SkillsUSA Georgia
Morgan Hunt
Conference Journal
Morgan Hunt, State North Region Vice President – State Officer Journal Entry
July, 2007
The National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City was an awesome week! I’ve been to Nationals three times now and have always loved it but this was probably my favorite. We were going non-stop all week and always had something to do. We met on Friday at the airport in Atlanta and were all excited to see each other again and get the week started. The first few days there, before the rest of the Georgia delegation arrived we had Officer 101 Training with state officers from many other states. It was a lot of fun getting to know officers from other states and learning about them. I learned so much about leadership and working with others. It was great to have some time to hang out with our officer team before everyone else got there. By the time our Georgia delegation got there, we’d already lost track of time and it felt like we’d known each other forever. Monday night, after everyone in our Georgia delegation got there, we had our first meeting with our delegation. Our officer team was so excited for everyone to be there and to meet all of them. The rest of the week during the day and competitions we went to delegate sessions. During these sessions we learned about parliamentary procedures and met the candidates running for National office. At night, we worked on our speeches for Wednesday night when the VIPs would arrive. Mr. Cannon and Mr. Ward even came to listen to our speeches and were a big help getting us prepared for meeting the VIPs. Tuesday night was when everyone met for Opening Ceremonies; as always it was amazing! By Tuesday night we had come very far on our presentations and were ready for the VIPs to arrive. When they arrived on Wednesday they came straight to the hotel and we met them at the meeting. Our speeches went really well and I was so relieved to get it over with. I was so proud of the other officers because everyone was amazing! Later that night we went to the festival and then the Cheesecake Factory; it was nice to have a chance to relax with each other after all of that preparation. Friday morning we had our last delegate session and voted for National Officers, then Closing Ceremonies was that night. I couldn’t wait to see who won National office, but I was really nervous to see how my team did in our competition. We were really excited about who won National Offices, but I was even more excited because my team won gold for the second year in a row!! When we were leaving for the airport on Saturday morning it was raining. It was definitely interesting trying to get all of our bags crammed in the van, but we finally did. We were all excited to get to the airport to go home, but it was sad to be leaving everyone. It was a long week together, but we became so much closer and are now more like a family. I already miss everyone and can’t wait until we get together again.
June 10, 2007
Coming to camp this weekend was an amazing experience for all of the officers. It was a great chance for our team to bond and learn more about each other. I think the ropes course helped us to get much closer. When we were holding the ladders for each other or putting each other up the 10 foot wall, it not only helped us learn more about each other, but helped us to begin forming trust. The activities we did together here will definitely benefit us in Kansas City and help us to stay motivated. If we can accomplish that together, we can exceed any other goals we set.
The different speaking techniques and skills we learned in the workshops have already helped me improve my speaking tremendously and I know will pay off for all of us in Kansas City!
Read the State Officer Journals:
