National FFA Convention!

Phipps Conservatory 

 Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with Penn Manor high school to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. On Monday, we traveled to Pittsburgh and visited Phipps Conservatory.  I was stunned at the beauty on display.  There was a fern room, a sunken garden room for all kinds of  Chrysanthemums, a desert room, a room that was a giant diorama of different national parks, and a whole room for Hawaiian plants.  To say it was beautiful would be an understatement.  Most of the plants were named so many of the students and teachers had fun in learning and guessing the scientific and common names of the plants.  They had a topiary of an owl in one room, so I had to take the opportunity to have a picture stationed by the owl so to speak. 

Dickinson Cattle Co.

That same day, we traveled to Dickinson Cattle Company in Ohio.  This is a HUGE longhorn cattle ranch spanning over 5ooo acres.  They mainly raise longhorn cattle but also breed and sell African Watusi and Dutch Buelingo cattle. They raise the longhorn cattle mainly for beef and for their horns.  They drove our tour group around in a customized school bus while explaining facts about the ranch and ranching techniques that they use in their operation.  While on the bus, each participant had a paper bag full of cow candy.  They were treats for the cattle made of grains and molasses.  When we drove into the fields, the cattle walked right up to the bus and we were able to  hand feed the cattle some of the cow candy.  It was slightly delightful and a bit intimidating to hear and see some of the cows with the longer horns hitting against the side of the bus in an attempt to get their snouts closer to the treats.  A few students remarked that they may break a window although none did.  We were not allowed to get off of the bus aside from opening and closing the gates. All in all, the ranch tour was worth our time and was super educational. 

Churchill Downs

That night, we stayed in a cabins at a KOA campsite and were bright and early to head to Churchill Downs in Kentucky.  The tours of the track were sold out, but the museum was really special.  There was a ride that simulated a jockeys race experience, pants, boots, bridles, and blankets from different famous jockeys and racehorses.  I especially loved the tribute to secretariat and the movie that was made about him and his owner, Penny Chenery.  However, my all time favorite educational and special exhibit at the museum was a huge wrap around screen in the center of the museum that honored the sport of horse racing, the people involved, and of course the horses that run their hearts out.  That night , we reaching Indy, received our registration, and checked into the hotel.  The teams practiced for their respective CDE competitions and we headed to bed.

Post competition Floriculture CDE station review. 

Wednesday was competition day.  The Floriculture and Livestock Judging teams did their absolute best and I was very proud of both teams.  Both teams did very well in an extremely competitive competition like livestock judging and an equally skillful competition like Floriculture.  We also attended the opening session on Thursday and witnessed a performance by the National FFA band and choir.  The guest speaker gave an inspiring talk and we were on our way to the awards banquets. I was very grateful to be able to attend the Floriculture CDE awards banquet and celebrate with the Floriculture team in placing in the gold category for their floral arrangements, corsages, hanging baskets, and team activity.  

Overall, I had an amazing time with the students and teachers that went on the trip.  I was overjoyed to get to know the students better and to better understand their worldviews, aspirations, interests, and senses of humor.  It was also wonderful to get to know my CT, Neil Fellenbaum, and Amanda Gagne better.  They were very kind and always answered any questions I had about teaching or agriculture.  The whole trip has left me very excited to student teach in the spring!

Thursdays opening session.