WLC and “Forward March”

“Attention!”…..to all WV FFA members;

    How are we all after WLC? I hope you all enjoyed yourself and met many new members and made new friends. I hope that we all took new material and ideas away from the conference back to our chapters, along with some fun activities. I think that we can all agree that we had a lot of fun with the spaghetti and marshmallow activity. You all worked so well together and it was a joy to watch you all work together to build those  creative structures. Now that WLC is over… (writer stops as a tear trickles down her cheek) :’(  …what do we do? “Forward March!” National FFA Week is approaching us and many chapters are busily preparing for a week of FFA activities and showing their spirit for such a wonderful organization. As we march into the next few months I also know that our State FFA Officer team will be traveling to various FFA Chapters to help with celebrating FFA week and doing chapter visits as well. I will be going to Dodridge FFA Monday to celebrate their new Greenhand award winners and Hundred FFA later in the week to do the same. Soon I will also be visiting Clay County FFA and Braxton FFA. This time is so exciting and it is an honor to travel and meet everyone. Hope everything is going well for all FFA chapters and have an amazing FFA week!

Sincerely,

Annaliese Henderson

2011-2012 WV FFA Vice President at Large

WLC, Chapter Visits and Awesome FFA Members!

Wow what an incredible past few months it has been! It has been so crazy the past few weeks preparing for Winter Leadership Conference, the end of the semester ending and  visiting some awesome FFA Chapters! So far, I have had the privilege of visiting Ravenswood Middle, Ravenswood, Roane County and Blennerhassett FFA Chapters this year and each and every one of them have been awesome visits with incredible members. These chapters are truly four of the best chapters in the state and I am so proud to get to be the state officer that gets to visit them. In the next few weeks I will be visiting with Fayette Plateau and Shady Spring FFA Chapters and I am sure that these chapters are going to be awesome as well! Don’t forget too that if you would like a chapter visit from a state officer or a state officer to attend or speak at your chapter banquet, I would be more than happy to be of service.

Going back to Winter Leadership Conference, I had an incredible time getting to see FFA members from all across West Virginia! I hope to see everyone back at State Convention in July at Cedar Lakes. I think everyone who attended would agree that we had some great sessions and really learned alot throughout the conference.

In the next month I am looking forward to seeing some FFA members at the Career and Technical Education Legislative Breakfast in February and the Ham, Bacon and Egg Show in March. These are some events where we as FFA members really get the chance to show legislators the awesome work we are doing as FFA members so they will continue to support us. God bless and I hope to see everyone soon.

Sincerely,
Wesley Davis
West Virginia FFA Association
State President

2011 to 2012- Flashback

Happy 2012 WV FFA!!!!

We recently welcomed a new year. Along with 2012 comes new friends, chapter visits, camps, Convention, and many new memories to make. Even though it is a new year we can’t forget 2011! The reason I say this is because we made progress toward our goals this year including chapter visits. Starting in October I visited some chapters in the Central Region and some in the Northwest. October 3rd, I went over the hill to Cameron for my first chapter visit and they learned the true meaning of “MIA.” October 13th, I was invited to Dodridge County Park for a wonderful awards ceremony for their community. October 15th, I went to New Martinsville FFA for their chapter visit and we had a great time there and worked with FFA activities. December came and the road became very familiar; December 11th Nicholas County FFA had their chapter visit and we talked about FFA record books and activities. That evening I drove back to Glenville, WV and the Central Region held their Regional Meeting at Gilmer County High School. We all had a good time and the night was very productive. After eating some really sumptuous home-baked goodies and hotdogs we held a short regional meeting/ workshop with some help from a few of my fellow state officers. Well it must have been regional meeting time for West Virginia FFA because the very next night NorthWest FFA held their regional meeting at Tyler County Fair Grounds. Tyler FFA alumni provided us with a good meal; and did anyone else know that dill pickles wrapped in ham and cream cheese would taste so good? I had a lot of fun with the members and we had a short workshop on community involvement. At both of the Regional Meetings we made up food baskets for families in our communities as part of our community involvement activities. I have had so much fun traveling and visiting all of the different FFA chapters and I look forward to meeting new members and traveling to different chapters in 2012!

Have a great year;

Annaliese Henderson- 2011 2012 WV FFA Vice President at Large

Road Trip…to Indianapolis!!!

Hello West Virginia FFA,

We were all probably too small to remember but when we took our first steps as babies our parents were so excited, when we said our first words our parents would say them over and over again, the first time we went to school mom and dad were leaping with joy that we were out of the house, and you better believe that on your first overnight stay or first “road trip” that they were so excited for you. (Maybe that was just because you were leaving home, but will we ever know?) This October I took my first big road trip with the officer team and Mr. Taylor, as well as many FFA members from West Virginia and many others. I had never been to National Convention and this year as a state FFA officer I had the chance to go and be a delegate on behalf of our state. We all got up from Ripley early on Monday morning to head to Indianapolis, we neatly packed the van and I got in for the road trip of a lifetime. Some of us slept on the way out, some..body jammed out to music I think almost the whole time, and others just talked. The drive was beautiful and it was the prettiest scenery I had seen in a while. We got to Indianapolis and went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; “Wow!” That’s all I could say! Members had talked about the speedway but I had never been there and I am so glad that the team had the opportunity to make that stop on our way to the convention because I think we all really enjoyed it. We pulled into our hotel and first off, the city of Indianapolis is huge, food is amazing, and I was starting to like the big city. I got my delegate package and we went to the Convention Center and took a tour then we also hit the mall. The week went by pretty fast, unfortunately, but we had a blast as a team. I was so happy that I had the opportunity to go to National Convention and be a representing delegate for West Virginia FFA. Two nights we as a team got to go to the state hotel and visit members, this was a blast! We made many memories and I just remember looking around the room and seeing the state officers sitting down with chaperones, teachers, and members talking and laughing; just having a good time. It was sad when it was time to leave that week but I made many memories and had a great time in the city of Indianapolis. This trip was a once in a life time opportunity and I am glad that Mr. Taylor agreed to drive us out there and that I took the opportunity to go with the team. We all had a blast and made many memories. I hope I can go to National Convention 2012, thanks to everyone for making my first National Convention so memorable!

Have a great year,

Annaliese Henderson- WV FFA Vice President at Large 2011-2012

Hello West Virginia FFA members,

So far, this year has been very fun and exciting. It has also been a true blessing to be able to serve each and every one of you.  Throughout the year, I have stayed very busy. So far, I have had 3 wonderful chapter visits, as well as some inspiring activities with some chapters in the Northcentral Region. However lately, the rest of the officer team and I have stayed super busy working on preparing a wonderful Winter Leadership Conference. For those of you that have attended WLC before, this year is going to be a little different. I believe that the changes that have been made will make for a great learning experience for everyone. I hope everyone is pumped for WLC and I can’t wait to see you all there.

Sincerely,

Shannon Jones

Northcentral Region VP

Blessed to Serve

To the Members of the West Virginia FFA Association,

I just cannot believe how fast this year is moving! It seems like just yesterday I was standing in the Convention Hall at Cedar Lakes and heard my name announced as your 2011-2012 State FFA President! Since that life changing day, I have been doing so much. From State Presidents’ Conference in Washington, D.C. to the Ravenswood FFA Chapter and Ripley FFA Chapter Discovery and Greenhand Degree Banquets just last week, every moment has been so inspiring and electrifying.

I stopped today though and found myself just pondering everything that has occurred in the past four months. The places I have been, the people I have met and the experiences I have had are all things I am so thankful for. But even more significantly I am thankful for you, the members that I have the incredible opportunity to serve throughout the next year.

I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you this year and look forward to an incredible year of service. And if there is ever anything you ever need, an event you would like me to attend or just need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to ask or contact me.

Yours truly,
Wesley Davis
State President

West Virginia State Fair Exhibits

The State Fair of West Virginia wrapped up an exciting week of activities, and as always the West Virginia FFA Assoication was busy with the events.  Each year students accross the entire state have the opportunity to exhibit vegetables, friuts, and other home grown products in  the Cecil H. Underwood Youth Center building.  FFA Chapters also have the opportunity to display an educational exhibit.  Many chapters work on educational themes, and some of the themes of the educational exhibits  include awarness on free range animals, supporting local farmers markets, the process of curing hams and bacons, and many more. The  Hundred FFA chapter, advised by Mr. Wilkins,  recieved  grand first place for the educational exhibits, and they hope to bring awarness on the inportance of supporting your local farmers markets.  Many Students also displayed their Agricultural Mechanics projects.  Students take  these projects very seriously and the effort that they put into them is clearly shown in the finished products.  A slideshow of the proficiency award winners was also on display in the Underwood building, showing the public just how important agriculture is and how it relates into our everyday lives.  All in all, the FFA exhibits at the West Virginia State Fair were a great sucess. 

 

To south East Region.. And West Virginia FFA!

Hello everyone,

again I am Curtis Tate the south east region vice president.  In this post I wanted to introduce myself a little better and talk about somethings we can do to keep in contact better. First off, my high-school chapter was shady spring. I’m currently attending college at WVU for agronomy. I decided to run for state officer so as that I could give members in school every great opportunity and then some. I look forward to meeting all of you in my region, also if any of you would like to facebook me feel free to, that way if you ever need anything or would just like to chat about some of the ideas we have planned for FFA this year, it’ll be easier to contact me. I look forward to serving you all and the FFA.

Sincerely,

Curtis Tate

Thank you West Virginia FFA Members

Well I can certainly say that I am blessed! I had always wanted to be a WV State FFA Officer and you all have made my dream come true. I would like to thank you all for your support and thank you all so much. I have had an incredible month thus far as an officer and I can’t wait to start chapter visits. Our officer team is ready to serve West Virginia FFA and you members. Thanks to you all we have an amazing officer team and we are ready to put on our blue and gold jackets and serve the FFA. Thank you again so much for this oppurtunity.

Sincerely,

Annaliese Henderson

West Virginia FFA State Vice President at Large

NLCSO

Oh those West Virginia hills, the beautiful Canaan Valley. You know were talking about the 2011 National Leadership Conference for State Officers. From July 31st to August 4th the entire West Virginia state officer team, along with teams from Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey,Maryland and Puerto Rico met up for the conference put together by the two national officers Wyatt DeJong and James Flatt.  At the NLCSO the officer teams got a chance to learn some leadership and workshop techniques while also learning a little about themselves and each other.The workshops included cooperation tactics, how to organize speeches and workshops and how teams can grow stronger together and become a healthier as a team. But not only did the West Virginia officer team grow stronger together, they also got an opportunity to meet with other state officer teams and see how different states work with there members and work as a team. Seeing how things work on a national and on a state level through a different perspective can really help in some situations. The whole experience was truly memorable and a lot was taken from it. The West Virginia State Officers are geared up and ready to serve West Virginia, and utilizing the skills  from NLCSO will make it easier for them to help more effectively.