Montana FCCLA

Wow! Another week, another convention! Our time at the Montana Family Career and Community Leaders of America State Leaders Conference was AWESOME! We were so fortunate to meet a slough of incredible leaders from Shepherd to Plentywood! Our LEADSTRONG workshop with over 30 participants was incredible and insightful!

The workshop talked about developing yourself as a leader using your CORE 4, developing teams that succeed through the Rules of 5 and finally into make an impact in your FCCLA chapter! We got to meet some incredible students that are not just tomorrows leaders - they're TODAY'S leaders!

At the end I got to stick around and be a part of the Friday night session when they announced their grand total of $15,528.40 to the Montana Children's Miracle Network ( to learn more visit their website at http://www.shodair.org/ and contact my friend Glen Newhart at (406) 444 - 7500)

Resonate and Define U at Montana BPA

One word sums up our time at the Montana BPA State Leadership Conference in Billings - DANG! It's been a couple years since I've been to SLC but I am so impressed! It's so incredible to see what these Business Leaders are doing through their Competitive Events and in theirChapters! It was so neat to hear from the Executive Director from the Montana Special Olympics (www.somt.org) - a program close to my heart - and then present the RESONATE and Define U series of workshops!

In RESONATE we learned about interviewing through the eyes of the employer and then focused on developing well-balanced interviews through Ethos, Pathos and Logos! Traveling Presenter Sam Cornthwaite got to work with nearly 60 leaders from across Montana on their interviewing - students from Cascade, Park City and even Billings made it such a great workshop!

Up next we worked with over 100 students in Defining their Role, Defining their Goal, and Defining their Purpose! How cool was it to see so many great students defining their leadership?!? Associate Presenter D'Jeane Peters and Sam Cornthwaite had such a great time with the Montana BPA and are excited to see where they'll go!

Interviews://REMIX

It's here! It's here! The Interviews://REMIX is finally here! On our second annual workshop it was so neat to have some of my best friends in town to learn about the journey of running for a State FFA Office.

We started out learning about the process and about the CORE 10 - or the 10 Qualities of Leadership. Through development in the CORE 10 students can develop themselves not only in the better candidates - but better officers if elected. Much of what we do in the workshop does not just end at getting State Office - in fact - if we were to only focus on these things our workshop would be in vain. Instead, we focus on developing each leadership interviewing skills so not only can they apply them to the process of running for State Office, but also into applying for a job.

Thanks to those who came out for Interviews://REMIX and I look forward to seeing you all at State FFA Convention!

Live2Serve - Winter 2011!

The Bright Pink Suitcase made it's way a whopping half mile from Rimview Hall to the Great Hall in Prescott at Rocky Mountain College (rocky.edu) for the Live2Serve - WinterConference! 25 students from across the Greater Yellowstone Valley convened at Rocky to learn about Leadership and Service and how to develop serviceoriented goals with Traveling Presenter Sam Cornthwaite and Associate Presenter D'Jeane Peters.

We started out learning about leadership, and how we must define our own lead

ership, moving onto becoming a catalyst and setting goals. Finally we discovered ways to make an impact in our home and communities.

"I loved setting goals for my future and making a path to get them. My life story will blossom now that I know what I want to do." – M. Harper

Parallel 49 Strategies will be hosting more Live2Serve Conferences across the State of Montana in 2011! Keep following the Bright Pink Suitcase to learn more as dates and locations are set!

Des Moines (DSM)

It's here! It's here! Finally we're taking off tomorrow for the 38th Annual Iowa FFA Alumni Convention! We'll be hanging out with our friends at the Iowa FFA Enrichment Center on the Des Moines Area Community College campus for two days and touring Iowa State University - home of the Cyclones!

We are excited to be presenting and speaking on the Define U series - where we'll define our role, define our goal, and define our purpose in the Iowa FFA and Alumni!

And do not worry - the Bright Pink Suitcase will be tagging along and will have it's inaugural flight from BIL to DSM and home - CHICKA YEAH!

So get excited Iowa FFA members - because the Bright Pink Suitcase and Parallel 49 Strategies are on their way - and when we're there, the parties there!

Montana!

So! Here it is, the inaugural blog sharing the locale of the bright pink suitcase! What is it you ask? Well friends, it is the carrier of all things Parallel 49 - the ship of my sea. Yes - it's just a suitcase, but it represents my travels across this great world of ours starting here - in Montana. After each event we'll keep you posted about the great people we meet and the amazing places the suitcase travels. Hopefully you'll find our trips as exciting as we do and that you'll follow us by clicking the link to the right.

It's going to be an exciting year for Parallel [49] Strategies - with trips planned to Iowa, Georgia, and across the Pacific Northwest. Won't you join us with the bright pink suitcase?