The North Polk FFA attended the 93rd State FFA Convention Monday, April 19, and Tuesday April 20. Typically the FFA students of Iowa would flood the campus of Iowa State with their blue jackets. This year to create more space for social distancing, the Convention took place at Hy-Vee Hall, and Wells Fargo Arena, in Des Moines. 

The chapter attended both days where they competed in competitions, went to workshops, delegated, and attended the general sessions. 

In Monday’s session, the FFA students spent the day looking at how other chapters spent their unusual year doing service projects and other activities. They also competed in a competition that tested their knowledge within biology. 

“We had a Bio Technology Team (Dillon Hanlon, Lauren Jaschke, Kynsly Gehling, Hailey Volz) that placed 6th out of about 50 teams with a gold rating, and Lauren placed 19th individually,” explained chapter reporter, Kynsly Gehling. 

During Tuesday’s activities students Kendall Twedt, Tate Owen, Marlee Springer, and  Jacob Feldmann competed in poultry judging. The team received a silver rating. Gehling also received a silver rating on the chapter’s scrapbook, getting 6th overall.

Another event that occurs every State Conference  is the delegate business session. During this session, representatives from each Iowa FFA chapter gather to discuss important topics. They go over the minutes from the last conference, reports from FFA committees, watch speeches from possible officers, and vote for the elective they want to see serve. 

While all of these activities are routine, Gehling described how Covid-19 changed the conference, “There were about half as many individuals at the convention itself, and we were limited on the number of our members that can attend.”

The new changes did not deter the North Polk FFA students from meeting new people and learning. 

Gehling describes her favorite part of the Convention, “I honestly just love getting to hang out with the other members. It’s just a different kind of emotion when you can all connect through your mutual love for FFA.”