Hitting the Ground Running

I cannot believe that just four weeks ago on this exact night, I found out that I was slated as the 2014-2015 Indiana FFA State President. Four weeks have already passed. There is absolutely no time to be wasted. In the hours, minutes, and seconds up until the moment when I opened that envelope I had no idea what direction my life was headed. I was anxious, I was nervous and I was scared. Not knowing what the future could hold absolutely terrified me. But, boy am I beyond ecstatic about the direction in which my life took a turn! When reviewing what has happened thus far as a state officer, we really have hit the ground running. We were officially elected into office on Thursday, June 20th and on that Sunday we were moving to the Leadership Center.

At the beginning of that next week we began Blast Off training which was held in the Fellowship Center! During this training we had a series of sessions that focused on preparing and delivering a speech properly, facilitating, working together as a team and much much more.
The week after that we had the National Leadership Conference for State Officers which was in Springfield, Illinois. At this conference, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri state officers were also present. Our team had the opportunity to meet National Secretary, Mitch Baker. All of our facilitators were great and a lot of friendships and memories were made throughout the week! On the 4th of July we even went to Indianapolis as a team to watch the fireworks! It was a great team outing!

The week after that was time for Summer Challenge here at the Leadership Center in Trafalgar. It was also the week of my county fair! Around 50 members were in attendance at the camp including National Western Region Vice President, Jason Wetzler! Throughout that week, members really had the opportunity to explore all that the Leadership Center has to offer! This includes swimming in the five and a half acre lake, playing games such as basketball and volleyball, and even busting a move at the dance in the Conference Center.
Already, this week has been a busy one! Monday was our first official day in the office. Our office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, the Indiana FFA Executive Committee, which is made up of District Presidents, Section Directors, Band and Chorus Presidents and State Officers, traveled to Elanco to learn more about Elanco's facilities and what they believe in as a company and we also had Insights training. Yesterday evening we all watched a movie and we played some games together.
Today we finished Exec. training around noon and we have been in the office ever since! I am so excited for what this year has to bring! I am also excited to see what I will be able to share with the members of Indiana FFA. I am already sad that four weeks have passed! That seems absolutely impossible! I am hoping that time flying by will serve as a reminder to my team and I that we really do need to enjoy EVERY single moment. And I know we already have! Although we have hit the ground running I know that we will continue to enjoy this wonderful, beautiful, crazy ride as state officers!

Serving with a grateful heart,

Brittany Young
Indiana FFA
State President