District LSE's

FFA members attended District Leadership Skills Events in Aurora Nebraska.  Schools that compete in our district are: Aurora, Boone Central, Central City, Cross County, Fullerton, Hampton, Heartland, High Plains, Palmer, Riverside, St. Edward, and Twin River.

During this competition, members are asked to compete in contests such as Public Speaking events (Junior Public, Senior Public, Natural Resources, Cooperatives, and Extemporaneous), Creed Speaking, Ag Demonstration, Job Interview, and Parliamentary Procedure (Senior and Junior).

The Heartland members were involved in all but Ag Demonstration and Parliamentary Procedure.

Students did very well for their first time competing in these events, as all but three were freshmen.

Lane Huebert and Austin Stuhr competed in Extemporaneous Speaking.  They were asked to draw a topic, and were given 30 minutes to write a 4 minute speech.

 Paige Mestl and Lydia Quiring competed in Job Interview.  They were not able to see how well they competed the day of the contest.

 Karah Joyner (wrote about how the creed influences her) and Kyra Dick (spoke about why we need to give speeches) competed in Junior Public Speaking.  They, like Job Interview, were not able to see how they competed the day of the contest.

 Cheyenne Hiebner (spoke about the Dust Bowl) and Devon Stamp (spoke about Dogs) in the Natural Resource competition.

 Connor Boehr and Taylor Quiring gave Cooperative speeches.  Taylor received second place, which qualifies her for state.

Bailey Peters and Krynn Arbuck did the Creed contest.

National Convention

On Tuesday, October 28, Heartland FFA members left school on the trip to Louisville.  They stopped to load a charter bus at McCool Junction.  From there, the seven students stopped at Palmyra, Nebraska City, and Squaw Creek (MO) for pick ups of 4 other FFA chapters.

Every year, Heartland joins McCool, Osceola, Freeman, Palmyra, Nebraska City, Falls City, Pawnee City on the annual trip to National FFA Convention.  This year we were joined by the Lawrence Nelson FFA chapter.

On Wednesday, October 29, the charter bus made a stop at Hummert International which is a greenhouse manufacturing facility.  They not only sell parts to greenhouses, but they also mix potting soils, have cuttings/seedlings for sale, as well as any thing that is essential to growing healthy plants in a greenhouse.  Students toured the facility, as well as were able to see there hydroponics unit.

After touring Hummert, students were taken to Purina Farms Visitor Center.  They learned a little of how pet food is made, were able to witness a cow being milk, test their strength compared to a horse, and weigh themselves.  Students ended the day at Purina at a dog show, where they watched dogs do stunts (catch frisbees and jump off of platforms into water).

Students then headed on to Louisville, where they attended the opening session on Thursday morning.  During the session they got to see the National Band and Chorus perform.  They were also able to hear motivational speaker, Nick Vuijcic.  After the session, students were able to attend the FFA shopping mall, watch some FFA talent, as well as the Career and College Fair.  Students were also asked to attend at least one leadership workshop while at the Convention on Thursday.

On Friday, October 31st, students toured various places around Kentucky.  They started the morning off at the Louisville Slugger Museum.  Here they learned the process of making the iconic baseball bats.

After the Slugger Museum, students were driven to a Dairy Farm.  This Dairy Farm has a unique floor for all the cows that are currently milking.  Instead of being on a normal concrete or dirt floor, these ladies are treated to a combination of sawdust and manure.  The owners say that since they have changed the flooring of their barn, they have had a huge increase in the production of milk.  Due to the sanitary conditions keeping the cows healthier.  Students were also able to pet a 3 day old calf, and some cats.

After the dairy, students were taken to Mammoth Caves state park.  They all took the tour of a cave, even if they were a little afraid of tight spaces and being underground. :)

On Saturday, November 1, students attended the American Degree Ceremony and then loaded back on the bus for a long journey back to Nebraska.  Students returned home around 1am on Sunday November 2.