I am an FFA nerd. I have been since high school and I always will be. I loved my FFA jacket and I wore it with pride because of the legacy of the organization. My dad was in FFA and my aunts would have been if they would have allowed girls at the time. I have an old school jacket because my emblem says "Vocational Agriculture instead of "Agriculture Education." I gained so much from the FFA and the leadership opportunities I had through it. I am both the person and leader today because of the FFA. I was a quiet student- never really talking in school (huge shocker to those who know me now). And after high school, I used many of the leadership skills gained because of FFA to build upon for experience in leadership roles in college and beyond. I can thank FFA for my career foundation. I've been thinking about the FFA and all that it means the last couple weeks because previous years I've spent time with these kids from across the state through contests and leadership development and just coaching or talking with them. I'm always impressed by the change I see in students from their freshman year to their senior years and beyond.
In a month is our state's FFA state leadership conference and amid all the excitement there are two very special things will be occurring and they occur every year. I'm always excited to see who will be the next state officer team and see the retiring addresses. I love judging the speaking contest and visiting with advisors and parents because afterwards I know the future of our industry is in good hands. I get a little choked up when one of the scholarships is given and when the Chase Foster Essay Jackets are given out because they represent two amazing individuals, their families and the
A few years ago we had a wonderful speaker at the Friday evening event. I was excited to meet her because for many years I had heard about her and never had the chance to meet her. For many she was just a name but for me she was my friend's wife. I had met my friend Matt in high school at a National FFA conference when he was a national officer. This was years before email, Facebook twitter or blogging so to send a note to say thanks or hey what's up-it was old school- as in post cards. I came across the postcards he sent from around the country last summer when I was home. They are still in the box my mom had stored them and I enjoyed reminiscing. We had Matt come and speak for our annual meeting right after I started to work and he talked about his wife and his family. When I had the chance to meet her, she was amazing. She was kind and we talked about our FFA years, jewelry, hair accessories and what not and at the end our our 10 minute conversation, I felt like I had been her friend for years. When she visited with the kids, she talked about her family, her FFA and she talked about her cancer. She was an amazing woman. When she was finished she was met on stage by a few alumni who had started an endowment in her name to give scholarships to our FFA students. Each year since then, when they read her name and the student walks across the stage I think of my friend, his wife and and the legacy both of them have left on many people across the nation.
The other thing that I look forward to each year is the moments when five new students receive their own FFA Jacket. I remember earning mine. I did chores at my grandma's house to earn the money for mine. I still have it- it's in my hope chest and I see it every few weeks and I am reminded of the amazing things I was able to experience all because of that jacket. I was able to become someone who had dreams. The kids that are given their jackets have to write an essay that if they are chosen they read at some point during a session about what the jacket means to them. As it ends a state officer gives them their very own jacket. It was started by the family of a young man killed in a farm accident. And for me it's the most special part of the whole conference because of the legacy of the family. The young man's brother was an advisor that turned out several state presidents and two national officers. His mom was an professor at the local land grant university and mostly it's just a great way to give an opportunity to have to give potential to a student. As time goes on, I don't know if the kids will completely understand the legacy of the gift they receive but I hope their adviser or a mentor or someone from the FFA community will share the importance of it. I'm hoping that they get a glimpse of who these two people are and how they gave back to the organization that gave them so much first.
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