On Saturday, October 10, the San Luis Obispo FFA Officers attended the annual Chapter Officer Leadership Conference (COLC). This was the first year the conference had ever been held virtually, solely taking place over Zoom.
COLC was kicked off with a video introducing the South Coast Regional Officer Team — the group that led the event. Throughout the conference, the over two hundred Chapter Officers from around the South Coast Region who were in attendance had the opportunity to participate in activities led by the California State Officer Team and attend workshops put on by the Regional Officers. “The Regional Officers did a great job coming up with innovative, collaborative and fun activities and workshops,” said SLO FFA Reporter Allison Dierks. Through Kahoots, barcode surveys, and fun videos, the Regional Officers had tons of interactive activities for the Chapter Officers to enjoy.
One of the biggest aspects of the conference was the announcement of this year’s South Coast Regional Theme: “Navigate the Challenge of Change.” The theme was then present in each of the five workshops that were conducted, including learning how to navigate conversations, careers, social media, yourself, and how to find your oasis.
“COLC taught us how to properly interact through social media platforms in regards to how we treat and portray others through our language and our photos,” said SLO FFA Secretary Elyse Evers. SLO FFA Vice President Avery Noblitt states that specifically “In the ‘Navigating Through Social Media’ workshop, we learned about how to keep our reputation through our media accounts. It was important to learn the do’s and don’ts of social media and how to represent our chapter well online.”
The point of the workshops were to help Chapter Officers gain skills that can assist them in their year of service. SLO FFA Treasurer Carys Villani believes this to be true, stating that “these ideas and activities are something that we can translate into our chapter to make it better as a whole.”SLO FFA Parliamentarian Mia Jess agrees with Villani, explaining how the experience taught her “how to be a better leader for my chapter and other beneficial ways to communicate with members!”
Over the course of about three hours, there was dancing, learning, fun, and lots of interaction even in a virtual setting. As the President of the South Coast Regional Officer Team, Sophia Silacci stated that “the conference was a complete success. We received great feedback from the members who attended, saying that they appreciated the energy in the Zoom and workshop breakout rooms. My team did their best to make virtual COLC as incredible as the real deal, and everyone really enjoyed it.”
Even though there were no live skits and no lip sync contest and lively dance like the South Coast Region Chapter Officer Leadership Conferences in the past, the 2020 COLC was a big hit and truly made history for the region. Thank you SCR for another great experience!
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