May 8, 2008 12:25 PM

Hola amigos! First of all, can you believe school's almost out?! Who's excited? PUT YOUR HAND DOWN! Haha! I can't believe it has already been a year since I was elected State President, where has the past 12 months gone? I'll tell you - time flies when you're having fun. So if 12 months has flown by, I must have been having a lot of fun with you all! What an experience this has been for me, and although I don't want to face the fact that my term is over, I know life must go on. Plus, guess what I get to do next fall?! ATTEND MY FIRST BUCKEYE FOOTBALL GAME!! Oh yeah, I'll also be a student at THE Ohio State University, but not even that can compare to the atmosphere of my first OSU football game experience!

Anyhoo...did you all have fun at State Convention?! I can't believe that has already come and gone too! To be honest, I was really worried about some of my State Convention parts being memorized. But when I got up on that stage and you all were screaming and hollering, and my blood started pumping faster, things just fell into place. From my A-W friends in the front row, to Mr. Will giving me a Mt. Dew during the State Degree Ceremony, to the amazing Warren girls (DUST-10), this has been my favorite, and most unforgettable, State Convention! Hey...how about the speakers this year, too? I absolutely LOVED Mark Scharenbroich, including his dead-on impersonations of students, and Shawn Harper pretty much inspired me to start pumping some iron so that I can start ripping phone books in half! Did you all see me take a bite out of that steel plate during Shawn's conclusion? Yeah...I'm a beast (okay...I seriously hurt myself too, because something in my hip popped when I was re-acting that scene, and I could barely walk the next day...whimper). Also, I have to give a special thanks to Lindsay and Jason from the FCCLA, and the Michigan State FFA Officers for taking time out of their hectic schedules to attend our convention - we really appreciate your attendance! In conclusion - I hope you all enjoyed the 80th Ohio FFA Convention as much as I did...even though I didn't like the theme song...ANYHOO...Blue Jackets, Bright Futures!

So, since I have been slacking on my blogging the past few months, I need to catch you all up on a few events that happened prior to State Convention that were not in my previous blog, including some banquets and a few, final chapter visits...so here we GO!

First up, the River View banquet. So, check this out - at the conclusion of my speech, all of the River View FFA members stood-up and yelled, "THANK YOU, DUSTIN!" - YOU ALL ROCK! Even though your banquet has been over for a month, I can still vividly remember you all doing that, so THANK YOU! Although the banquet was formal, I really admired the fun atmosphere, too. For instance, during the slide-show the crowd was laughing, hollering, clapping, and just having fun! Now I can understand why people so willingly want to attend the River View Banquet. C.J. - thanks for sticking with me throughout the night and I really enjoyed our conversations, I hope I run into you again! Of course, I couldn't get through this blog without pointing out Suzie and Brittany. Also, Charity - I hope you still don't hate me, I was just being honest - I mean you DO look like your sister, but you're so much cooler than her (don't tell her that). Thanks River View, Mrs. Buxton, and Mr. Rich for having me!

Up next, the Upper Scioto Valley Banquet. Well, first of all I need to thank Marcia and Mr. Knapke for inviting me to attend their banquet. Of course, I was having a splendid time at the USV banquet until I discovered that members of the Hardin-Northern FFA were also in attendance. They kept taking helpless pictures of me and laughing, too - tear, sniff, tear. Anyway, back to this banquet. Not only was the food delicious, but the officers also made like 20 pounds of dirt pudding...that's right - DIRT PUDDING! Honestly, who even needs a meal at a banquet, when you could just serve DIRT PUDDING! But seriously, I had a great time sitting next to Allie and conversing with all of the officers. Congratulations to Marcia and her team on a great program and best of luck to the new officers. Thanks again USV!

Our next event is...drum roll please...the NORTHMOR banquet! First of all, I need to apologize to Mr. Parrott. When I first introduced myself to him, I called him Mr. King...duh, Dustin! Anyway, I want to congratulate Northmor on their many outstanding accomplishments including 1st place in the State Rural Soil Judging CDE (good luck in Oklahoma at Nationals) and 3rd in the State Wildlife CDE...both of those are very rare feats, let alone together in one year. Allyson - thanks for keeping me company and Bridget and Cassey - I enjoyed conversing with you during the banquet as well (well..not "during" the program, of course, because we were paying close attention :) ). Congratulations to all of you, especially Danielle and the new officers, on a great program. Danielle - be sure to keep that photo we took as well, because it will be famous some day...haha...j/k! Thanks for the awesome FFA coffee mug and once again to Northmor for inviting me!

Buckle in folks, because we ain't near done yet! Next up, a chapter visit to Gibsonburg. Have you ever heard the myth that, "Third times a charm"? Well, that myth became reality at Gibsonburg. Mother Nature cancelled my scheduled chapter visit to Gibsonburg 2 times, one for "freezing fog" and one for ice. So, third time really was a charm...and I'm so thankful it finally worked out! First of all, I owe a HUGE thank you to Reba and her family for allowing me to spend the evening at their home, even though she skipped my visit because she had a "jazz band competition"...whatever...haha! I know I've mentioned this before, but Gibsonburg is one of those visits I soon won't forget because of the absolute RANDOMNESS all day. For instance, when asked where he'd like to be in the world right now, instead of stating a beach, Zach stated, "The John Deere plant in Illinois." There's a true JD fan...yee-yeah! Also, here's some more randomness, Oak likes venison, Kiaya (btw - do you look at peanut butter the same anymore? HAHA!) - "HI-YA", and David - posing as a student named Maurice isn't very convincing either (you didn't confuse me either, I was just playing along)! Dakota, Dillon, and Cody - I hope you all come back to regular session camp this summer, because I had a blast with you all at Greenhand camp! Tyler (I can't believe you remembered this from MFE either, but you the man!) - "GO GREEN FLAMES!" I also have to give a little blurb here to Ashley, Jaime, and Katie (great to see your wonderful, smiling faces again), and Bender and Zach - thanks for taking the face-paint like real men! Finally, Gibsonburg is also home to the brand, new District 4 President - Amy Richter! Amy - you deserve this position, and I know we'll see great things from you. P.S. - I still have the close-pin you gave me, too! Gibsonburg and Mr. White - thanks for ending my year again in a BANG!

Alright, only two left, I promise! The following evening, my mother and I trekked over to the great Hillsdale chapter for their annual FFA banquet. Well, the food was tasty, the people were fabulous, but you want to now the best part about the banquet?! They shut all of the lights off in the gym and I got to parade in with the officers! In fact, they even had my name and picture on a PowerPoint slide while I was walking in...isn't that SWEET?! But seriously, the Hillsdale banquet was packed with great people and I enjoyed conversing with many of them, especially the Crossen family! I also got to hang-out with some familiar friends like Cody and Beef, whom I met at Greenhand camp, and I had the ultimate pleasure of sitting next to Cody and Addie - thanks for keeping me company, whether you liked it or not! Congratulations on your very successful year, and special thanks to Mr. Hoffman, Ms. Bowen, and the Hillsdale FFA members for warmly welcoming my mother and me!

FINALLY, the next day, I headed the opposite direction to attend the Delphos FFA banquet. Now, if you didn't know, Ms. Bowen (from Hillsdale) and Mrs. Bambaurer (from Delphos) are sisters, so they kept pestering me and asking me which banquet I enjoyed more - and I still don't have an answer for you! Since they are sisters, both attended the other's banquet, so I had the opportunity to hang out with Delphos and Hillsdale FFA members on Saturday AND Sunday! SO - guess what Delphos had for dinner - FILLET MIGNON! No, I'm not on drugs, either. No offense to the other banquets I've attended, but Delphos had the best food I've ever ate (even better than my mother's...oops...did I say that...j/k?!) Sean, Quentin, and Justin - thanks for conversing with me prior to the banquet, and Trina (I'm surprised Trina was happy to see me actually, because the last time we met, we were stuck in an airport for 14 hours together...see my blog about SPC this past summer for more information), Brittany, and Krista (STRAWS!!) - my mother LOVED the flowers, and I want to thank you for keeping her company during the Hillsdale banquet, too! Finally, Lauren - you put together an outstanding slide-show, I was very impressed! Thanks again to Mr. Elwer, Mrs. Bambaurer, and the Delphos FFA.

Well, if you started reading this at lunch time, you're probably about ready for supper now! I apologize, but I've got even more fun times to recall in my few, final blogs, so hopefully you're looking forward to them as well! Have a great weekend and don't forget -

Learn from the Past, Look to the Future, but STAR in the Present.

Until next time,
- The Prez -

"So Mr. Motivational-Speaker-Man, is this the part of your speech where you try to motivate us by telling us some phony story about a guy that scaled Mt. Everest with no arms and no legs, but used just his teeth and a 'good attitude'? Sorry folks - not going to happen!" - Mark Scharenbroich

April 7, 2008 2:33 PM

Whoa - we are less than a month away from State Convention. Can you BELIEVE it? So, I apologize to all of you FFA members on the dirty, little joke I pulled in my last blog. I know, I know, you would much rather see Rascal Flatts perform at State Convention than see me, but life's tough. Anyway, this past week has been very busy, as I have traveled over 1,100 miles in ONE week! I've had so much fun though, so let me share some of that with you!

First up, my chapter visit to Ripley. Now, the last time I tried to visit Ripley, I stayed with Cody, and they ended up cancelling. So, when I arrived at the Kelly's house to spend the evening, Mac comes running out asking me if I had heard the news. I'm thinking, "Great, now what?!" Guess what - they were on a TWO-HOUR DELAY because a mud slide near the school had closed down a major state route that the buses used! WHY AM I SO CURSED?! On the bright side, I got to sleep in! A special thank you to the Kelley's for hosting me in your beautiful home! For some reason, as I begin to wrap-up my chapter visits, the students I encounter are more and more "memorable". For instance, I met the Sherminator at Ripley, and when I proceeded to ask Kelsey what animal she would be, she responded with, "A hippo". Interesting! Also, thank you to the face-paint-ees, including Amanda, Stacy, Cory, Trent, Cody, Dillon, Taylor, Toria (LOVED the unibrow), Cody, Tyler, and Chelsea. Chelsea had also hurt her finger "real bad" and made sure I knew about it, so I hope it is feeling better! Cory - thanks for hanging out with me at lunch and keeping me up-to-date on DTS. Ryan - good to see you again and Cody - good luck in your endeavors. I also spoke at Ripley's Greenhand/Chapter Degree ceremony that evening, and besides spilling an entire cup of lemonade down my pants, everything went well! Thanks again, Ripley.

The following week, I headed over to neighboring New Bremen for their banquet. I also visited New Bremen earlier in the year, so I was especially grateful to be back for their banquet. Morgan and the Everett's - thanks for letting me sit with you and I enjoyed conversing with you! New Bremen is also home to some model D-5 FFA members, like Rick Homan, Curt Brown, Nick Wendeln ("Huh?"), Rachael Dabbelt, and Ashley Schmieder - and I enjoyed hanging out with all of you again, too. Congratulations to everyone, thanks for the signed ball-cap (it's sitting in the rear windshield of the Corn Car), and I hope to run into all of you again, soon!

The very next evening, I headed all the way to "PERRY" county, to attend the Sheridan FFA banquet. First of all, this was the 1st banquet I have ever attended where they used actual china and silverware to eat. I was very impressed! Ethan - I appreciate putting up with me and allowing me to sit next to you, and you and Katie convinced me that "PERRY" county was a great place to live! Congratulations to all of you, and best of luck to Eddie and the new officer team.

After the Sheridan banquet, I trekked 2 hours straight south, to visit the River Valley FFA (as you can guess, their chapter is right on the Ohio River). A special thank you to the Huck's for allowing me to spend the evening, and for breakfast! Now, not only did the chapter have a cook-out when I was there (actually, more of a cook-in, as they grilled the hamburgers in the shop), but I also got to visit the MOTH-man, even though I refer to him as the WASP-man. Ms. Ganover - thank you for all of your assistance during my visit, too! Now, I was trying to goof-off, and convince some of the students that the Corn Car I drive actually runs on corn, and that popcorn comes out of the exhaust, which I bag and sell. Of course, for SOME reason, one of the students (RYAN) asked me if I had wrecked the Corn Car before. I told the truth, and then Patrick responded by asking me if I had run into the back of a BUTTER truck in order to save costs on buttering the popcorn that came out of my exhaust...ha...ha...hilarious. Tessie, Kayla (I LOVED your home-made FFA t-shirts), and Carissa - thanks for the awesome lunch conversation, and Ryan - I was glad to hear that you were so confidently PERFECT...haha! I also met the "Dream Team", which was truly an honor! Travis and Carissa - I apologize that I didn't leave an extra bag of Reese cups for you, and I also met up with David, the banjo guy. He actually stayed a few rooms down from us at State Convention, and I remembered him playing his banjo at night! Also, the gold star for the day went to the Rabbits, who chimed-in during my positivity workshop by screaming, "CARROTTS", since rabbits down make a sound! A special thank you to the officers and Mr. Huck for showing me the coveted MOTH-man statue and taking me out to eat at the original Bob Evan's homestead. THANK YOU!

Finally, this past Monday, I attended the Ansonia banquet in the majestic hills of D-5. First of all, I want to especially thank Courtney and Danielle for reminding me that only nerds take stats for basketball games. I appreciate your warm welcome...haha! Also, Ansonia had a Fashion Show for the Freshmen males, which I have NEVER seen at a banquet before, but I thought it was absolutely AWESOME and ORIGINAL! I guess you could count it as a "Freshmen Initiation"! I want to commend the officers on all walking up to me and telling me, "Thank You!" You all made my day! I also have to make a shout-out to Harlee, this is for you, "LOOK - IT'S HARLEE!" Congratulations to all of you and best of luck in the upcoming year.

Alright, well that will wrap-up this edition of Dustin's Blog. Tune in next time to hear the exciting tales of more banquets and chapter visits...YEAH! Thanks for tuning in and I hope to see you all in a few weeks!

Until next time,
-The Prez-

"Motivating gets you going and habit gets you there. Make motivating a habit and you will get there more quickly and have more fun on the trip." - Zig Ziglar

April 1, 2008 12:16 PM

Haha...I think I wasted 5 minutes just coming up with the title to this blog. Isn't it great though? Thank you! So, did you all hear the news about State Convention?! Well, we're trying to mix things up this year and bring in a band for the dance, and apparently a country group heard that we would be at the Ohio State Fairgrounds, and since they are originally from Ohio and also supporters agriculture, they want to play at the dance. Guess who it is - RASCAL FLATTS! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! Who is excited? ME TOO! I can't wait to hear "Me and My Gang", I'm going to be at the front of the stage screaming higher and louder than any of the girls!

Okay, let me write the blog, and then I'll discuss the details at the very end. So, be sure to read all the way to the bottom of the blog for further details about the concert.

Well, as chapter visit season comes to a close, banquet season is in full swing. My very first banquet was a few weeks ago, all the way down in D-10, at Warren. Justin Stiers also rode down with me. Warren had a beautiful banquet, complete with a lavish landscaping display in the gym. I apologize for taking down the fencepost during my speech - I really thought it could hold my weight! They even had a tractor on display IN THE SCHOOL HALLWAY AND, it was John Deere - YES! Danielle and Mr. Clark - thank you for the invitation and Emily - good to see you again. Also, I have to give a shout-out to Loren, Mindy, and Maggie - we took a quick spin in the Corn Car after the banquet, and I have pictures to prove it. I'll try to post them on Facebook soon. Thanks again, Warren!

The very next day, I trekked over to the great D-5 school of Versailles, with Allen Schmitz. Jodi Hassan, the FFA artist, was also present at the banquet, and I thank the Goubeaux family for letting sit with them. This was the first FFA banquet I've been to where they turned out all of the lights and the officers make a grand entrance, like at State Convention...I LOVED it! Not to mention, I also took home some free stuff...OH YEAH! Congratulations to Elizabeth and her officers on a fantastic year, and good luck to Shelby and the new officers. Mrs. Wuebker and Versailles FFA - thanks for letting me speak and also assist with passing out awards at your banquet. P.S. - Elizabeth - tell your mother that her handwriting is by far the weirdest thing I've ever seen!

After a FFA Board of Trustees meeting later that week, Tyler, Jesse, Katie Miller, Katy Endsley, and I conducted the Practice State Officer Interviews. We had about 35 attendees, and Ohio FFA, I'm proud to say that you will be represented very well next year! Good luck to all of the candidates next weekend as they interview for State Office.

Next up, my chapter visit to Elmwood. Now, upon entering Elmwood's new school, I realized that they had a pond in their front yard. After sighting this, I realized how much fun Seniors could have by including some aspect of the pond in their Senior prank. Once students even mentioned possibly dying the pond school colors for a Senior prank. I would LOVE to have a pond in my school's front yard! Anyway, back to my visit. First of all, I need to thank Mike for his assistance, and he was also a former FFA camper, so I enjoyed catching up with you! Now, I know I've told you about some weird answers I received from FFA members upon asking them certain questions, but Elmwood was full of them. For instance, Amanda (a girl) told me if she could be any animal, she would want to be a steer; Stacy (sorry about the water gun, too) told me that if she could star in any movie, it would be "Legally Blonde"; and Bubba (an unforgettable FFA camper who always had his Dodge Truck hat on) loved his sheep so much, he wished he could be a sheep, too. Weird...I know! Ziggy, Ryan, Josh, and Wes - thanks for volunteering to get face-painted, you all are real troopers! Jess - you are an amazing Freshmen, keep it up; Brian, former FFA camper, good to see you again; Kay - I'll never forget your snorting episode; these members also get a shout-out in my blog for their AWESOMENESS - John, Emily, Andrew, Josh, Mark, Adam (you are a master cracker blower), and Thomas - sorry I took out my frustration on you and threw random things at you...I felt much better though! The Elmwood FFA classroom was busy all day, as any student could come down and buy drinks or candy that the FFA sells...what a great idea! Thanks again Mr. Feasel and Elmwood FFA, and also for the great gift - you didn't have to do that!

That evening, I attended my home FFA banquet at Anna. We had a great turn-out and once again, I thank all of you for inviting me back home and for the very warm welcome. Congratulations to everyone, especially Beef and the 07-08 Officers and best wishes to Arielle and the 08-09 Officers. A special thanks to Mrs. Brunson and Mr. Zimpfer, too.

The next evening, I had the opportunity to speak at the Edon FFA banquet, probably the most NE school in the state. So, not only was this a great banquet, but I won't soon forget it because I came home with a multitude of items, including a "Blue Jackets, Bright Futures" bumper sticker, an ACTUAL Corn Car (it was a car made from corn cobs), which is currently sitting in the back of the Corn Car I drive, a toothpick holder, and finally, an OSU hammer and in the words of Cambell, the hammer is to "help me construct my success at Ohio State"...now that took some real thinking! Thank you SO much Edon! Cambell - congrats to your team and good luck in your State Office interviews next week. Aeriel - thanks for keeping me company and also for letting me use your good luck pen, it definitely helped! Finally, guess what I got to do?! I got to walk in with the officers at the beginning of the banquet! I was pumped, and it brought back State Convention memories. Thanks again Edon and Mr. Stoll!

Well, I'm going to wrap-up this edition of Dustin's blog now. I'll be back soon to talk about my chapter visits to Ripley and River Valley, and a few more banquets as well.

As promised - here's what I know so far about Rascal Flatts coming to State Convention. They will be playing at the...APRIL FOOLS! Haha! Did I have you going? I'm going to brush off my shoulder, because I think that's a pretty clever joke. Honestly, why do we need Rascal Flatts when we have ME?! Hahaha...I love this day!

Anyway, have a great rest of the week and I can't wait to see you all soon!

CONVENTION COUNTDOWN - 31 DAYS

Until next time,
-The Prez-

"When you gaze at the dates on a tombstone, it's not about the date the person was born or the date they passed on, but the dash that separates those dates. The dash that tells the story of that person's life, and the great things they accomplished." - from a video played at the Edon FFA Banquet

March 12, 2008 3:20 PM

Good sunny afternoon Ohio FFA! Right now I'm sitting at my computer at home, listening to music, enjoying the sun shining through the office window, but not the temperature, and writing to 24,000 of my best friends. Can life get any sweeter? Uhhh...NO! I hope all of you sophomores enjoyed OGT week. Mwahhhh (evil laugh)! I know you'll all do fine, though, and just keep in mind - only 41 days until State Convention! Whoo Hooo! Until then, however, I need to write this blog...haha! Enjoy!

So, while you all call it "slacking" in regards to writing some of my latest blogs, keep in mind that I need time to reflect and ponder my activities before I write them for you. How was that excuse? Pretty lame? That's what I thought. Sorry I've slacked off a bit, but let's get right to the point - my chapter visit to Mahoning County CTC. First of all, I need to thank Jason for inviting me to visit, because if he had not contacted me, I would never have had the opportunity to visit Mahoning. A special thanks to all that helped me load and unload the Corn Car, and for the list of music. According to Mahoning County FFA members, my music selection was lame, so they decided to assist me by making me write down an entire list of songs and bands to add to my collection. They didn't beat around the bush about it either, they all flat out told me, "GET SOME NEW MUSIC"...tear! Thanks for helping me "improve" my lists! I hope you all enjoyed the face-painting and peanut-butter feeding as much as Ms. Emerson and I did (of course, all we did was laugh and take pictures). A special thanks to Ms. Emerson for lunch, a tour of the facilities, and for assisting me during my visit. Thanks Mahoning!

Up next, a special visit to the Hillsboro FFA chapter. Now, I need to thank the Hall family and Jana for hosting me. The last time I stayed with them, my chapter visit at Eastern Brown cancelled because of a snow storm. Guessed what happened this time when I stayed with them? Yep, another snow storm and I had to cancel my visit to Mowrystown. WHY AM I SO CURSED? AHHH! Back to the blog, I did, however, get the opportunity to conduct my visit to Hillsboro. First of all, I was very impressed with the facilities at Hillsboro, they have an entirely separate building dedicated to FFA (of course, they were also kind enough to allow a few other classes to use the facilities too). I also want to apologize for breaking a lot of jars with soil and water in them (talk about a big mess)...sorry! I also did not know that Hillsboro is home to the famous Miranda Frump, the state Creed speaking winner last year, as well as the infamous Leighton from summer camp (he has red hair, wore western attire and sang in the talent show) - good to see you again, Leighton. As always, I must salute those brave volunteers that allowed their classmates to face-paint them, including Jevin, Johnny, Cory, Ali, Andrew, Dillon (who had a strange relationship with Ryan, but all was well because Ryan had on an OSU shirt - GO BUCKS), Logan, Joey, Patrick (the previous two re-enacted a portion of Star Wars by Jedi fighting with my flashlights as light-sabers...it was hilarious), and Justin (his group painted him like a raccoon)! Also, Ashleigh - I didn't wreck on the way home, so thanks for the encouragement; and Brooklyn - props to you for wearing you official dress all day! Lindsay - thanks for getting down and painting with your nose, even though your team didn't want to...you rock! Here's also a shout out to Abby (I hope your Creed experience went well), Abby (the junior with red hair that smiled a lot), and Jeff, from south of the border. Also, to Dillion's team - I've still have yet to have an entire tribe scream out "YEAH" every time I said the word strengths...you all pumped me up for the rest of the day! Mr. O and Mr. Cummings - thanks so much, and Alex - I'll probably see you when we're both running for President of the United States someday. Thanks Hillsboro!

From down in southern Ohio, I trekked all the way up to the NW corner of Ohio for a visit at Archbold, with Mr. Sell. See, Mr. Sell is from my neck of the neighborhood, so I had to be sure to visit an old friend sometime during the year. Archbold is also home to the District 1 President, Katie Miller. First of all, a HUGE thank you to Kelly for helping me carry my junk in and for also keeping me company, since no one else was in the room. Archbold has a beautiful, new school complete with an FFA barn. I'm not talking about one of those mini-barns, but an actual barn in the school's front lawn. That thing is sweet! Next thing, I need to also thank Jake, Aaron, Trey, Dexter, Lucas (who was wearing a John Deere shirt - "Nothin' Runs Like a Deere", baby), Aaron, and Travis for an extra-exciting period that day. Now, during all of my chapter visits, I ask some of the students ice-breaker questions. When I got to Micah, I asked him, "If you were an animal, what would you be?" His response (best one to date), "I'm an animal!" Chelsea - I hope Mr. Sell ridded you of your disgusting habit of wearing Michigan clothing. You should really try to kick that habit. Tyler and Andrew - thanks for entertaining the class and me by getting your faces painted - it was truly delightful to watch! Also, Andrew and Jacob (who I kept mixing up with another student named John), FFA members across the state keep asking me what happened to my buckets that you two demolished when you attacked them for Smarties, so I just thought I would share that with you. You two should be proud. Finally, Seth (the Prez), I hope to see you in April! Thanks again Archbold!

After spending a wonderful evening with the Miller family (THANK YOU), I headed off to the great chapter of McComb with Mr. Pierce. Now, I visited the McComb FFA chapter last year for their banquet, and while I enjoyed the banquet, the thing I remembered most was Duane showing me his truck, which looked like something off of "Pimp My Ride". He had a flat bed truck and he was decorating the rear with...well...bottle caps, I'll leave it at that. Also, to second period - Jodi Hassan gave me some cookie-dough peanut butter the other day, and I had to smile because it brought me back to the memories of shoving peanut butter up some of you noses (especially Leah's, as I "assisted" her partner). Just imagine if we would have used the cookie-dough peanut butter instead! Recently, I've also had the strange infatuation with telling students that the Corn Car is just that, a big ear of corn that I drive (kind of like the Oscar-Meyer Weiner mobile). Of course, Cody and Duke fell for it and were very disappointed in me when they found out it was just a Ford Taurus...sorry! Also, here's the traditional tribute to Jesse, Jacob (a fellow FFA camper), Fitz, and Josh for "volunteering" for the face paint! On Fitz's face, his group painted a basketball and then turned it into a music note to represent sports and the arts...pretty clever! Fitz was also one of the only FFA members I have ever met that liked the band "Skillet" like me! Emily and Renee - thanks for skipping your class to come visit with me and I hope you are still enjoying your princess crowns! Nikki - for some reason I wrote down your name and then put the words leather seats and sliding next to your name, but I can't remember why. Do you? Hmmm. Here's a quick shout out to Freshmen Braeden and fellow FFA camper Bruce. Since Mother Nature started to induce havoc on the town, McComb had an early dismissal, so I didn't get to finish the final class period. My next visit, at Gibsonburg was also cancelled (for the SECOND time) because Mother Nature and I don't get along very well. Anyway, thanks again to McComb and Mr. Pierce for a great visit

Pheww...once again I've got long winded. I hope you all made it through the blog, and if you did...well...go eat a piece of cake and celebrate! Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Dustin's Blog and until next time.

-The Prez-

Young Jenny (Hanna Hall): "Run, Forrest, Run" in Forrest Gump (1994)

March 2, 2008 3:37 PM

Well, good afternoon Ohio FFA! Besides a few clouds, isn't it BEA-UTIFUL outside? Now, while I am partial to a flawless blanket of fresh snow, I'm tired of it cancelling all of my FFA events! Throughout the past few weeks, my chapter visits to Ripley, Tolles Tech, and North Union, as well as my Greenhand Ceremony at Anthony-Wayne, have been cancelled because of snow. However, now that it is warming up, the only thing that can cancel a school now is Ohio's infamous fog, or those random electricity outages! Anyway, get out and enjoy the day, unless you're reading my blog of course! ENJOY!

Now, as you can see, Dustin has been slacking a bit on the blogging, so prepare yourself. I think I have been to every corner of Ohio in the last three weeks. So, let me begin with my visit to Cory-Rawson with Mr. Marx in NW Ohio. Now, not only did I visit Cory-Rawson last year to speak at their banquet, you may also remember me mentioning the notorious Zach, Caleb, and Eric, whom I sat with at MFE. So, I knew this visit would definitely keep me on my toes...haha! Zach - thanks for coming down early to help me unload my car. Cory - next time, come to class with a full stomach, that way you aren't tempted to eat my paint...haha, and Anthony - thanks for stepping up and volunteering to compete in the whistling and painting, even though you're team was too "cool" to do it. Steve - "Oops, I Did it Again" - there's a little Britney for you, bud. I especially had a blast with the Greenhand members, including April in her John Deere shirt ("Nothing Runs Like a Deere") and red-haired Chip (sorry, but that's how I remembered you). Although we didn't accomplish anything, the 7th graders and I still had fun too (that's all that counts anyway), especially Mason and Dan. Now, although I've seen some intense peanut-butter feeding, Mason actually painted Dan's face in peanut-butter. Celeste - I really liked your name, so here's a Dustin Blog's shout-out to you and your cool name! Jake (aka - the mastiff) - I hope your leg is doing better. Miles (Mr. Prez) - good to see you again and Sara and Luke - did you two every get rid of that nasty peanut-butter smell...haha! Mr. Marx - thanks for lunch, and thanks again to everyone at Cory-Rawson.

Now, on my way to my next visit, I had to play the role of psychologist for the Corn Car. Upon hearing that the Corn Car would be taking me to Sentinel, it nearly refused to start. But, after a little coaxing, and a promise from me that nothing would happen (at least I hope), we arrived at Sentinel safe and sound. Why did the Corn Car act this way? Because, Sentinel is home to none other than the infamous Mr. Zimmerman. The Z brothers are notorious for their Corn Car pranks, but luckily, nothing happened during my visit. From whistling with saltine crackers in their mouths, to painting with their noses, to some of the worst dart throwing to date, to enthusiastically always wanting to wear my princess tiaras (yes, even the guys) when I said, "STRENTHS", to some intense Lego building, thank you all for an unforgettable experience! Greenhands - I also enjoyed hanging out with many of you again from GH Camp. Mr. Zender and Mr. Zimmerman - thank you for your assistance, too. Also, Miss President - good luck next year and I’m sure your Reporter's book did great too! Thanks again (especially for keeping the Corn Car safe)!

Next up, a chapter whose advisor is a good ol' D-5er. Actually, what was really strange was that two Anna graduates also taught at this school. I have never met an Anna graduate teacher at any school I have visited, and Northridge had two - Mr. Wentz and Ms. Anderson! Weird, not?! Anyway, their advisor, Mr. Rismiller, was a former D-5 President, so you know excellence reigned in this chapter!) I started my day with a very rambunctious, but fun, group of 7th graders. Among them was a girl named Mary-Beth, who taught me my name in Pig-Latin (Ustin-day). I don't quite remember how that came about, but I thank you for that knowledge! Ty - I hope your leg scar (which I DIDN'T want to see) healed and you are a true Buckeye, my friend (remember, "begins with an O- and ends with -HIO"). Brad, I hope Ty has made you come to your senses about rooting for teams that do not call themselves the Buckeyes. Keith - I hope you enjoyed the squirt guns. Anthony - I bet you never look at peanut-butter quite the same way anymore, do you? Now, not only did I meet and catch-up with fellow FFA campers like Faith, Catherine, Josh, and Taylor, but Northridge is also home to the infamous Hall twins, Erin and Lesley. They have kept in contact with me since last year, when I was VP, so I had a great day actually getting to talk to them in person, rather than via e-mail! DeAnna - thank you for your assistance in the morning, and it must be something about the name Dustin - but we're all fascinated with Apple computers! Britni, Brick (like off of "Anchorman"), Cody, Sierra, and Matthew - I hope you are all still behaving yourselves. Makenzie - I still remember your name and Emma - thanks for keeping me on my toes. Keilah - I hope you got your officer application filled out in time and Nina (La Presidente) - nice to meet you! Mr. Rismiller - thanks again and I enjoyed talking to you. Also, a BIG thanks to the Higgins for letting me spend the evening, too!

NOW - we're at FFA WEEK! YEAH! Well, not so much, as two of my events were cancelled! However, I just love FFA Week - it's like Christmas, but for FFA members! Now, although my visit to Ripley was cancelled, I want to thank Cody and his family for allowing me to stay. Since my visit was cancelled, Cody graciously took me to Pizza Hut, to get a picture of the Kentucky state sign with the Corn Car, to the Rankin and John Parker houses (absolutely AMAZING, I would encourage all of you to visit it some day), and to visit Ryan at the fire-department. Thanks Cody!

Although Ripley was cancelled, nothing could stop the Waterford FFA chapter's Hog Roast/Lock-in that evening. When I say nothing, I mean NOTHING! School was even cancelled both days of the lock-in, but FFA members don't quit when the weather gets tough - we just have more fun. First of all, I need to thank Justin and Mr. Hartline for inviting me. Although I didn't think I could make it through the night, I should have known that the Waterford FFA members would make sure I stayed awake. Brittany, Niasca, Christinia, Cassie, Justin, Co-op, and I played Apples to Apples and I even learned a new game - Kemp! Immediately following those intense battles, Justin and I changed and played a little B-Ball (basketball). Now, although Brad, Coty, Brady, and Travis will gloat that they beat the State President and D-10 President in basketball, you have to understand that in our job descriptions, we are suppose to let FFA members win so that they will continue to participate in the FFA - that's just how we roll, boys. Brad - thanks for teaching me those awesome basketball tricks that I'll never be able to do, expect for the pants one! After some activities, we all gathered around and began shredding the pork after the hogs were finished roasting. I have to admit - shredding the pig was probably the highlight of my night. Why? Because I had an abundant amount of free food right in front of me, I got to shoot the breeze with members, and I was also encouraged to throw pork fat at neighboring tables - good times, good times. The next day, the community came to the shop to enjoy a free pork lunch. Niasca - I may be contacting you in the future to sell something, you pretty much rocked at getting people to join the Alumni, which isn't easy to do. Christinia - you did a good job of handing out the newspapers too. Waterford FFA - THANK YOU!

Okay folks, stick with me for one more event. After the Hog Roast, I headed over to Bloom-Carroll for their first ever Greenhand Ceremony. First of all, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your festivities. Alex - thanks for helping me carry by stuff around, I really appreciate it. The officers did an outstanding job and I congratulate all of the members on their degree. I also wanted to thank and commend Mrs. Moore and Ms. Yantis on their great program. Krystin - good to see you again too! Thanks for inviting me and for the cake too!

Okay FFA members. I still have two chapter visits to blog about, but I'm sure you're as hungry as I am after reading about cake and pork. So, I'm going to take a break, get some food, and tune in for another addition of Dustin's Blog later in the week. No, it does not take me that long to eat, but I have visits at Archbold, McComb, and Gibsonburg that I'll add into to my next blog. Enjoy your day and don't forget - "Shake n' Bake"!

Until next time -
- The Prez -

"RHETORICAL QUESTION, FARLEY!" - from "Mr. Woodcock"