ACES Isn't Just for First Year FFA Members...

        On Saturday February 21^st, I attended my first ACES (Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success) conference with Elizabethtown FFA. Our chapter took 11 students: 4 boys and 7 girls. This was my first time attending because my high school chapter never attended the conference. I was very excited because this was also the first conference I attended with Etown FFA members. I was anxious to attend with a smaller group of students and get to know some of them much better. We met at the high school at 9:15 on Saturday morning and left around 9:45. The conference was held in Harrisburg at the Sheraton Hotel along route 283. We stopped for brunch at Bob Evans which I soon found out has been an Elizabethtown/ACES tradition for many years!

            Once we arrived at the hotel, we mingled with other teachers and FFA members until opening ceremonies began at 12:40. I sat with my students and had really good conversations until the conference officially started. Getting to know my students and having them ask my questions made me feel awesome! I felt like I would really connect with some of the FFA members this weekend at ACES and I can’t explain how happy it makes me! After opening ceremonies, FFA members and teachers were split up. Teachers went to a large conference room for several workshops while students rotated through their own workshops. Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Pontius from Greenwood completed the first teacher workshop on inquiry instruction. It was exciting to see my cooperating teacher share his experience and knowledge of inquiry instruction with other ag teachers across the state! Carole Fay also did a presentation about AET and its features while making the ag teachers familiar with the site.

            After the workshops were over, teachers and students met to reconvene before supper. We had a delicious buffet style supper as well as dessert. After supper was over, a DJ provided some entertainment between supper and the dance. Ag teachers were asked to volunteer to assist him with his performance. My students persuaded me to go up although I had no idea what I was getting into. As it turns out, we were broken up into groups of four and had to participate in a karaoke style musical performance. A different song was played for each group and the members had to finish the words. We were not given the song titles in advance, it was all a surprise. My group had to sing a country song and I was the only one who knew all the words! However, once the music cut off, my mind went blank and I had a total deer in the headlights look. It was a lot of fun but I was so embarrassed!

            Afterwards, everyone went back to their rooms and changed for the dance. All of my students went to the dance and by the end, even the boys were dancing! It was fun interacting with my students and watching some of them break out of their comfort zones and have a good time. The night ended with reflections and everyone in bed by 11pm. At 7am Sunday morning, there was a morning reflection service held before breakfast. A breakfast buffet was provided at 8am. Afterwards, an hour long service project occurred where FFA members had to write encouraging/thank you letters to current servicemen, veterans, and wounded warriors. The conference ended with closing ceremonies and we were on the road by 10:30am.

            Overall, I had an awesome time at the conference! I had a wonderful first time at ACES and could not have asked for a better group of students, or cooperating teacher, to attend the conference with. I felt like this was such a great opportunity to connect with some of my students and get to know them better. This conference, as well as seeing all of the blue jackets, reignited my love and passion for agriculture. I felt like I was making an impact when my students asked for such simple things like me to dance with them or take a selfie with them before the conference was over! Experiences like this remind me why I wanted to become an ag teacher in the first place. Here’s to some great memories and looking ahead to SLLC next month!