Washington, DC; a first impression

Class VIII SDARL class met early Saturday, February 21^st, morning in Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Fargo to start our Washington DC trip.  Although we had many set backs due to weather, we all made it safely.

SDARL Class VIII near the White House

                Sunday morning we had the opportunity to go the largest Roman Catholic Church in all of the North America, The Basilica.  Four of our members were asked to be a part of the service by bringing gifts to the front of the congregation.   Another group visited the Capitol Hill Baptist Church, where we were in awe at the music, sermon and the interest in our group.  The third group started at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum where we saw the documentary of the Hubble Space Telescope.  This group also had an impressive visit at the Holocaust Museum.

 In the afternoon we enjoyed a great tour of the different memorials.  A few of favorites were the Jefferson Memorial, seeing the black marble Korean War wall with the faces was amazing, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall where actually seeing all the names of soldiers who gave their life was more impressive and humbling, than just seeing the number of lives lost.

Reichert at the Vietnam Memorial

 We ended our day with South Dakota Farm Bureau President, class 3 SDARL alumnus, Scott VanderWal.  Scott spoke of the importance of the power of one and telling our personal stories.  Some great advice that he gave all of us was to lead with values and to keep a healthy balance between personal and professional responsibilities. 

Scott VanderWal being thanked by Joel Erickson

Submitted by Nick Scott & Randy Nelson