On the weekend of Jan. 7-8, the Minot FFA hopped on a bus at 6:30 in the morning and went to Bismarck to take part in the annual FFA Winter Leadership conferences. The chapter took with them about 25 students to attend the three different conferences.
The three conferences were 101, which was for all the new members, 212, which was for sophomores and juniors, and 360, which was for seniors. This reporter got to attend 101 as a chaperone for all the new members, to make sure that they got everywhere that they needed to be when they needed to be there, and I had an absolute blast. We got to hang out and watch a play that was written and performed by the state officers, learn about etiquette, we all made goals for the future, and even got to participate in a scavenger hunt. For the scavenger hunt, the top four teams got a cash prize, and the third place team was from Minot. The team consisted of Kali Sivertson, Haili Duchscherer, Ashley Flaten, and Leanne VanBerkom. Each one of the girls got a $10 cash prize. I was really glad that I got the opportunity to go with the younger kids, just to see how they would react to their first real trip with our chapter. They all had the best time, and they can't wait for the next trip.
In 212, the students learned about new ways to make new friends, what they should and shouldn't do at certain times, different good and bad habits, team-building activities, and the Minot kids even won a riddle contest and they all got free T-shirts for it. Those kids were Garret Becker, Brock Severson, Cole Hanson, Kevin Sivertson, Laurice Morningstar, Josh Kauffman and Ethan Hanson. Cole Hanson said, "It was a lot of fun, and I'm pretty sure that everybody there had a good time."
In 360, the students did team-building activities, learned how to start making good habits, and how to organize. "It was a really good experience for everyone who was there." said Shonda Gasmann.
On Saturday night, there was a dance at the hotel that the conferences took place at. All the kids had a lot of fun hanging out with their chapter, and even kids from other chapters that they met during their conference.
Finally, on Sunday afternoon, we had to say goodbye to Bismarck and load the bus to head home. A lot of the kids that came along were returning members, so we had all been traveling together quite often. The returning kids all knew that we had Bus Karaoke to look forward to, which is just something we all do to pass the time by singing as loud as we can to every single song on the radio, while none of the new kids knew what to expect. The bus rides home tend to be just about as much fun as the trips themselves.
Fact Box
Kali Sivertson is the reporter for the Minot High School FFA chapter.
All the kids who attended winter leadership had a blast, and now this marks the official start of our winter contests, Crops, Livestock, and Ag Sales. This has been a great start to what is sure to be an amazing year.