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Sad. Angry. Frustrated. These are all common feelings that arise when you find out your the second choice. It’s like making a shot right after the buzzer, being only one stride behind another runner, or smudging your artwork right on the final stroke. There is some type of negative emotion attached; however, it’s up to yourself to see the good.
On Wednesday, June 12th I experienced all these emotions when my name wasn’t called as the 2019 - 2020 Section 8 State FFA Officer. As I stood in a circle with all my fellow candidates, I was just happy to be there. I remembered that this wasn’t a competition. I remembered that this year I was the only returning candidate from Section 8, so I strived to be open with my fellow candidates on what they should expect when they entered each interview. I wanted them to succeed just as much as I wanted to.
Up until this point, I took my candidacy pretty seriously. This was my second run for state FFA office, so I set one goal: to be one of the top two candidates from Section 8, or as most FFA members will say, “make it to the delegate round”. I knew that as long as I had the opportunity to give my 110% in front of the voting delegates, it would be their choice to choose the respective candidate they wanted.
Consequently, in order to achieve this goal, I attended two State Officer Candidate Kick-Off (SOCK’s) Conferences to practice interviews and I also studied 20 different Quizlets to increase my FFA knowledge. After two months of preparations and at least 10 hours of studying FFA history, I was as ready as I could be for the position.
A state FFA officer candidate begins their journey on Monday of state FFA convention, where they complete four different interviews; personal, resume, situational, and group. As I entered each of my interviews that day, I was proud to share the exact two goals I would have if elected into office.
My goals would have included having FFA members join me on my “Journey with Jodie”. This journey would have helped FFA members network and develop their FFA knowledge. The main way of implementing this would have been to create my blog/vlog “Journey with Jodie” to share what I was learning as a state officer; therefore, FFA members could use my experiences to grow. Secondly, I would have helped FFA members network by hosting Section 8 casual gatherings, such as meeting at the local Culvers or bowling alley. Being an FFA member for eight years has shown me that networking provides you the chance to meet some of your closest friends. I strongly value these friendships and would have loved to help FFA members in developing their own!
Following Monday, I took a 100 question FFA/agriculture knowledge test and had 45 minutes to write an FFA blog post. I was very pleased with all of my experiences so far at the FFA convention, and I was confident that I had been giving my 100%. On Wednesday morning, all candidates had their first opportunity to address the Wisconsin FFA Convention by introducing ourselves on stage. Not long after, around 12 pm, the top two candidates from each Section were announced and rushed to their respective delegate rooms.
When my name was called as one of the top two candidates, I was ecstatic! I had achieved my goal of qualifying for the delegate round, and now all I had to do was give my 110% in front of the 52 voting members. Consequently, that's exactly what I did and I would not change anything I said throughout my four, extemporaneous speeches.
That very evening the names were announced for the new state FFA officer team. As we stood in our little circle you could feel the nerves, see nothing but smiles and smell the perspiration in the air. From Section 1 to Section 10 each person was called. Even when my name wasn’t called, I was still so excited to see the success of all the amazing candidates surrounding me. While a large part of me was emotionally upset because I was runner-up, I couldn’t forget that I gave it my all and I had achieved my goal to reach the delegate round.
Directly following the big announcement is what impacted me the most. It was at that time when I had multiple FFA members and delegates from Section 8 approach me to compliment my poise, confidence, and speaking abilities. Many FFA members and advisers had already been encouraging me to apply and try again for a third time in June 2020. That being said, it was in this moment that I realized out of the 52 voting delegates, I made my impact. I may not have received the position, but in just 12 minutes of speaking to the delegates, I made a difference and left my legacy. In fact, this even meant that I had exceeded my goal. I didn't just make it to the delegate round, I also left my mark.
Consequently, after a couple of days to decompress, I began to ponder... Why give up on my Journey with Jodie just because I didn’t get the position? If I was able to impact a few people in only 12 minutes, what else can I do? While I may not have the state FFA officer experiences to blog about, but I guarantee that past and future opportunities will provide me enough inspiration to share throughout our “Journey with Jodie” together.
Term Clarification:
Delegate Round - The top two candidates, from each section, present extemporaneous speeches in front of their respective delegate body. The delegate body consists of two FFA members from each FFA Chapter in your respective section. Each FFA member casts one vote from the top two candidates, and the candidate with the most votes becomes the new state FFA officer.
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