National YF&R Conference Tulsa 2010 (Part 1)

This Blog is all about letting everyone see what YF&R is and what they can get out of it.  So, one of the most exciting events in YF&R each year is the National YF&R Conference, held each year in a different destination.  This year we headed out to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Last year was spent in Sacramento, which will be reported on in future posts, and next year (drumroll please):  Orlando, Florida!!    I hope that the pictures and information included help give an apt picture of what a great time we have had at these conferences, but unfortunately, I think that that truly only comes through experiencing the conference first-hand.  Well, enough of that, here is Part 1 of our trip to Tulsa: 

Trying to say Farewell to Nevada.....

.....But, getting out of McCarran International was a little harder than normal due to the fact that Air Force One was sitting on the tarmac waiting for President Obahma to finish his weekend of fun in our great state.  Security was upped, lines were beyond long, and we were pretty happy to get out of there, even if the next stop was a little frigid:

In the far-outer reaches of the airport in Denver, Colorado is a place that those who have been ther might refer to as 'outer-darkness.'  Bear in mind it was still winter and we came to the end of the terminal only to find stairs leading way down into another terminal, which led even further away, walking and walking as the temperatures dropped until we were all bundling up again.  We finally came to the end of the terminal and realized that we would actually be walking out onto the tarmac to board a little propjet plane to take us in to Tulsa.  It was here that we (Jamie and Grant Perkins and Lacey Sproul) met up with State-Coordinator, Stephanie Licht, and Dann Mathews.  The others from Nevada ahd flown out of Reno and were already heading into Tulas at this point.  This is also the point where four of us almost missed the flight because we didn't hear the announcement and Lacey didn't realize we were deaf and had gone on without us. ;)

Tulsa, Oklahoma!  Finally here, but stumped at the airport trying to get a shuttle.

The Conference opened with a Family Fun night at the Doubletree where we were staying and the conference was held.  Lots of fun activities, though I think a lot of them had been planned for slightly smaller kids, the BIG kids still had a great time.  YF&R (& Farm Bureau) are very family oriented and do what they can to make these conferences easier for families to attend, since so many YF&R members are in the stage of raising families.

We met up with our group from Reno, enjoyed hot dogs, cotton candy, treats, bounce houses, mechanical bull-riding and roping.  Not to mention, just visiitng with our Nevada group, and friends from previous conferences.

Lacey trying her hand at Roping.....

The Mechanical Bull.....We had so much fun!!

Nathan Whipple

Dann Mathews, getting ready!

Jimmy Lotspeich

Grant Perkins

Jamie Perkins

I wish there were pictures to show some of us going off--we had a ball on the bull.

The Nevada Delegation.....Getting Serious.

Lacey Sproul, Nathan Whipple, Hannah Hardy, Jamie & Grant Perkins, Jimmy Lotspeich, Dann Mathews, Ashlee Diamond.   

This morning was the beginning of the Discussion Meet in which Jimmy was competing for Nevada.    I will be adding more about the Discussion Meet in future posts, including the topics for the competition this fall at the state meeting.  We met for breakfast before the big event and then spent the day attending rounds of the Discussion Meet and workshops based on different agricultural aspects, leadership development, how to accurately tell our stories in agriculture, how to handle the passing on of the family farm, Accurate Ag Books and Ag Literacy, State Chair Development, etc. 

Attending Workshops......

This was a workshop put on by Matt Scramlin, who works for AFBF, and also attended our State Farm Bureau meeting last fall in Ely, as a presenter.  Mat always puts on very interesting, fun, and informative workshops. 

An important workshop on accurate agricultural books for school children.  As YF&R members one of our big projects every year is our Agricultural Literacy Project, where we place books in elementary schools around the state that accurately depict American agriculture.  This was our third year doing the project and it has grown each year.  AFBF is a big sponsor of these books and the programs that will get them into our schools.

Nevada Delegation.... A Bit More Casual

Lacey and her mom made this Nevada-themed quilt as an item for the Silent Auction that is held every year at the conference.  The Auction offers items from each state's YF&R and lines the hallways for several days as people try to outbid each other on items of all sorts.

(Hmmmm.....can anyone guess who's feet are hiding behind the blanket? Bonus points for identifying locations pictured on the blanket!)


General Sessions.....Giving You an Idea of the Size and Scope of the Conference.

The conference has several general sessions with keynote speakers and presentations by AFBF YF&R Committee members.  CASE IH is a huge sponsor, along with Dodge and we came home with lots of little gifts, such as Dodge mugs, Farm Bureau hats, and Case toy tractors after most of the meals.  Did I mention that we eat A LOT on Farm Bureau trips?  It seems like we just get finished and they are having snacks in the hall, or it is time to head to another meal.  I hope that doesn't sound like a complaint, those don't come until we get home and get on the scales again!

Standing Up and Speaking Out!!

At the general sessions there is a tradition of each state's Chair person giving a 30 second spiel about their state.  This is sometimes a bit of a bragging session, sometimes a bit humorous, and usually very informative.  I was able to report some fun facts about Nevada's size, amount of federal land, agriculture, and even a few bad apples--one of which we are trying to keep from returning to Washington this coming election.

If you want to know more about the national conferences, YF&R, Farm Bureau, Discussion Meet, etc.  all you have to do is ask--post a comment or email!