A group of Hopkinsville FFA officers and members were among more than 60,00 FFA members from across the country that experienced the 2023 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Chapter President Hannah Thorson provides a detailed recap of the Hopkinsville FFA Chapter’s visit to the National Convention November 1 through the 3rd.
The start of National Convention on November 1st…it was the first day of National Convention
and the last first day for most. Many of us pre-packed the night before and the other half of us
quickly hurried up to pack so we could get to the school on time. We officially started off by
getting on the road for our long journey up to Indianapolis. We made a pit stop at Joe Huber’s
Farm to get the trip started off right with pizza, burgers, and sandwiches and also many beautiful
attractions. We spent most of our time stretching our legs and making good memories like feeding the ducks and getting ice cream. After we finished eating we got back on the road to get
to our destination. After about a hour and a half we were in the great city of Indianapolis, IN. As
soon as we got there we got checked in, got settled in our rooms, and went to get registered.
Not long after we registered we all started getting ready for dinner and for the concert starring
Dillon Carmichael and Lainey Wilson. We made a quick stop at Five Guys for dinner then went
over to Gainbridge Field House to see Dillon Carmichael and Laney Wilson. Which are two
amazing country singers, many of us sang our hearts out, soaked in the inspiring words, and had
a blast overall. After the concert ended we bundled back up and headed back to our hotel to get
ready for the next day.
On November 2nd, our second day of the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis,
IN, Hopkinsville FFA did a variety of things. Early that morning we headed to one of the
many sessions at the Lucas Oil Stadium. We sat and watched as many great speakers spoke
upon numerous things, and listened to the National Officers and Advisors. After this, we headed
to the expo center to experience workshops and visit a large variety of booths. The Expo center
had many different colleges, institutes, companies, and more that filled the giant room for FFA
members to participate in. Many members of Hopkinsville FFA have obtained new information
they learned that they have brought back to Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Next, the FFA chapter
traveled to Beef & Boards Dinner Theater in Indianapolis. They watched and laughed as the
play “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat” went on. Lastly, the chapter headed
back to their hotel to finally rest after a fun, eventful, and long day. Overall, the Hopkinsville FFA
Chapter had plenty of fun and learned much from just one full day.
On November 3rd, it was our final day in Indianapolis for the 96th National FFA Convention.
The 12 of us, and our 2 advisors woke up bright and early to the start of our long day. After walking to Lucas Oil Stadium, we watched as several kids won different awards and degrees. We also heard the retiring address of National FFA Western Region Vice-President Ryan Williamson and Keynote Speaker Corey Flournoy. During this session, we also watched many other advisors receive their Honorary American Degree which takes many years to obtain. During the afternoon we had the opportunity to visit and meet different vendors, colleges, and businesses. During this time you also had the chance to meet many sponsors for companies and businesses including, Blake Moore (BMOE), Jess Lockwood, Dale Brisby, Dalton Kinsel, and many more! We also took this time to visit the mega shop as well, where we could buy a lot of different clothing items, accessories, and merchandise.
Around 4:00 o’clock, we went up the stand in line for the very exciting hypnotist show
performed by Michael C. Anthony. The show was one of our very favorites to watch, and we all
had a blast! Once the show was over, we all headed back to the hotel and loaded up the vans. At
this time it was about 8:30 p.m and we all were exhausted and ready for the trip home. With this
being the last day of our trip, we all were very sad, considering it was some of our members last
National Convention ever, but all the memories of our past days were shared on the way back
home.
Fast Forwarding to November 4th our previous FFA members, Maggie Goode and Brooke
Jenkins also received their American degrees.
Story by Hannah Thorson
