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Tarkio FFA members visit Washington, D.C.

By Alissa Hurst, Haley


Hall, and Ethan Riley
On Monday, June 1, 2015,
three Tarkio FFA members,
Alissa Hurst, Ethan Riley,
and Haley Hall, along with
their advisor, Mr. Dustin
Lambertsen, met up with
members and advisors from
the King City and Albany
FFA chapters in Kansas
City, MO, to fly to Washington, D.C. The members were
able to share their flight
with veterans from Kansas
who were part of an Honor Flight. Once the group
reached Washington, they
met with Congressman Sam
Graves in his office and then
received a tour of the Capitol Building from Sam and
his staff.
On Tuesday, June 2, the
students toured the Holocaust Museum where they
learned what many people
went through during the
Holocaust. They also toured
the
National
Treasury
Printing and Engraving facility where they were able
to see millions of dollars of
U.S. cash be printed and
prepared to enter circulation. They then made a stop
by the White House before
going to the Omni Shoreham Hotel to check into the
National FFA Organization
Washington
Leadership
Conference (WLC). WLC is
a five day conference that
students from all 50 states
and Puerto Rico attend to
help themselves and their
chapters become better citizens and leaders in their
community and nation. The

conference is offered seven


different weeks throughout
the summer. Each week, 340
FFA members from across
the U.S. attend.
The National FFA describes the conference as
follows: During the five-day
event, attendees learn how
to become effective leaders
by learning their purpose,
how to value people, how
to take action, and how to
serve others. FFA members
leave WLC with the knowledge and the confidence to
act in ways that help their
schools, community and
their country.
As part of the conference
Tuesday evening, the students are placed in community groups with other members from across the nation.
They spend the evening
learning about citizenship
and what it means to be a
good citizen.
On Wednesday, June 3,
the members toured Arlington National Cemetery
where they were able to see
JFKs burial site, the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier, the
changing of the guards, and
the Arlington House. They
then returned to the hotel to
attend sessions to help them
learn their purpose and
what opportunities they may
have and what they need to
do to create opportunities
for themselves and others
around them. The members
then finished the day by taking an evening/night tour of
the Monuments and Memorials in downtown Washington. The members were able

to see the Lincoln Memorial,


Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWII
Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial,
FDR Memorial, and the Iwo
Jima Memorial.
On Thursday, June 4, the
members traveled to the
Capitol Building to take a
group picture, then speak
with their senators and congressman. The Tarkio members were also able to tour
the Library of Congress and
the Air and Space Smithsonian Museum. The members
then returned to the conference where they learned
about diversity. They learned
about how each of us comes
from different backgrounds
and heritages and how we
all can come together to
make our communities and
nations what they are and
what they could be. They
finished the evening with
the annual Poverty Dinner.
During this dinner, some
students receive nothing to
eat, some receive rice, and
some a fancy dinner. They
use this to teach the students about how people in
our own communities and in
countries around the world
are diverse in what they
can afford to buy and afford
to eat and how you may be
able to afford the fancy dinner, but your neighbor may
not be able to afford to eat at
all. (At the completion of the
Poverty Dinner, all members
then are able to eat dinner.)
Friday, June 5, saw the
members beginning with
a tour of the Newseum, a

museum dedicated to news


media from 1500-today. The
members were able to see
how the news media has
covered some of the biggest
stories over time and how
they use newspapers, television, and radio to inform the
public of those stories and
to deliver their thoughts on
these stories. The students
then spent the afternoon
learning about advocacy.
They learned about being
good advocates for their
chapter, school, community,
and agriculture.
Saturday, June 6, the
students took part in packing meals for people in the
United States. The members packed a total of 63,000
meals in an hour and a half.
After the completion of the
service project, the Tarkio
FFA members set out on
the town to tour more sites,
including the National Archives, Fords Theater, and
the American History Smithsonian Museum. Along the
way they also spent some
time helping Haley Hall celebrate her 16th birthday!
During the week, each
student comes up with a
LTS plan (Living to Serve
Plan) in which they want to
return back to their community to complete. Saturday
evening, the members took
part in the conference and
spent time planning on how
to execute their individual
plans within their communities. As their final activity of the conference, the
members had a dance where
they were able to spend the
last couple of hours of the
conference with all of their
new friends and fellow FFA
members.
On Sunday, June 7, the
FFA members and advisors
from Tarkio, King City, and
Albany attended a church
service at the National Cathedral. After the service,
the students went to the
Reagan National Airport to
catch their flight home to

Thursday, June 18, 2015 - Page 11


Missouri!
WLC really showed me
how one person can make
such a big difference. It
taught me that it only takes
one person to get an idea, get
people to support that idea,
and turn that idea into actions to make a big impact.
WLC also taught me to do
what we can, with what we
have, where we are, commented Ethan Riley.
WLC provided me with
a very insightful, educational, and fun experience!
It was eye-opening to learn
about all of the ways that we
can help to make the world
we live in a better place. I
learned a lot about ways that

I can improve our chapter


within our school, town, and
community. I also learned
about ways that I can make
myself a better person and
ways to help those around
me. WLC will truly be a lifetime experience that I will
treasure forever, remarked
Alissa Hurst.
I was thrilled to have the
opportunity to attend WLC.
By going on this trip, I have
broadened my understanding of becoming a better
leader. I encourage others to
attend WLC. I have gained
lots of friendships and also
more knowledge about how
to make our world a better
place, said Haley Hall.

Ethan, Haley, and Alissa hang out in front


of the White House

The FFA members and Mr. Lambertsen


are pictured in front of the National Mall
and the National Cathedral

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