Marais des Cygnes Valley FFA members learned to make a difference at the national FFA convention.

In October 2016, the Marais des Cygnes Valley FFA chapter attended the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. The chapter’s FFA adviser and chaperone, Danny Rice and Terry Rice, took 14 members of the FFA on the trip. During the three days the FFA members toured the Fair Oaks Dairy, a farm located outside Indianapolis, and also toured Blue Springs Caverns, a cave system in another part of Indiana.

The attendees spent the next day at the FFA convention, career fair, and expo. During this time, the participants visited booths of various agriculture related companies, such as Ford, Stihl, O’Reilly’s, and several colleges and university booths. There were also vendors selling items such as FFA shirts, hats, boots and other items.

The FFA members attended the first general session, where they heard each officer talk about transforming to make a greater impact in your community, as the theme of this year’s convention was “Transform”. They also heard keynote speaker Diana Nyad, the first woman to successfully swim from the coast of Cuba to the coastal regions of Florida, a consecutive total of 90 miles.

After the first session, they attended a concert that night featuring Cole Swindell and Chris Young, two country music artists.

The purpose of the convention trip was to show the members that they can make a difference in their community and transform themselves into better FFA and community members.

MdCV FFA members going on the trip included officers Curtis Sowers, Kayden Dickey, Dalton Hook, Leon Sluder, Josey Weimer, Chloe Volkman, Kathryn Vaught, Kali Holt, and members Noah Criqui, Destiny Massey, Nocona Brinkley, Brookelyn Janssen, Alaina Marsh and Mariah Criss.

Information and photo thanks to Danny Rice.