Every year, FFA members from all around the country come to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National FFA Convention. Our Abilene FFA chapter recently took on the long trek to Indiana. 

In order to be eligible to attend the convention with the Abilene chapter, students must be active in FFA. This involves selling items for the fruit and meat sales, attending monthly meetings, and participating in any fundraisers in order to rack up the most points.

Mr. Cooper, Abilene FFA advisor, took a total of 15 FFA members to national convention this year. He was accompanied by Shari Smith, 8th grade science teacher, as the second sponsor.

“We drove all the way down to Indianapolis where the National FFA Convention was celebrating its 92nd year of FFA, which is the largest student-run organization in the world, as well as the longest running organization in the world. We attended a couple of sessions where we listened to keynote speakers, who were also motivational speakers. The students were able to attend a career fair and during it, they were able to meet with colleges across the country, businesses, and other resources to help students think about what they want to do after high school and how they can get involved. There were around 40 different leadership development workshops that were required for the students to attend, ranging from speaking workshops to working together in a group.” said Cooper.

The trip wasn’t all work though. Cooper also mentioned a few fun things the group got to be involved in. “We went to the FFA rodeo, which is named the ‘toughest rodeo’ according to the people there. We also did a scream park because you have to go to a haunted house to celebrate Halloween.”

Overall, the trip to Indianapolis seemed to be a great learning experience, as well as an enjoyable getaway from Kansas. The FFA chapter attends the convention every year so join FFA, rack up points, and you might just get the opportunity to be one of the few to attend.