North Carolina’s first Eastern Region MEGA Conference included three workshops: Green and Growing, Leaders Within, and Elevate.
On the weekend of March 22-23, around 140 FFA members attended the first Eastern Region MEGA Conference. The MEGA Conference is an annual North Carolina FFA Association event to promote leadership skills among FFA members. Three workshop groups were present at the conference: Green and Growing, Leaders Within, and Elevate.
“We were so excited to host the Eastern MEGA Conference as a way to continue to expand opportunities for our students all across the state! Our state officers and volunteers made this an event where FFA members could further develop their leadership skills and learn more about themselves and the opportunities within the organization. I am so proud of N.C. FFA and our members,” said Shelby Robertson, North Carolina FFA coordinator.
The Green and Growing workshop is for members in grades 7-9 and highlights the importance of taking risks and challenges to become the most active leader and member possible. Madeline Chandler, a former North Carolina FFA president, facilitated it.
Chandler said, “The inaugural East MEGA was an inspiring time for members of all levels to further engage with FFA, leadership and each other!”
The Leaders Within workshop was geared toward 10th- and 11th-grade members, asking them to face challenges and advocate for themselves and their personal beliefs. It was facilitated by current North Carolina FFA Officers Regan Honeycutt, Walter Moore and Lindsay Hockstra.
Lastly, the Elevate workshop was created for high school seniors to learn the value of diversity and being true to themselves. This workshop was facilitated by past state officer Hailey Eason and current National FFA Officer Caroline Groth.
“In the Elevate workshop, I learned how to be better a better leader and [that] sometimes you have to take the courage and be vulnerable to show your real self in order to influence others you have to figure out who has influenced you first and everything isn’t always a good influence,” said Brittlyn Stubbs of the Lumberton FFA Chapter.
National FFA Vice President Caroline Groth provided a keynote address, informing the attendees of the value of being true to yourself and the importance of not being a perfectionist.
“I had the pleasure of attending the East MEGA conference, where I got to meet FFA members from across North Carolina! One of the highlights was definitely singing and dancing to ‘Wagon Wheel’ with all the attendees, embracing the N.C. FFA tradition. I also cherished the meaningful one-on-one conversations I had with members throughout the weekend. The future of N.C. FFA looks bright,” said Groth.
The first East MEGA Conference allowed North Carolina FFA members to socialize with other chapters while gaining these leadership skills. Each member went home knowing the value of being open-minded and true to themself.
