Colby FFA duo take ‘Half-Time’ break

On Jan. 10-11, Colby FFA members Kayt Kampmeyer and Olivia Weiland attended the Wisconsin FFA Half Time Conference in Stevens Point, facilitated by the Wisconsin State FFA officers.

During the two-day conference, attendees learned about leadership, including how to become a better leader, how to leave their comfort zones, and how to face their fears.

“It was a great learning experience. If given the chance, I would definitely go again. I learned a lot about myself as a leader and as a person in general,” Weiland said. “I definitely wandered outside of my comfort zone while at this conference.”

Weiland said she was fortunate for the opportunity as only two people are able to attend from each chapter every year. She said it was a great experience that allowed her to meet new people and grow as a leader, all while having fun.

“One of my favorite parts of the conference was the dance, where I met a new friend that I still talk to every day. It was a nice way to cool down from everything we learned that day and to just relax,” Weiland said.

Kampmeyer shared many of the same sentiments about the conference, saying it was a really great way to meet new people.

“There were a lot of activities that were hands on and that made you walk up to someone you didn’t know and have a conversation with them,” she said. “The main takeaway for me from the conference was the different ways that a chapter can work together with different activities that everyone can enjoy.”

Kampmeyer said she also learned a lot about leadership and overcoming fears, all done while participating in the state officer’s fun activities.

“One of the cool things that I got to do there was after we wrote down our fears on a piece of duct tape, we were able to use that duct tape to tape a person to the walls. It showed that our fears can hold us back, but we just have to be strong enough to overcome them,” she said.

Another part of the two day conference was the reflections program, a large group debriefing performed by the Wisconsin State FFA officers.

“During reflections, we heard the officers tell us stories about people that had life changing events, and how much our lives can change in one second,” Kampmeyer said. “Overall, it was a good weekend spent with some great people and we even got some cool 2020 shades.”