Students attend National FFA Convention
by Jim Angell
October 29, 2007
Shelby S., Parker M., and Justin K. and FFA Advisor Mr. Angell attended the 80th National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana October 24-27. They joined other members from Heartland, Osceola, McCool Junction, Palmyra, Nebraska City, and Falls City FFA Chapters as they shared a chartered bus and motel rooms to help cut down the overall cost of the trip.
The group stopped at the John Deere Tractor and Cab assembly plant located at Waterloo, Iowa as a part of the trip. The tour at John Deere was arranged by Gary Dostal who is a past graduate of David City and has been employed at John Deere for twenty nine years. The tour was very informative and educational. The guides stressed “lean manufacturing” as key to their operation. “Lean manufacturing” is the term they use in reference to not producing any more tractors than what are sold. The cost of them is too much to manufacture units that are sitting around just for show. The tour began with a seventeen minute video about the history of the company and the changes that have taken place over the years.
During the Opening session of the National FFA Convention which was held at the RCA Dome. Dr. Rick Rigsby spoke to the group of approximately 35,000 in attendance at the session. Dr. Rigsby was very inspiring as he spoke to the audience about the importance of being the best you can be. He also stressed the need not to judge people by their appearance and not to judge or form impressions when you first see an individual. Dr. Rigsby used humor from time to time to get his point across.
The students from David City attended a workshop called “Followership – Can you follow the Leader?” The workshop stressed the fact that we spend most of our time as followers even though much emphasis is placed on leadership. The workshop pointed out that becoming an effective follower may help you be a better leader. The four main skills that were explained in detail during the workshop were egoless ness, listening, focus, and team orientations. The fact that team success depends on members with followership skills pointed out several times.
The members attended various activities while at the convention. A huge career show was available for students to spend time gaining information. The entire group from our bus gathered again at 5:30 pm so we could watch the FFA Talent show before leaving to return to our motel and having supper.
Friday was a relaxing day for students as they had the opportunity to tour the National FFA headquarters located a few miles from the convention area. The group also toured the Indiana State Museum which was awesome. There were many very interesting things to see and do. The group also spent time touring the Indianapolis Zoo. The tour of the zoo included a dolphin show. The trained dolphins were very entertaining.
Saturday the group got on the bus and left the motel at 6:30 am (Eastern Time) as we prepared to watch the American Degree Ceremony. It was a long day as the group traveled home after leaving the American Degree Ceremony. David City’s group pulled into town at 2:15 Sunday morning.
