Two scoops of team bonding.

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Well, ladies and gentleman, the Minnesota FFA Officer Team was reunited Monday and Tuesday to prepare for one rockin' summer!

MONDAY...
the Constitutional Officers arrived in Shakopee, at the Minnesota Corn Growers, for our first SOPD (State Officer Professional Development). Bright and early, we had the awesome opportunity to work with Sheryl Meshke as we began to develop our key messages and theme for the year. Sheryl works for AMPI as the Vice President of Public Affairs. She tells the AMPI story and advocates for the dairy farmers who are members of their organization.
After lunch, we headed to AgriBank in St. Paul to talk with Becca Yaklich about the importance of social media in our industry today. How many of us use email, Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube on a daily basis? I personally don't know how I'd get through the day without checking my Blackberry! All of these are forms of social media, but how can we use them to our advantage? Becca pointed out that all of these are great tools to share our messages about agriculture, ag education, and FFA in the next year. I think Becca's job is pretty cool - she gets to use Facebook all day long!
The team began to congregate at full force that evening (minus Erin, who had to head home for a banquet because she STILL had school!), picking up a few Region Presidents at Buffalo Wild Wings and then heading over to Feed My Starving Children for an AWESOME night of service. Feed My Starving Children is an organization that provides meals to hungry kids all across the globe. We helped assemble meals that arrive in a prepackaged bag containing a chicken substitute, vegetables, soy, and white rice. Don't knock it until you try it! The fourteen MN FFA volunteers, along with about 45 people from organizations, packed more than 26,000 meals in a little over an hour! If you do the math, that feeds 72 kids for a full year. Pretty impressive and completely rewarding!

TUESDAY...
the team reassembled (including Jared and his lack of wisdom teeth) at the Chapter House on the MN State Fair grounds, connected to the CHS Miracle of Birth Center. I didn't believe that monsoons came to landlocked states, but it DOWN POURED all morning! We spent the morning preparing for SGLC, which is fast approaching. Greenhands - get excited for one outstanding week! After trying out our facilitation skills with Ms. Amber Seibert, we all began to part ways. Maddie, Kirsten, and I met up in St. Peter for some Dairy Queen - my new favorite tradition!

MN FFA members - prepare yourselves for a summer filled with premier leadership, personal growth, and career success! The State Officer team can't wait to meet you at camps, conferences, and maybe even the Great Minnesota Get Together! :) Keep us posted on what YOUR chapter is up to this summer on the new Minnesota FFA Association page wall (LIKE this on Facebook!).

Enjoy the sunshine!
Stationed by the plow,
Liz