By Mary Dom on October 5, 2023
Over the summer I had the chance to travel down to Cedar Lakes in Ripley, West Virginia, for State FFA Convention. Why? Well, I am a part of our chapter's Parliamentary Procedure team, and since we won regionals, we had the amazing opportunity to compete at the state level to further determine what team out of the wonderful state of West Virginia would be representing the state at National FFA Convention in November. There was two very, long days of competing, and lots of previous practice and studying, but I would say it is well worth it in the end because the Taylor County FFA Chapter gets the honor to travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, to compete in Parliamentary Procedure in November. Although it is scary and nerve-wracking, I really do believe we can do this.
So, what is Parliamentary procedure? Well, we first have a 45-question test, as well as team problem solving, research questions, and writing minutes, which takes a few hours. Then we do our actual demonstration; we have a motion card laid on our chair, and when we walk in, and we cannot look at the card until after the judges introduce themselves and tell us we have one minute to look at our card. After the one minute is up, we have 10 minutes to debate, or we lose points for however long we go over. Our required motions are on the card, and your specific motion will be underlined, and we have to know the appropriate time to make it and how to make it. We have a main motion; you can vote in favor or against it, but sometimes what you have on your card affects that, and if you make the main motion, you have to vote for it. We also have to get and additional motion, as well as amending it, referring it to a committee, and at the end adjourning. We are all asked oral questions at the end that we have to stand up and answer; the questions vary depending on the required motion you had.
This has really helped me come out of my shell, since we have to speak in front of hundreds to thousands of people. Our advisor, Mr. Tennant, is really good about pushing us to make sure that we work hard, but he also wants us to have fun and make memories that we are going to remember forever. Every time I put on that blue corduroy FFA jacket, I always manage to make so many friends and memories. If you ever think about joining the Parliamentary Procedure Team, I think you should do it. Just make sure you are prepared to put in lots of hard work and effort, believe in yourself, and do not stop until you are proud.
