The fresh morning air smelled marvelous as I pulled up to the office. This was the day. It had finally come, and I was super stoked. Yea, that’s right, the North Carolina State Fair was in town, and we were officially opening the fair on this Friday, October 14th. We piled into the State van and made our way to the fair grounds. As we got out and entered the gate, the fragrance of fried food and agriculture filled my nose. Yep, it was definitely the State Fair. We opened the fair with FFA day and a few comments from Commissioner Troxler and our keynote speaker Mike Hall. After that we all made our way down to Heritage Circle for the anticipated ribbon cutting. My teammates and I gathered at the front of the stage for the ceremony, and as the Commissioner proclaimed the opening of the 144th North Carolina State Fair we cut the ceremonial ribbon.
I was gripped with a sense of awe as I stood there surrounded by so many inspirational people that not only impact agriculture, but help make the North Carolina State Fair possible. I couldn’t help but smile knowing that I had been a part of something so special and memorable. We kept part of the ribbon as a token to remember the ceremony, and it will forever be something we treasurer.
With the ribbon cutting over it was time to have a little fun. The other officers and I set out to learn to tie tobacco, just like our grandparents would. This was probably my favorite part. I felt a sense of pride in tying tobacco. There was feeling of connection to my past and heritage and it was awesome to experience part of my culture and see how agriculture was half a century ago. We enjoyed learning about the process and getting to experience it firsthand.
Then it was off to the Jim Graham building and the Livestock Hall of Fame where we enjoyed a delicious lunch with the commissioner and other special guests. We also visited with some of the 4-H state officers as well as some Grange members. It was great to see all the FFA members walking around brimming with excitement for the opening day of the fair.
State Vice President, Caroline Tart
No comments:
Post a Comment