Coming together with your club or organization can be a rare thing, but for FFA, it is a yearly event. High schools from all over the country come together at FFA’s national convention. This year, the Clark County FFA went to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 98th National FFA Convention and Expo.
The National Convention consists of many activities for students who attend. They are able to explore future career options from professionals at the convention, network with peers, and compete in different categories. At the National Convention, the Clark County FFA chapter received a 2-star rating. Clark County FFA also had two teams compete on the national level: an agriculture communications team and an equine team.
“In order to go and compete at the National Convention, our two teams had to win at the Kentucky State Convention,” said Clark County FFA President Heidi Castle.
The agriculture communications team received a silver rating and the equine team received a silver rating at the National Convention. A GRC graduate who competed, Olivia Warner (Class of 2025), received a gold individual rating in equine.
“Clark County has not taken a team to nationals in recent years, so being able to compete and represent Clark County at the national level was a big accomplishment in itself,” said Castle.
Not only has the Clark County FFA shown greatness in national competitions, but also in different categories at the National FFA Convention. Junior Aden Henson was a member of the National FFA Band at the convention.
“The audition process to be a member of the band is mainly sending in a video of you playing a piece of any music,” said Henson. “After this, they decide whether you have the skill to be in the band or not.”
Henson had the honor of being second chair french horn in the band, which is an extraordinary accomplishment that he got to experience and learn from.
“From the FFA National Band, I learned that music can bring people from all over the country together no matter what the situation is,” said Henson.
The experience proved to be more than just educational for Henson.
“My favorite memory from being a part of the National FFA Band is being able to play my solo perfectly in front of 70,000 people,” said Henson.
The lessons learned and experience gained from the National FFA Convention expands for many beyond the world of agriculture.
“Nationals provide a lot of opportunities outside of just the competition to gain new skills, especially leadership skills,” said Castle. “It really helps with teaching attendees career development skills that you can apply in real life.”
