Nevada State Convention

Ne-va-duh! After a short break at home it's officially convention time! My first state convention was none other than Nevada- pronunciation provided in the first sentence. Flying into Reno was amazing-the Rockies, the lights, and finally, the blue jackets! I was greeted at the airport by two of the current state officers, Jasmyn and Danielle, and then headed to the convention center to meet everyone else. After short greetings and practice we made our way to the Golden Nugget for an Awful Awful Burger- Awful Big and Awful Good! This thing was huge! After about half of it I was sure I would need a full day on a treadmill to compensate. Thursday was the first session and a day filled with CDEs. I had the chance to meet some expert chicken judgers from the Wells Chapter over dinner. One of them even let me borrow her lucky hen for my keynote! That evening I had dinner with Dr. Tarplee, Collegiate FFA Advisor at Utah State, and my good friend Mr. Ty Smith. Ty and I were state officers together and had a chance to serve on the nominating committee, so getting to spend time with him and catch up was a plus. First session went great-tons of excitement and a chance to meet the candidates for office for the next year. After the session we headed to the skating rink for a few hours of roller skating! I'm proud to say I only fell once (okay maybe twice). Friday was workshop day and man did we have a blast! Members rotated between my workshop and those of the visiting officers- Vernon from California and James from Washington- these are some cool dudes! That evening, I had dinner with the Sierra Nevada Chapter from Reno, so I saw some true Reno sights. Friday night all of the winners of the CDEs were announced. This provided for a tense but exciting session. Afterward, we all unwound at you know it, the dance! Saturday morning came all to early as the last session began. It was kind of sad to see the old team retire, but as the new officers were announced the convention hall filled with enthusiasm for Jasmine, Jimmy, Charlie, Nicole, Angela and Nathan. After the session, I said a few quick goodbyes and headed to the airport to get ready for the Cornhusker state. Thanks to Ms. Dye and Mr. Barbee, State Officers- Jake, Danielle, Megan, Jasmyn, Heather, Lacey, and everyone else who made my first convention an experience I will never forget!