Seven members of the Trenton FFA attended the National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana including Mr. Bradley and Mrs. Burdine held October 19th through the 24th. Members who attended were Whitney Benavides, Cody Griffin, Courtney Hanes, Morgan Hartwell, Amanda Mister, Ronnie Rice, and Cassidy Benavides.
We not only attended the convention, we also went to Edinburgh, Indiana to Not Just Popcorn, a small family owned business that makes and sales unique flavored popcorn and toured two USDA research centers at Purdue University. At the popcorn factory we got to see how they make their flavorful popcorn, and we sampled many of their flavors. They have over 200 different flavors. A few of the flavors they have are dill pickle, biscuits and gravy, hot sauce, and apple pie.
After that tour we toured the research centers at Purdue University. There we got to go to the Animal Behavioral Research Center and the National Soil and Erosion Lab (NSERL). We toured their labs and saw where interesting and beneficial research is conducted. The NSERL taught us how we can conserve soil for future generations.
The last two days of our trip we attended the convention. The theme this year was to Lead Out Loud. All the speakers at convention spoke about how to be a leader and Lead Out Loud. The session we attended featured Mike Rowe from the television show Dirty Jobs.
The last session we attended was to hear our Texas National FFA officer, Riley Branch, give his retiring speech. The title of his speech was "Invisible." He taught us to not just judge someone the first you meet them or see them, give them a chance and get to know somebody before you judge them. After the sessions we were allowed to choose between two workshops: “Social Networking: How it Can Impact Your Future” and “Careers in Veterinarian Medicine.” I attended the workshop about veterinarian medicine, where I learned some of the skills and requirements to be a good veterinarian.
Attending the convention gave us insights into how to be good leaders and it also taught us not to superficially judge someone but to give them a chance. We are all looking forward to going back to the National FFA Convention in a few years and learning more about the history of FFA and how to Lead Out Loud.