Thirteen Centerville FFA members spent April 13-15 attending the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference held in Ames and hosted by Iowa State University.

Members began their trip by going to Hickory Park for dinner on Sunday evening to enjoy the fellowship and good food in what has been a tradition in Ames for years. Following check-in at the hotel the group then went to campus and attended the Dr. Jim Wand Hypnotist show with a room packed with members. It was a great time and fun for all.

Monday morning began bright and early with Centerville members working at courtesy corps for contests being held, manning the Iowa FFA Foundation booth and visiting the Career Show. Hilary Morris stated “State FFA convention is a great opportunity to meet FFA members across the state and gain leadership skills”. Members were able to sit in on career development events or workshops during the two days also.

The South Central breakout session was held that afternoon with Morris helping to conduct it as the district vice-president. During this session, Jessica Acheson received the Academic Achievement award, Kelsey Shanahan accepted the Des Moines Register chapter reporter award and Bridgette Richmond accepted the Supreme National Chapter award for the Chapter. Dianne Fuller also assisted with the session.

Then it was off to practice for four members in the Iowa FFA Chorus. Taisha Naill, Shanahan, Richmond and Samantha Summers were in this activity. The chorus practiced several times and then performed at sessions on Tuesday in Hilton Coliseum.

While other Centerville members with to the first general session, the band members moved to their practice. Shaniel Smith, Jessica Acheson and Dani Clark were members of the band. They practiced several times and performed on Tuesday at the conference sessions. During this session, a motivational speech was given by Brian Greenburg.

On Tuesday, Dianne Fuller, advisor assisted behind the scenes for the general session and during the election process. Morris and Chelsea Garretson served as Centerville voting delegates taking care of official business including state officer elections during the conference. Kari Boettcher. National FFA officer spoke to the members about leadership.

Heidi Gottman, Amanda McGill, Chelsea Garretson, Brian Sulser, and Nathan Berry all served on the Courtesy Corps.

Smith and Berry took the Greenhand State quiz along with 260 other Greenhands. Smith finished 3rd overall and both members earned the Gold ranking.

Clark, Morris and Summers each received their State FFA degree at the final session. This is the highest degree the state can bestow on members. Each member must meet a number of qualifications including two years membership, five activities above the chapter level, and earned/productively invested $1,000 in their supervised agricultural experience program. Clark and Morris are juniors while Summers is a senior at CHS.

Also attending the conference were Theresa Summers, Mona Berry, Bob Morris, Jill Zintz and Brittney Morris. Brittney is a former state FFA officer and was one of the many helpers for the conference. Over 5,000 members and guests from 210 Iowa FFA chapters registered at the conference this year. There are over 12,000 Iowa FFA members.