| Lord Botetourt FFA member Faith Settle attended the National FFA Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) last week and returned excited to share the details of the impactful experience. WLC is a week-long premier leadership event offered by the National FFA organization in the nation’s capital. Throughout the conference, 370-170 FFA members (per week) from across the U.S. worked together with national leaders and legislators to learn how to become effective leaders, take action, and serve others. Aside from focused large and small group sessions each day, attendees enjoyed trips into the city, touring historical monuments and museums and learning about our past leaders. Faith said the most memorable session of the conference for her was the day four-session, Diversity, where she got to experience someone else’s life from overseas, who lived in a small income home who only made $2 a day. Last week, 173 members were able to pack 52,224 meals for Meals of Hope, write 87 cards to hospitalized kids, decorate 205 bags for Meals on Wheels, and write 80 thank you letters to FFA supporters. In total of all seven weeks of WLC, members were able to pack 425,088 meals for Meals of Hope, write 908 cards to hospitalized kids, decorate 1094 bags for Meals on Wheels, and write 950 thank you letters to FFA supporters. “It was hard and fast work, and I’m amazed about how many meals we had packed in less than a few hours. It felt good giving back to the community,” Faith said. She added that she also enjoyed meeting and making connections with members from all over the country who all have similar and different ideas, interests, and goals. “WLC gave me and other FFA members the knowledge to be impactful leaders in our FFA chapters, schools, and communities. It’s something I will never forget,” Faith said. |
