Six members of the Cortez FFA chapter recently attended the National FFA Organizations 2012 Washington Leadership Conference on July 10-15.
The annual conference focuses on leadership development, personal growth and community service. More than 2,200 students who are FFA members up to 340 a week from throughout the U.S. will attend one of the conferences seven week-long sessions in June and July.
Students come to the Washington Leadership Conference wanting to make a difference. They leave knowing they can and will, said Dwight Armstrong, CEO of the National FFA Organization. I believe students are generally aware of global problems like hunger and poverty but many are sheltered and disconnected from whats happening in the world. During their time in Washington, FFA members experience real-world problems and take critical steps toward personal growth and developing leadership skills theyll need to make a difference in peoples lives, starting in their own communities.
Created in 1969 and held annually in Washington, D.C., the conference helps students develop leadership skills, identify personal strengths, develop awareness of societal differences and human needs and strategize how they can help others through community service. Throughout the week, each student develops a community-service initiative for their local community, with the intention of students returning home and implementing their plans. Cortez FFA members will begin working to implement their plans during a chapter officer retreat in August.
The 2012 National FFA Organizations Washington Leadership Conference is sponsored through the National FFA Foundation by Timberland PRO, Monsanto, CSX, TransCanada, Crop Production Services, Farm Credit and CHS.
The conclusion of each weekly session of the Washington Leadership Conference is a Day of Service, where students work together on a real, hands-on community-service project. Last year, through each weeks Day of Service, students contributed a total of $85,283 worth of volunteer labor to the greater Washington, D.C. area. Students packed, sorted and distributed more than 29.5 tons of produce and shipped more than 100,000 meals overseas.
This year, students will volunteer more than 9,500 hours to pack and ship thousands of meals to Nicaragua to help the third-world country battle hunger.
During week five of the conference, Cortez FFA members Kaitlin Whited, Lacey McDonald, Landan Wilson, Jaycee Syra, Elisabeth Hoch and Shandi Fitchett helped pack more than 41,000 meals in less than three hours. It felt really great to help someone less fortunate than us, Kaitlin said regarding her experience packing the meals.
Food is such a vital part of our everyday life, but we take it for granted since we have such easy access to it. I dont think our students truly know what its like to be hungry. Hopefully, after this conference theyll have a little better appreciation for it and have a plan of how to be active volunteers in our local community when we get home, said Amanda Ramos, Cortez FFA advisor.
As a part of the prestigious conference, the Cortez FFA members also had an opportunity to experience the nations presidential and war memorials, the Holocaust Museum, the Newseum, several Smithsonian museums, and Arlington National Cemetery, including the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Following the five day conference, the six Cortez FFA members traveled to New York City to experience the 9/11 memorial, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Good Morning America and a Broadway show.
The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 540,379 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,489 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.