Invasion of the Blue
Launch the media gallery 1 player
Invasion of the Blue
Indianapolis news called it the “invasion of Blue”. FFA members call it the experience of a lifetime. The first ever National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis. The 79th Annual National FFA Convention was moved from Louisville, Kentucky to Indianapolis, Indiana. The Elgin FFA Chapter members made up just 9 out of the more than 51,000 members from around the nation in attendance at the convention. The nine members that went were juniors, Michael, Amanda, Jessica, and Jared; sophomores, Lindsay, Eric, and Tonya; and freshmen Jamie and Ashley, from Elkhorn Valley.
The members piled into the school van with their advisor Mr. Simpson, on Tuesday Oct. 24 and set off for the Norfolk Allied Tour and Travel Agency where they would meet the other 92 groups that were traveling on the 12 charter buses. The buses left a little after 9:00pm and drove though the night stopping once in Council Bluffs to pick up more students and then again every 2 ½ hours for breaks and once to switch bus drivers. The group finally arrived at their destination around 1:30pm Eastern Time. Once settled into their hotel the entire group went to Conseco Field house, the home of the Indiana Pacers, for the opening session of the Convention. There they listened to Terry Bradshaw speak former quarterback and superbowl champion from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Launch the media gallery 2 playerThe next day Elgin members attended the FFA career fair. The students wondered around looking at colleges, getting free pens, and participating in a lot of racing games, all while trying to get 50 autographs. Only there was a catch, the signatures had to be from different states, all 50 including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. At 12:00 the Elgin members got on yet another charter bus and went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They got to go around the track in a van that was remarkable similar to the school van the rode to Norfolk in. That evening we listened to the retiring officer address from Anita Estes, the Central Region National Vice President and 2004-2005 Nebraska State FFA President. After the session the group went back to the hotel and while some of the members went to the dance held at the hotel others sat in the dining area and played cards.
On Friday, the group started off the day with the touring of the Indiana State Museum and watching a movie at the I-Max theatre there. Following the museum the Elgin members went back to the hotel ate dinner and spent time at a shopping mall until the evening session. That night at the session there was retiring address from the Southern Region Vice President Erica Der from Florida and the keynote speaker was Mike Rayburn, an inspirational guitarist that received a standing ovation at both Carnegie Hall and at the FFA Session. That night at the hotel there was another dance, but this night it was sponsored by the Nebraska FFA so the State Officer team was there.
Launch the media gallery 3 playerOn our fifth and final day at the Convention we returned to the Conseco Filed house visited Starbucks Coffee and then departed for home the 16-hour bus ride home.
Respectively Submitted
Amanda