Something Better

It all started in 2^nd grade, the very first time I helped my uncle work his cattle. It was at that moment, when I was so proud and excited for being able to help, that I knew that I had found what I loved. I was only 7 years old at the time, and it is crazy to think that a 7-year old could find something they were passionate about, but I ran with it. I put on my shirt with a green 4 leaf clover on it for the first time in 4^th grade, knowing I eventually wanted to be in that ring with the “big kids” showing cattle someday. I begged and hassled my dad until finally, he gave me a challenge to accomplish before I would be able to have my own bottle calf. He said, “You know, all the great showmen have their own show box. So, before you can get a calf, we need to build a show box.”

            It was game on from that point forward. I spent several hours and days planning and building that show box, and finally, the day came to show my project off to the woodworking judge. That was my first time I ever received a purple ribbon for my efforts. Looking back now though, it was never about that purple ribbon… It was about learning, growing, and working hard for something I was passionate about. I went on that following year to show my first bottle calf, and I will never forget crying my eyes out when it was time to say goodbye. But again, it wasn’t about winning showmanship in that ring, but rather it was about the lessons and the passion that would carry me on to numerous other opportunities.

Soon after my bottle calf was gone, my dad started his own herd of cattle, and it became even more real of how much I truly enjoyed working with cattle. I never personally grew up on a farm, but through the kindness of our neighbors and the barn they let us use for years just a couple miles down the road, I showed clear until I graduated high school.

Flash forward to now, and just a few months back, I was able to watch my partner in crime, my sister, Kristen, compete in the State Track Finals in the shuttle hurdle relay. I was so hyped when they won 4^th place in the whole state, and I can’t describe the smile on her face when I saw her after her race! My family was ecstatic, coaches were stoked, it was all around a monumental moment for our family and community. Thinking nothing could go wrong that day, I decided to go home and take a short nap (like a normal college kid), and then rest up in the evening. I began to close my eyes, thinking about how far each one of my family members have come through various challenges of their own. Nearly an hour later, I woke up to my mom’s frantic loud voice, “Erica, get in your car, I just got a call that the barn is on fire.”

            Sprinting out of my bed faster than I ever have in my life, I tripped down the stairs, put on shoes, and sped down the highway going nearly 100MPH. Cop cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and volunteer firefighters who were coming in personal vehicles all started to flood into the yard, as my dad and I frantically tried to figure out what to do with the calves that were stuck inside the gates.

            Soon enough, a volunteer fireman came running and screaming from behind the blazing barn, “Let the cattle out! It’s going to fall any second!”

            I sprinted to the nearest swinging gate while my dad sprinted to the other, both working as fast as possible to let our show calves escape the scorching heat. Finally, the calves were able to run, and in no later than 30 seconds after pulling those gates apart, the barn collapsed with an unbearable amount of heat surrounding the area. Two calves loose without halters near two major highways, all of the equipment I had saved up for and purchased over the years and gotten for gifts, and the barn that my friends and sister created memories in were gone in an instant. Tearing up while tracking down the lead steers on a 4wheeler, I couldn’t help but continue to think “This is agriculture.” Why those words came to my mind, I’m not quite sure, but it kept popping into my head. By the time we finally walked the cattle two miles up the highway to a neighbor’s pasture, over six neighbors had stopped to see if they could help in any way.

            I’ll never forget the hug my dad gave me once we shut the gate to the pasture with the steers inside. While that all happened within two hours, coming back to the sight of no barn or equipment left standing was quite a site. As I sat there in the lawn for a while after, watching the remains of the barn smolder and the firefighters continuing to work, I began to think. The memories, good times and bad, came flooding back, and this unfathomable and shocking moment came down to these three realizations:

1. You find out who your friends are. My family and I had several people texting, calling, messaging, emailing, and just plain worrying about our well being and our neighbor’s well being. 6 fire trucks, 3 different fire departments, 7 cops, 2 ambulances, nearly 20 volunteer firefighters, and 7 neighbors came to the rescue in a moments notice. In fact, after riding the bus to Earlham every day for Ag class, one of my bus drivers even came with the fire department for moral support of myself after knowing that was the location of our cattle. They are the everyday heroes. Those are the events that remind a person to count your blessings and to pull over when you see those flashing lights.

2. Under no circumstances can you replace a person. The feed, bales, chutes, grooming supplies, halters, combs, and much more is replaceable. You can’t replace a person. You can’t replace your sister or your neighbor or your dad. Even our cattle are replaceable. While I would never wish upon anyone to have livestock die in such a gruesome way, I am thankful that the firefighters, first responders, and neighbors were all safe.

3. This is agriculture. Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, strong winds, hail, snow, rain, sleet, drought, it is part of the territory. There is something to be said about farmers and their ability to persevere. To the agronomists and feed nutritionists and seed scientists and Ag teachers and loan officers and salesmen, you truly amaze me by your persistence in feeding a world. In working together for a common cause. In helping those in a time of need and problem solving in an ever-so-changing world. You are the tilting point in turning our world around. Nobody can fight on an empty stomach, and I am honored to pursue a passion with a population of people who share the same enthusiasm and perseverance to see agriculture through the good and bad.

I wouldn’t wish a situation like this upon anybody. But I also know by the grace of God, something better is always around the corner. He is enough, day in and day out. Again, it proves how quickly material things can go, but with a strong family, network of friends, and a foundation in Christ, there will be nothing ever given to me and my family that we can’t handle. 

Erica Baier

Past Iowa FFA State Officer

Seven Things to Do at the National FFA Convention and Expo

            Fall time is definitely one of my times of year, for a couple reasons.  First of all, it’s football season.  The leaves are changing and I love seeing the farmers in the fields.  But, the most exciting thing about fall is the National FFA Convention and Expo.  I’ve been counting down the days until 64,000+ blue corduroy jackets flood Indianapolis and FFA Way.  Attending national convention has been one of my favorite things since I could remember, and through my many trips, I’ve come up with a Seven Things to Do at the National FFA Convention and Expo.

Check out the Expo!

            - Whether you want to check out the stand of your favorite truck brand or look for your potential college or university, the expo has everything (like lots of freebies).  If you have a couple hours to burn, you can easily spend them at the Expo. Check out this website for more info: https://www.ffa.org/events/conventionandexpo/expo 

Go to the FFA Shop!

            - You know all those awesome clothes and gifts you see in the FFA catalog? Yeah, you can get those at the FFA Shop! Word of advice: get there are as soon as possible to get the best selection of sizes and styles! If you end up not being able to make it to the shop, no worries! Almost everything is sold online at https://shopffa.org/products.

Go to a Session…and stay for it!

            - It doesn’t matter which session it is, just go to one! Sessions are full of awesome speakers, wicked cool FFA members getting recognized for their achievements, special guests, and of course bumping music and laser shows.  What else could you want?!

Attend a workshop!

            - Another great way to spend any free time while at convention! Workshops run all day long and are about everything under the sun; from figuring out what you want to be when you grow up to #Agvocating.  A list of all events can be found here: https://www.ffa.org/events/convention/schedule.

Try a local restaurant!

            - One of the coolest things about convention being back in Indianapolis is the fact that is in downtown.  Indy is a super cool city and has some awesome restaurants right where convention is happening! Don’t be afraid to try something new or go to a place you’ve never heard of – odds are, it’s going to be good!

Watch a Career Development Event!

            - The best of the best will be competing at convention and some of the CDEs are open to the public to watch! This is a great opportunity to check out a CDE you were thinking about trying or just watch some rockstar FFA members do their thing! Check out this website: https://www.ffa.org/participate/cdes for the schedule!

Watch the National Officer elections!

            - This is one of the coolest moments of all time in the FFA world.   Watching six individuals run onto stage that have such a passion for the FFA and have reached their biggest goal is indescribable. 

If you are unable to make the trip to Indy, RFD-TV has you covered! More info can be found here: http://www.rfdtv.com/story/23749661/ffa-broadcast-schedule.  If you will be attending the convention, be sure to check off one of these things to do and enjoy your time at the 89^th National FFA Convention and Expo!

Elisa Russ

State FFA President

Steps Back to the FFA

How does a girl who spent 18 years in retail wind up working for the Iowa FFA Foundation? A winding path and a 20 year hiatus from FFA…

I grew up on a farm in southeastern Iowa. At the time, my family raised cattle, hogs, corn and soybeans. My little sister (who spent 14 years as an ag teacher) will tell you that I was the worst farm girl in the world! Being allergic to almost everything on the farm, I spent more time doing “inside chores” to take care of the house when my mom went back to work off of the farm. My interests changed a bit in 6th grade when I attended my first State FFA Convention. My oldest brother received the SE District Star Farmer and my family went to Des Moines to see him receive it. I was amazed!!! I had been around my brothers’ FFA chapter a bit (they held their chapter’s Greenhand orientation at our house) and I thought it was cool but experiencing my first State Convention just blew me AWAY!!! I couldn’t WAIT until I could have my own blue corduroy jacket!

When I got to high school, the chapter wasn’t quite as active as it was in my brothers’ days. (I had three ag teachers during my four years of high school.) FFA just wasn’t a cool thing to do at my school but I didn’t care. I got involved in any activity that I could. I went to district for creed speaking my freshman year, was elected to district office my sophomore year, ushered at the state fair for three years, attended Made for Excellence (now better known as 212/360) and took part in the Washington Conference Program (now known as Washington Leadership Conference.) (Yes, I know…I’m old! ☺) Being part of such a small community, I’d always felt like I had to be the person that “they” thought I should be. Being involved in FFA and getting to know people outside of my tiny little high school (with my graduating class of 39…) helped me gain confidence to become the person that I felt like I was inside. My proudest FFA moment was when I (finally) received my Iowa Degree in 1994.

I ended up attending Iowa State University to get a degree in Elementary Education. I got a part-time job at Target after my freshman year and met the man who is now my husband of 18 years. We got married a few months after I graduated from college and we both spent the next 15 years working for Target full-time in a variety of positions, in three different states. Target was an awesome company for us, but we were excited in 2013 to make career changes and get back to Iowa.

I worked remotely for a company out of Cedar Falls doing association management. I learned pretty quickly that being at home alone for my job all day didn’t quite work for me. Those who know me aren’t surprised to learn that I need a bit more social interaction during the day! During a particularly bad day at work, my sister and I were emailing about her FFA chapter’s upcoming trip to the FFA Enrichment Center, which lead me to the Iowa FFA Foundation’s home page. I was intrigued when I saw the posting for what is now my position. My sister emailed Josh to inquire about the position, wondering if it was an old posting. He wondered how in the heck she’d heard about it already, since he’d just posted the two hours before. I guess some things are just meant to be since I started to work for the Iowa FFA Foundation in March of 2014. Less than one month later, I attended State Leadership Conference 20 years after I’d received my Iowa Degree.

Now, having the opportunity to work for the organization that made such a difference to me when I was in high school, is just pretty darn cool. I only hope that the small contributions that I make every day can help today’s members become the people that they truly feel that they are inside. I didn’t pursue a career in agriculture but the things that I learned as a member helped me have the confidence to make my own footsteps. I am however, incredibly happy that those steps brought me back to FFA.

Becky McCullough

Iowa FFA Foundation Staff

Wherever You Are, Be There

“Wherever you are, be there." Such a simple quote, but for me it’s one that holds a lot of meaning. It constantly reminds me to ask myself, am I really there? Sure, throughout high school I went all of our FFA events, rehearsals, and show choir practices. I went to everything, but was I REALLY there?

After being elected to state office in April, it was my mission to live out that simple quote. No matter what the event, it was my goal to be completely present. I didn’t want to regret a single second of my year serving for this organization. I thought I had been doing pretty well. I was involved everywhere I went, and I felt like I was getting the most out of my experience. Sure there were times where I could have done better, but for the most part, I was enjoying every second of my adventure. Until recently I was reminded just how important it is to actually be THERE.

On September 23, my best friends, Carlee, had her dad passed away from cancer. I watched her throughout the whole progression up until his passing. Carlee lives up to the quote I chose to stand by, ultimately showing me I wasn’t really THERE. No matter what the situation or where she was, whenever she was with her dad, she made the most of it. Carlee lived in the moment and she was THERE. She didn’t want to miss any opportunities with her dad. Now, after his passing, she lives with no regrets.

I want to challenge you. Challenge you to live in the moment, take every opportunity, and make the most out of it. Life is short, and there are some moments you’re going to wish you would have been more present. But you can now prevent that. Next time you are at a sports practice, FFA event, or simply just surrounded by family, ask yourself… are you really THERE?

Chase Kusel

State Secretary

Embrace Change

As officers, my teammates and I have a few different outfits we change in and out of for events and conferences.  Whenever we are going to go to change clothes, my team and I have a saying that we are eager to share. It goes a little like this:

Me: “Hey guys, I’m going to change.”

Team: “DON’T CHANGE WE LIKE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!!”

We always enjoy the chance to have a little fun with each other and have a good laugh. However, the more I think about it, I come up with a question: What’s so bad about change?

Let’s just unpack this for a second. After a quick search via Siri, (thanks Siri for listening to me for once), we can find that change is a verb that means to make or become different. It gives examples of the stoplight changing from green to red or the seasons changing from summer to fall. The simple definition makes change seem like it’s not that big of a deal, when really it can be a huge deal.

Change is a part of life. Almost everywhere you look, you can see some type of change. The crops growing and then drying, the sun changing position in the sky as the day goes by, and even the changing weather. The same goes for people as well and all aspects of our life. Let’s say that you are going to change your profile picture on some type of social media. You may be doing it because you have a really neat picture that you want to show off or represent you, or maybe you want to show off your support to something like a movement (#FFAproud y’all), or you haven’t changed it in like four years so you feel it just needs to happen. Whatever that reason, you are driven to change. It’s no different than those crops or the sun or weather, they also have a reason for changing. Makes sense, right?

So why is change so scary?

Recently I had the opportunity to travel back home for a few chapter visits to schools in my area.  When I walked into my door for the first time in months, there was my mom in the kitchen, my dad in the family room watching football, my cat patiently waiting for me by the door, and the sheep sleeping outside in the pasture. It seems as if everything was back to the way it was before I had left: like I was just coming home from work or an FFA event. I headed back to my bright orange and blue colored room that I thought was the coolest middle school, my bed waiting to be sat on and hear all the latest gossip, and finally my desk awaiting me with the mail I had missed while away. I gave a quick glance over my desk and saw my September edition of Vogue, a few bank statements, and something larger that grabbed my attention. It was the yearbook from my senior year.

On the cover I saw some of my old friends, as well as myself posing awfully cheesily. I opened up the book and took it to Chase to show him all that I had done in my crazy year as a senior in high school. There were the marching band performances on Friday nights, the dances that I helped plan and judge the fashion at, the student sections at all the basketball games, the FBLA trips and competitions, all of my amazing times at the many speech competitions I loved so dearly, many different involvements in FFA, and even more. I saw a quote from me about how I felt about the finals that everyone dreads, and it was about how I needed to ace my calc test otherwise I was going to die. Chase and I laughed at the quote and my cheesy face pictured and I said, “That’s definitely something I would’ve said last year.”

That made me stop laughing and think for a minute. What do I mean by “last year?” Have I really changed that much in just a year?

Later on that night, I got to finally go and hug my sheep. This was a huge moment with a few tears because my sheep had been my world growing up, and not being able to see them every day had been a little bit of an adjustment. Oscar (my Oxford ram who is about up to my chest in height) put that to an end pretty quick when he knocked me down and started chewing my hair. I did my rounds and finally ended on Oscar’s mother, Pepper. She always wanted a hug from me. But not that night. She just walked away. She probably was just in one of her moods or tired, but I again thought, “Have I changed that much that Pepper doesn’t recognize me?”

As I was going through the yearbook once again later that night, I decided to take it back even further and started looking at pictures on Facebook. I looked all the way back to my freshman year of High School and it was easy to see that I was not the same person. But as I kept thinking about it, I realized that it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The experiences that I had built me into the person that I am today. There were times where it seemed like I had hit rock bottom and there were times that I felt like I was on a mountain top, but all of those experiences taught me who I wanted to be. change was something that I needed to grow as an individual. If I hadn’t changed, I wouldn’t be at a college that I love learning about something that I am passionate about.

Think of how you’ve changed. What aspects of your life has changed? Are you the same person you were last year? What experiences caused that change in your life? They may have seemed scary at the time, but now you can look back and see how it turned out to be a good thing.

Change is scary because you aren’t sure what the future holds. But I can tell you that you can handle it. I promise. The only hard part of change is the fact that you are scared. Change is happening all around you even in the simplest of ways, so make the most of it.

I will leave you with one of my all-time favorite quotes. “One of the happiest moments of your life is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change. Rather than being afraid of change, embrace it and become who you want to be.”

Zach Hamilton

State Reporter

Strive for Progress, Not Perfection

Nobody is perfect. It is something we have all heard thousands of time, but for some reason most of us ignore the phrase completely. I am one of them. Although I know that nobody is perfect, I strive for perfection on a daily basis, and lately I have realized that being a perfectionist, isn’t always perfect.

It all started at a very early age. In school we were taught that mistakes were bad. Mistakes were things marked with a red ink pen, and I learned to hate red ink pen. I never wanted to see red ink marked on my neatly written papers, so I worked hard, trying to make everything perfect. This “perfect’’ attitude is something I have carried with me my whole life.

I was only 456 hours in office when I was asked to pick a quote to live by this next year; a quote that had meaning to me, and could serve as a token to live out this next year while serving the 14,734 members of the Iowa FFA Association. I chose the quote “Strive for progress, not perfection.” This really stuck with me, and as the day went on, I thought more about it.

Too often we get caught up on the little things. We either over-dramatize mediocre things or underplay the most important. We take too long to do the simple things, taking time away from something with more meaning. Too often we get caught up trying to meet the needs of all the people around us that we don’t take care of ourselves. We may be perfectionists, but we need to be striving to make progress.

Perfection in itself is not a bad thing. A perfectionist is defined as a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection. If we don't strive to do something well and give the best possible result, then what's the point? Right?

We need to focus more on progress, rather than perfection. Progress is defined as the forward or onward movement toward a destination. One can move forward or onward, but without perfection, are they really moving forward in the right direction? It is all about finding a balance. I urge you to find the balance in your life, by striving for perfect progress.

Savannah Keitzer

Southeast State Vice President

Subtle Influence

I want to start by telling you a story from April of my freshman year in high school. I was sitting in the Memorial Union on the Iowa State campus with some members of my FFA chapter after the barbecue during State Leadership Conference. I had been on the phone calling some family and friends about how I did in the Creed Speaking contest earlier that day, and the last person I needed to talk to was my dad. As I was getting off the phone with him, I ended by saying, “Thanks Dad, have a good night, I love you.” I didn’t realize that everyone had quieted down and was listening to me as I wrapped up the conversation. Once I put the phone down and looked up at everyone, a person in the group kind of laughed and said, “Why did you tell your dad that you loved him?” I answered by saying, “I don’t know when it is going to be the last time I talk to him, so I am going to tell the people I care about what they mean to me when I have the chance.” Needless to say, everyone got pretty quiet, and no one else said anything to me about it.

Now, this isn’t the part of the story I want to focus on today. Rather, I am going to look at something that happened a few weeks later because of that story. I was sitting in the lunch room back in school when a senior walked over and asked if I had a few minutes. I got up, and we walked out into the hall where I was asked if it was alright if the story I shared with you could be used as part of the upcoming baccalaureate speech. This senior then told me that what I said really meant a lot to them, and it changed their perspective on how they live their life. The following week I decided to make the trip back to school and attend the baccalaureate service just to see what was going to be said. When that senior got up on stage to give the speech, they ended by telling the story. The closing line was, “Make sure when you leave tonight to tell your mom and your dad, tell your grandma and your grandpa that you love them and tell the people that are special to you what they mean.” Needless to say, I watched most of the mothers, grandmothers, and quite a few of the dads and grandfathers walk out of the auditorium drying tears from their eyes.

For me this was a moving experience for two reasons. First, I was able to see the impact I had on someone’s life, and how because of that, they were able to share it with others in hopes of changing their lives. Secondly, it caused me to realize people are always watching you, and that even some of the simplest things can make a huge difference. Now, I am not trying to toot my own horn here, but I am hoping that if you take one thing from this, it is that every day, you do things that make a difference in the lives of someone around you. Even though you will probably never know it happened, YOU have influence in the lives of others. Every day you are making a difference in the lives of the people around you, so how are you going to live now that you know this?

Cole Moody

Northeast State Vice President