Home!

With only 11 days remaining in my state officer year, I was able to go home to Owatonna, MN today for the Owatonna FFA Banquet. Before going to the banquet, however, I stopped at Central Valley Co-op with Justin to give a presentation about our ILSSO trip and thank them for their continuous support of FFA. Even though the weather was spectacular for fieldwork, eight employees were there to ask questions and discuss the global agriculture industry with us. Thank you!

This evening I was the guest speaker at my own FFA chapter. I always enjoy going home because it makes me proud to see members carrying on the traditions that started my FFA career. The very first committee I was on in FFA was the banquet committee :) The chapter and officer team did a great job. It was evident that they had the banquet well-planned and had practiced their script. Of course our banquet is never complete without the annual live auction. This year the proceeds went to Camp Courage. Keep up the good work Owatonna FFA!

Stationed by the ear of corn for just a little while longer,

Caitlin

Region II Banquet

Today brought me to yet another FFA Banquet. The Region II Banquet was held at the Pierz Ballroom in Pierz, MN. I had the opportunity to judge the Region Talent Contest and would like to congratulate everyone who participated. I can't wait to see the Talent Show at State Convention in just 20 days...it should be a good one. And, congratulations to the new Region II FFA officers!

Pierz FFA

Tonight I traveled to "northern" Minnesota for the Pierz FFA Banquet. I was impressed with the talent of their FFA members. Good luck to the teams that will be going on to State Convention at the end of the month! Now I am hanging out with some Pierz FFA members/Region II FFA officers as we are working on banquet scripts, retiring addresses and homework. I look forward to attending the Region II FFA Banquet tomorrow afternoon to be a spectator!

CHS officer training

One of the most valuable experiences of my state officer year occurred on Friday, April 3. We had the opportunity to visit CHS again as Jessica Lamker facilitated  a training session about Feedback and Motivation. It was the perfect experience to have with less than a month left in my state officer year. I learned about giving specific feedback, which can be applied to both my state officer year and will be helpful in my internship this summer. I am really going to miss visiting agricultural businesses and organizations after I hang up my jacket. CHS is a tremendous supporter of Minnesota FFA. Thank you!

Long Prairie-Grey Eagle

On Monday, April 30, 2009 I had the privilege of speaking at the LPGE FFA Banquet in Long Prairie. They had a great meal and program as they celebrated their chapter's accomplishments over the past year. This was just the first FFA banquet out of many that I will be attending over the next month. Others include: Pierz, Region II, Owatonna and Albert Lea. I am also working diligently on preparing for State Convention which is in just 21 days! A very popular question I get asked is, "So, are you ready for State Convention?" I have a lot of writing and memorizing to do before then...

Stationed by the ear of corn for another 21 days,

Caitlin

FILL Conference

Fun. Inspiration. Learning. Leadership. Another great FFA conference was held in Annandale, MN at Camp Friendship on March 27-29, 2009. Derek and I stayed overnight at the conference on Friday and organized evening activities and the reflections. About 100 chapter leaders were at the conference that was facilitated by Mark Jewell and Angela Fredericks. FILL is only in its second year, so I encourage FFA members that cannot make it to summer conferences to sign up for this one next year!