As the final few days of State Fair came to a wrap, the team was on the road attending leadership camps and chapter visits on the first month of Leadership Tour! September was a busy month for the team, and I’m happy to retell some of our experiences.
The bulk of our leadership camps and conferences were this month, and they were all unique and incredibly memorable.
Umpqua District camp showed us the value in stepping out of comfort zones when it came to students giving speeches, presenting introductions or delivering flag ceremonies. The camp was filled with fun, puzzle boxes, and an AWESOME dance.
Strawberry Mountain & Snake River Camp was an absolute blast. Upon arriving and discovering that there was no cell service, we knew we were in for a treat. From watermelon eating contests to mini-bus push contests, there was never a dull moment at this camp.
The Upper Willamette Camp was full of educational opportunities, hilarious skits, and all around awesome members. The camp is hosted next to an equine & farrier post-secondary education center, and we all had the chance to tour the facility during camp. It was a great chance to learn more about some of the opportunities after we shed the blue jacket for the last time.
Capital District camp was a chance for us to ‘leave our legacy’ and ‘take the bull by the horns’ as we launched right into tons of fun workshops, bonding activities within chapters, and some of the best skits we’ve witnessed. Towards the end of camp, the district officer team also stepped up to the challenge and sat on the platform of a dunk tank as members of their officer group tried to knock them down by hitting a target.
Lower Willamette District Leadership Camp was a jam-packed day full of excitement and energy. In the morning we heard from guest speaker Rhett Laubach about the importance of developing good habits and skills through FFA. We moved on to favoriting workshops on a rotation system and having great conversations at lunch with our officer groups about what’s going good in our chapter, and what we could use some help with. We wrapped up with another speech from Mr. Laubach, and we left the conference that day feeling inspired by the members within this district
Blue Mountain’s camp was full of swing dancing, opportunities for leadership growth, and chances to spark a connection with fellow members. The team had the experience of being auctioned off to the highest bidder, and also being engaged in extremely competitive ping pong, foosball, and carpetball games. Overall, this was a great camp that we won’t soon forget.
Along with camps, our team had the opportunity to visit 15 FFA chapters this month as part of Leadership Tour.
- North Clackamas
- Dayton
- Perrydale
- Sherman County
- Culver
- Sandy
- Crook County
- Dufur
- Molalla
- Cascade
- Central
- Dallas
- Yamhill-Carlton
- Sherwood
- Hood River Valley
Chapter visits are a great way for us to connect with members on a more personal level, and to teach leadership and life skills through classroom workshops. Sundee and I personally visited 8 different chapters in September while on tour, and each program was unique and memorable in its own way. After visiting a few schools, we could honestly say that we missed school lunches too.
As leadership tour continues, our team is excited for the future. We can’t wait to see what connections we will make, and we hope to see you soon on the road!
Sincerely,
Andrew Gmirkin
2018-2019 State President