Poplar Students Make History By Attending FFA Convention

For the first time in the school’s history, Poplar’s agricultural education students attended the national FFA convention. The national event took place on Nov. 1-4 in Indianapolis, Ind.

“We drove out and made the whole trip an adventure,” Poplar’s FFA advisor Ted Fulgham said. Poplar’s students attending were senior Cameron Spotted Bird, senior Bryson Beauchamp and sophomore Roseanna Youpee.

Highlights heading out to the convention included stopping at the Mall of America, visiting an aquarium and observing the Spam museum in Austin, Minn. At the Spam museum, they saw the world’s first bacon fueled motorcycle among many other interesting exhibits.

Fulgham said the FFA convention’s opening ceremony that featured 66,000 FFA students was both “exciting and overwhelming” for Poplar’s group. “A lot of the kids didn’t know what to expect,” Fulgham said of the trip. “Once we got on the road, it went great.”

A career fair offered at the convention included representatives from colleges, universities and various careers.

“I think it opened the kids’ eyes and they now see the big picture,” Fulgham said.

Another highlight was an intra-tribal meeting at the FFA convention. Poplar represented the Fort Peck Tribes. Other participants included students from Standing Rock, S.D., Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

“I’m very proud of the kids for the way that they represented the Fort Peck Tribes at the intra-tribal meeting and the convention,” Fulgham said.