State officer from Spencer helped FFA remain ‘Unstoppable’
We all already know that this year has been anything but normal. Who would have thought that our 2020 State FFA Convention would be moved from an in-person event to presented via Facebook? It was a totally new experience for everyone. While deciding about running for State FFA Office, so many thoughts of how this year was going to happen ran through my mind. How do we get to interact with members? What if we do not get the normal opportunities? What if I never get to see my fellow state officers?
When I was first elected to serve as a Wisconsin State FFA Officer, I was very nervous. I was worried that our year would just be a year of waiting or hoping that something or someone would tell us it is okay to do something in-person. Seeing all the accomplishments that past state officers have had, just made me more worried that our year would look nothing like it did for everyone else. So many worries and questions. Yet, I knew that this year was still going to be special and COVID could not take everything away from FFA members.
As the State FFA Officer Team met for the first time in July, we all knew we were there for the same reason. -- to make this year one fully for the members, despite the situation that we are in. We immediately dove into our trainings, spending weeks upon weeks at the Marshfield Holiday Inn, planning what this year was going to soon look like.
Our first task we needed to do as a team was figuring out our theme. What was going to be the word, phrase, or quote that we would reflect on throughout the year? We thought about it for days, writing each idea down that crossed our minds. Our week was starting to come to an end, when we got an idea from a song we were listening to on Spotify, “Unstoppable.” What better way to define FFA members, advisors, teachers, and parents? Together throughout this year members have continued to show that together we can accomplish so much, together we can find the good in the situation, and together we are unstoppable!
The team started planning right away what activities we could make work and present from our current locations. This was far from easy and took hours on Zoom and in a meeting room to come to conclusions. Whenever we thought of one thing it would suddenly open more questions with no answers. Again, we knew it was hard, our heads were constantly spinning, but we are always and have continued to find what best serves our members. We could not let our questions and concerns stop us.
Our first big planning event was our replacement for the “normal” Sectional Leadership Workshops. Now, normally the state officer team would travel across the state to each of our home chapters to present a night of workshops. But, with COVID-19, we knew that it was not going to happen that way. So, we began planning and it did take lots of time, but we came up with our Virtual Fall Leadership Workshops. These were workshops held in November where the state officers conducted 205 workshops over Zoom to over 800 FFA members from across the state. We had members that ranged from their first year in FFA, seventh grade, to senior year members. It was exciting to see FFA members bring their enthusiasm even though we could not be in-person.
As we finished conducting Fall Leadership Workshops, we began planning our Foundations in Reaching Excellence Conference (FIRE Conference). At this conference, we focused solely on middle school and first year FFA members. We covered everything from FFA Basics to Opportunities and Official Dress and how to serve as a leader in your chapter. Not only were the members in attendance excited to kick-off their FFA careers, but also the state officer team donated three FFA jackets to members that attended!
As the year continues, the state officer team is continuing to offer the best opportunities that we can to FFA members. We released Wisconsin FFA’s first-ever video series, Learning to Do, and are offering connection rooms to help members fill-out applications. We are planning an awesome FFA Week, and hopefully, eventually an in-person event. As I look forward to the second half of our state officer year not only am I excited to see the opportunities that continue to roll out to members but also, I reflect on the members and workshops that have been hosted thus far. FFA members are the reason that even though we must plan around COVID-19, this year of serving as a Wisconsin State FFA Officer is truly worth it. FFA members continue to live out our 2020-2021 State FFA theme, Unstoppable, through service in their community, to our state, and even across the country. Your service does not go unnoticed. In the last half of this school year, continue to get involved. Whether that be through virtual or in-person conferences, designing a t-shirt for our FFA week contest, participating in a Leadership Development Event, or planning activities at the chapter level! FFA has a place for everyone to become involved.
Be sure to follow Wisconsin FFA on social media to see what else is being planned this year!
Cortney Zimmerman
