Madelyn Warren – VP

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…And hearts will be glowing when love ones are near…It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” This song is one of my absolute favorites. In my humble opinion, it perfectly describes the holiday season. My father used to tell me that there are two types of people in the world: those that love Christmas music and those that haven’t been introduced to the right Christmas music. I fall into the first category. I cannot get enough of the cheerful lyrics and happy notes that accompany them. I am also one of those people that you can catch humming Christmas songs under their breath all year around. After all, Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a mindset!

Christmas is when we can sit around with our loved ones and look back at the year. We can see all of our accomplishments and look at them with pride, and this year there is plenty look back on! Missouri FFA has set a number of records, including having more members at the state convention than ever before, packaging more than 50,000 meals for Food Insecurity Day at the Missouri State Fair and having the most American Degree recipients at the 90^th National FFA Convention and Expo!

Christmas is also a time when we can look at the coming year with a sense of hope and determination. There are endless possibilities for us as to look forward to. We might find ourselves working on a new contest team, attending a leadership conference for the first time, or adding a new portion to our SAE. Either way, these new experiences are both exciting and challenging ones. They will push us to break out of our comfort zones and grow as individuals. To learn new things and apply them to our lives, just as we are told to do in the FFA motto. However, it is not until we accept that the previous year has come to an end and embrace the new one before we can rise to the challenge of making 2018 even better than the year before!

FFA members, are you ready to rise to the challenge?