While one contingent of blue hits the road this weekend to take on Tennessee, another will converge on the city to be inspired, compete for scholarships, perform community service and help shape the future of the National FFA Organization.
More than 55,000 student members of FFA and their teachers from throughout the U.S., Puerto and the Virgin Islands will attend this week’s annual National FFA Convention & Expo. This year’s event – the 85th consecutive gathering since FFA was founded in 1928 – runs Wednesday through Saturday.
Nine general sessions will bring tens of thousands of FFA members together at a single time under a single roof during the four-day event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium. They will also flow through the aisles of the Expo, an event that showcases nearly 400 corporations, businesses, organizations and colleges Wednesday through Friday at Indiana Convention Center.
Several students will also be interviewing for a National FFA Office. One of those is Cali Christensen from Big Timber, MT. This week the Northern Ag Network's Russell Nemetz talked with Cali about the experience.
Figure skating star Scott Hamilton will be the keynote speaker during the convention's opening session. Hamilton was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and is a privileged member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. He captured the world’s attention 25 years ago with his Olympic gold-medal performances in Sarajevo. Since, Hamilton has been a sport commentator and best-selling author. He inspires others as a speaker, philanthropist and cancer and brain tumor survivor.
Other keynote speakers include Dr. Lowell Catlett, a nationally renowned agriculture professor, former NBA star Walter Bond and native Hoosier Josh Bleill, a former Marine-turned-motivational-speaker after losing both legs while serving in Iraq.
The convention and expo and its various event components are closed to the general public. Throughout the week, FFA members and teachers attend workshops and take career and educational tours of central Indiana businesses, including Dow AgroSciences, Elanco Animal Health, CISCO companies, Chip Ganassi Racing, Purdue University, Hoosier Park and more.
FFA members from California to Maine and everywhere in between will also complete for a host of national awards during the week and have the ability to learn more about careers and talk to company recruiters during a career fair.
The Band Perry with special guest Brantley Gilbert will perform at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thursday, FFA members will canvas the central Indiana community and perform various community service as part of convention week’s National Days of Service event. FFA members will give their talents, skills and time to Damar Services, Gleaners Food Bank, Indy Parks, Second Helpings, St. Vincent de Paul and more.
And the World's Toughest Rodeo featuring world-class bareback, saddle bronc and bull riders begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday nights. Friday night's rodeo will be the last event held at the Indiana State Fairground's Coliseum before the building undergoes a full renovation. A special ceremony featuring state, city and fairground leaders will be held immediately following the Friday night show to commemorate the building’s rich history.
Also Friday night, a live performance by country artist Levi Riggs will kick off the FFA Dance, a new, two-hour event for all FFA members presented by the National FFA Alumni Association. DJ Doug will provide the sounds for the lock-in dance at the Indiana Convention Center.
The 2012 National FFA Convention & Expo will culminate Saturday with the election of a new, six-member National FFA Officer team to help lead the organization for the next year.
NEW THIS YEAR
Watch live
All general sessions of the 2012 National FFA Convention & Expo will be broadcast live on RFD-TV and iHigh.
www.RFDtv.com www.iHigh.com/FFA
An app for that
A new National FFA Convention & Expo app for smartphones is available. http://guidebook.com/g/NationalFFA/
Daily updates
The National FFA Organization will deliver daily updates from the National FFA Convention & Expo through its new monthly
e-publication, FFA Pulse. To subscribe: https://www.ffa.org/ffaresources/publications/newsletters/Pages/subscribe.aspx
More news and information about this year’s event can be found on the National FFA Convention & Expo blog at
http://FFAconventionandexpo.wordpress.com and on Twitter #FFAconv2012.
Source: National FFA Organization
Posted by Northern Ag Network
