Waukon High School FFA members attend National Convention in Kentucky

by McKayla Stock,
Chapter Reporter

In late October, members of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School traveled with members from the Kee High School FFA Chapter to the 86th National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY, which was held October 30-November 2. The chapter started out its trip with a group spaghetti supper at the Waukon High School.
The students then boarded the school buses to make their way to Independence to later board the charter buses provided by Windstar. Upon arrival October 30, the students had a very fun-filled touring day ahead of them. They arrived in Shepardsville, KY, where they were able to get some breakfast and change into their FFA attire for the day.
The first location they toured was Huber’s Orchard, Winery and Vineyard. FFA members were informed that Huber’s Orchard has over 600 acres consisting of vineyards, apple orchards, Christmas trees, fruits, vegetables and pumpkin patches. There are 18 different varieties of grapes that are grown there which produce nearly 400,000 pounds of grapes per year.
FFA members were able to tour the winery where all their wine is made and tour the wine cellar and view the numerous gold, silver and bronze awards they have received from wine competitions. The favorite part of this tour for the students was to taste their homemade apple cider and other products that Huber’s produce from their farm. All the products in their market come from their own farm.
After boarding the bus from Huber’s Orchards, the students stopped at Green Tree Mall in Clarksville, IN to grab some lunch and do a little shopping before making their way to Schimpff’s Confectionery. At Schimpff’s Confectionery, members were able to witness hard candy being made from beginning to end. They were also able to purchase homemade chocolate candies from their store. With all the choices to choose from, nobody left disappointed.
The next stop was the American Cave Museum in Horse Cave, KY. Here members were able to venture deep into one of the biggest caves in America. They were on a guided tour in the cave under the town.
Thursday, October 31, the members boarded the bus early before the sun came up to head to the Convention.  FFA members attended the First General Session which welcomed well over 50,000 members and guests with an opening Laser Light Show, which was one of the members’ favorite things to watch. The members also attended the Career Show, where they could talk to different exhibitors about future schools, jobs and machinery, as well as pick up some free give-away items or enter to win prizes.
Some other activities to keep them busy were to attend educational workshops, shop around and watch the National FFA Talent Show. The students reported back to Freedom Hall to attend the Third General Session before heading back to the Hotel.
Friday, November 1, the tired FFA members loaded the charter bus for one last time to make their way back to Iowa. Before arriving home they had a few more stops to make. The last tour they went on was of Church Hill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby. Members were able to see the track, records that were broken, horses practicing on the track, and a couple winning horses. With tours being completed, members jumped back on the bus to head back north to Iowa.
There were 35 students from Waukon who attended. Members who attended the Convention include Collin Cota, Nolan Hagen, Duel Stock, Christian Wenthold, Riley Bodley, Nicole McGgeough, Sami Bollman, Katie Lydon, Rachel Kucera, Mariah Kucera, Bethany Stock, McKayla Stock, Krystal Johnson, Marissah Schulte, Sam Schwartz, Gunnar Grangaard, Chase Pladsen, Jacob Dougherty, Emma Johnson, Erika Johnson, Christa Heffern, Hannah Hennessy, Sarah Smith, Hope Manning, Miranda Reinhardt, Cassandra Miller, Emily Miller,  Megan Leiran, Katie Kerndt, Mary Melcher, Jaydon Snitker, Shaylie Stortz, Carmen Wille, Daytona Miller and Elizabeth Blake.