FFA headed to a four-day National FFA Convention in Kentucky last week to experience a variety of new things and to meet new people from other FFA chapters. Only senior FFA member Brooke Bliss, her sister Faith, and FFA sponsor Rachel Green attended the convention.

“Every year the members of FFA get together and they’re presented with awards if they did really well throughout the year or at the competitions there,” FFA sponsor Rachel Green said, “and there are leadership workshops that they can participate in, mingling with other FFA members across the nation, motivational speakers and then we go around to different parts in Kentucky and learn about agriculture in the state.”

Green also felt it was a great learning experience for those that attended.

“I think it was just an eye-opening experience for them and in Kansas, especially Manhattan, we don’t see how agriculture affects your life as much as if you’re in a rural area or in different states,” Green said. “Kentucky’s known for horses and horse-racing and so we went to the Kentucky horse park and to Churchill Downs and learned about the equine side of agriculture [which is ] something we don’t get much in Kansas.”

Bliss greatly enjoyed the trip and felt she learned a lot about FFA.

“I’ve learned a deeper knowledge of what FFA really is, some additional background on the FFA history and what different careers, colleges, and the current jobs [and] studies out there today,” Bliss said. “I also learned more information on the background of the Kentucky Derby and their race horses.”

Bliss could not choose just one thing about the trip that she liked the most.

“There wasn’t just one thing that I enjoyed the most about the trip,” Bliss said. “It was more like little bits and pieces of the trip such as the concert, rodeo, meeting new people, seeing what different things there are out there today, going to Churchill Downs.

Overall, the convention was an exciting experience.

“It was a really fun experience for the girls and they all had a good time,” Green said.