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Adriene Aubuchon – VP

One of my favorite movies of all time is We Bought a Zoo. In this heartwarming movie one of the many quotes that has impacted my life is this: “You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come out of it.”

This quote not only embodies what we all should strive for, but it also tells us that something good can occur because of it. FFA members, take that step of bravery and reach for your goals. Sometimes it can be scary to have faith in yourself because we don’t want to embarrass ourselves, but sometimes that is exactly what we need. We aren’t perfect; instead we should strive for the uniqueness our courage brings.

FFA has amazing opportunities to help us practice these 20 seconds of courage. It takes 4 seconds to say ,“Hi, my name is Adriene Aubuchon. What’s your name?” If we don’t leap right into these sometimes-scary situations, we might not ever meet a once-in-a-lifetime inspiration or friendship or connection. It takes about 20 seconds to say the opening line to your speech. It takes 1 second to wave at someone we see that’s having a bad day. This not only applies in FFA, but in school, other clubs, friendships and future careers.

Twenty seconds FFA members, 20 seconds. A year is 31,536,000 seconds. The magnitude of opportunity one year holds for a challenge, a new experience, a small change, is so exciting. May we never let fear of the unknown or of failure keep us from those few seconds of insane courage.

Paxton Dahmer – President

The combined smell of livestock and corndogs, the sound of cattle and carnival games, and the view of the coliseum, swine barn and ferris wheel can only mean one thing — the Missouri State Fair! With the excitement of the fair, we tend to overlook that it is the end of summer break and it marks the beginning of the school year.

The start of school often leaves little time for reflection on the summer. When we take time to reflect on the events of the summer, we remember the time spent at Camp Rising Sun with friends learning leadership skills, the trips to livestock shows with our family, the countless hours spent in the field and so much more. Although these events are all wonderful, I love to reflect on our Food Insecurity Day at the state fair.

It was so wonderful seeing more than 600 FFA members from across the state come together for one reason — service. FFA members were energized and ready to continue serving after they returned to their home chapters. As members of a service-based organization, this is a necessity. The fourth and final line of our motto can help to serve as a guiding factor for our FFA careers.

A number of several prevalent needs in our home communities. Some communities need assistance in combatting food insecurity, some need volunteers at the community center and some need help at homeless shelters. Regardless of what the need is, we should be willing to help serve at all times.

As we start school and get back into the groove of FFA, I challenge you to take your service to the next level. Step out of your comfort zone and try something new and work to make your impact everyday so that you can truly live to serve!

Hannah Viets – VP

We are nearing the end of August, and that means it’s back to school time. Starting school can be an amazing, yet scary, time. Some of us might have started sports practice while others of us just wrapped up the 2018 Missouri State Fair.

When I was in high school, this time of the year was always the most hectic for me. I would be wrapping up my showing at the fair while having volleyball practice, and on top of that I would be starting my next adventure in my blue corduroy jacket. So many scheduled tasks at one time challenged me to keep my focus on what I what I wanted my end result to be. 

The National FFA organization was always something that brought new and eventful activities toward the beginning of the school year. This was also the organization that helped me filter my focus and find out what was important for me. From the time I was a freshman and had the opportunity to say the creed for the first time all the way to my senior year when I determined I was going to make that final lasting impact on my chapter, I was focused on my end goal.

No matter who you are or what grade you are going to be in, we need to stay focused on what lies ahead for us. Whether you are involved in competitive events such as Friday night football games or you are simply going to hangout with friends, stay focused on your one goal to achieve success.

Remember what Alex Hirschfeld once said, “The biggest challenge is to stay focused. It’s to have the discipline when there are so many competing things.” 

Chloe Momphard – 1st VP

Camp Rising Sun, Lake of the Ozarks, Main Street Musical, and forever changing Missouri weather are all things that can be associated with State FFA Camp. These are all common experiences for camp, however, one particular interaction made FFA camp unforgettable for me.

Colton Spencer was State FFA President when I went to camp.  At the time, I was pretty reserved, but wasn’t afraid to be outgoing. Colton told me that to achieve the goals I had set for myself, I had to step out of my comfort zone and grow personally. He also took the time to get to know me and remember my name.  His advice and interactions with me helped set me on the path to becoming the person that I am today.

This year, I had the pleasure of attending weeks three and five of camp. Boy, were my expectations wrong! I thought I would be the one that did the teaching and inspiring; instead I was the one learning and being inspired!

FFA members, you have a passion that burns in you like a fire; carry that into everything that you do! While I know I learned quite a lot at FFA camp, I hope you, FFA members, were able to build stronger leaders out of yourselves and others.  Take all of the tools we identified back to your home and community and use them; don’t let them lie in the toolbox and rust away! We all have our own individual strengths. Yet, that doesn’t mean we can’t collect more from those around us and work together to form a more cooperative and efficient team. We are mighty alone, but incredible together!

Hannah Viets – VP

We are nearing the end of August, and that means it’s back to school time. Starting school can be an amazing, yet scary, time. Some of us might have started sports practice while others of us just wrapped up the 2018 Missouri State Fair.

When I was in high school, this time of the year was always the most hectic for me. I would be wrapping up my showing at the fair while having volleyball practice, and on top of that I would be starting my next adventure in my blue corduroy jacket. So many scheduled tasks at one time challenged me to keep my focus on what I what I wanted my end result to be.

The National FFA organization was always something that brought new and eventful activities toward the beginning of the school year. This was also the organization that helped me filter my focus and find out what was important for me. From the time I was a freshman and had the opportunity to say the creed for the first time all the way to my senior year when I determined I was going to make that final lasting impact on my chapter, I was focused on my end goal.

No matter who you are or what grade you are going to be in, we need to stay focused on what lies ahead for us. Whether you are involved in competitive events such as Friday night football games or you are simply going to hangout with friends, stay focused on your one goal to achieve success.

Remember what Alex Hirschfeld once said, “The biggest challenge is to stay focused. It’s to have the discipline when there are so many competing things.”