattie Tucker and Jill Alesch.