BY JACE CAMPOS
The Westside Express
From Oct. 28 to Nov. 5, Pacheco High School sent some of its FFA members to the National Convention. The students who attended were Rex Betschart, Temprance Toscano, Vice President of the PHS FFA program Ruby Martin, and Mr. Marsigli, the advisor.
This trip is used to reward FFA members in Los Banos who have earned a substantial number of Ag Booster points and have attended meetings, fundraised and volunteered at events. For those who don’t know, an Ag Booster is a local group in town that helps raise money to support Pacheco’s and other FFA programs in Los Banos.
On Oct. 28, the group left for the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, where speaking and evaluation contests are held as well as a large agriculture expo with many corporations.
While there, they met other FFA groups and clubs from schools around the country and had the opportunity to learn more about the national organization from keynote speakers. The national convention welcomed over 70,000 members, advisors and guests from across the nation.
This convention has been held in Indianapolis for over a decade and is the second-largest convention held in the state of Indiana. The convention also awards many FFA groups and individual members for their accomplishments and serves as a place to vote for new rules, update the FFA constitution or elect national officers for the following year.
These constitution and officer changes are approved by voting delegates chosen from each state with our very own FFA president, Ruben Canchola, who serves as a national delegate representing California alongside 36 other members.
However, the National Convention wasn’t all that our FFA members did. While they were in Indianapolis, they got to enjoy go-karting, bowling, visit a feline rescue center and visit major agricultural industries like feed mills.
They also visited Baltimore to see the Museum of Industry and then took to Washington D.C., where they got to see countless remarkable monuments, memorials and museums. More notably, they went to Arlington Cemetery, where they got to present a wreath for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
After being interviewed, FFA Vice President Ruby Martin says, “Thank you to the Ag Boosters for your support and for organizing this wonderful trip.”
The trip was a remarkable one that the group will remember as they continue to grow their leadership skills through FFA.
