State Officers Lead the Charge for FFA Week across the State

FFA is a youth leadership organization that many of us have come to know and love. The organization teaches premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. National FFA Week was February 15-22, and members across the state celebrated with teacher appreciation breakfasts, chapter trips, convocations, and much more. The seven state officers were able to travel to several schools around the state and check out their activities.

Six of the state officers were able to kick of FFA Week at the Statehouse as the House of Representatives recognized the occasion.

The Indiana FFA State President introduces the governor at the Leadership Prayer Breakfast each year. It just so happened that the event fell during FFA Week this year. President Allie Abney was able to carry on the tradition with Governor Pence.

Many FFA chapters host contests as part of their FFA Week festivities. Secretary Kayla Hoenert was able to help out with a straw bale toss in Batesville.

A big part of state officers’ FFA Weeks is chapter visits. State officers present to classrooms about leadership topics ranging from organization to communication and time management to service.

What was your favorite part of FFA Week? You can find out more about the Indiana FFA Association here and keep up with the state officers’ adventures here!

A May Thanksgiving

By Sarah Correll

Almost everyone who enjoyed school had at least one class, and one teacher, that they really enjoyed.  For countless students in Indiana and across the country, these teachers are their agriculture teachers and FFA advisers. You can’t have one without the other, as FFA is a part of the agricultural education model.  Add in the supervised agricultural experience and the classroom and laboratory learning components of their jobs (more about that here), and agriculture teachers have a pretty full plate.  May 7th was National Teachers Day.  The theme this year was Thank a Teacher, and we would like to do just that.  Here is what a few agriculture students in Indiana had to say.

 “My FFA advisors are different from my other teachers because they are not only my teachers, but they are also my friends. It makes it easier as a student to work with advisors who are easy to get along with and are passionate about their job and the organization.” – Allie

“My FFA advisors are different from my other teachers because they genuinely care about all of my endeavors. They are willing to help with anything, in or out of the classroom.” – Leah

 “My FFA advisors are great because they care about me as a person not just a student. Even though I have graduated, they still text and call me to check in and make sure I am doing good! I appreciate their continuous, active involvement in my life!”- Cameron

“My FFA advisors are great because of their dedication to not only the organization, but also to their students. They have a passion for seeing us excel in every aspect of our lives. They have truly supported me in everything that I do and have inspired me to reach my goals.” – Mallarie

 It is not uncommon for my agriculture instructor to be at the school before 7 in the morning and to still be there at that same hour in the evening practicing with students.   His passion for success, growth, and, most of all, the growth of all students is something that is truly admired throughout the community and the state.  He is a true example of positive relationship building, hard work, compassion, and integrity.  When asked by current agricultural education students what made all of the long hours and Saturday work days worth it, he replied, “I have a file at home. It is full of letters from former students.  That’s what makes it worth it.” 

Allie, Leah, Cameron, Mallarie, I, and thousands of others like us certainly appreciate our agriculture teachers.  Who made a difference in your education?  Have you told them thank you?

More Than a Jacket

What do Bo Jackson, Taylor Swift, Former President Jimmy Carter, and Zac Brown have in common?

They were all FFA members.  While these people may be a little higher profile than the average member, FFA members are doing amazing things across the country and across our state. 

Take, for instance, the Shenandoah FFA Chapter.  These high school students work together every year to host a prom for those with cognitive disabilities in their community, a service that does not go unnoticed.

Or the 116 Indiana FFA members that earned their American FFA Degree this year.  These students all earned more than $7,500 through their hands-on work experience, held leadership positions, maintained a minimum grade point average, and gave over 20 hours of service.

Nearly every FFA chapter likes to compete.  The competitions range from livestock judging to parliamentary procedure, but the goal is the same in each: to develop leadership in the participants, and Indiana is often competitive at the national level.

“I believe in the future of agriculture.”  That’s how the FFA Creed begins, and with the future in the hands of current FFA members, we certainly have to agree!

Want to learn more?  Check out these links!

Indianaffa.org/association

ffa.org

Tomorrow's Great Leaders

By Casie C. Conley of Indiana FFA

What does “youth leadership” mean to you?  For us, as proud Indiana FFA members, it is what our organization thrives on.  

Leadership from our youth is not only important for the FFA, but also for the future of our country.  As we look forward we want to make sure we are developing strong and influential people.  In the FFA, we strive on doing just that. Our motto is “learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve”, the last line really says it all… youth leaders should live their lives to serve.  

Since it is youth leadership month there is no better time to celebrate the leaders of tomorrow, our youth. Organizations like 4-H, FFA, and Junior Leaders do an excellent job in promoting and molding the leadership that will come from this generation.  Today’s youth know that they have a responsibility to step and take action; they know that the future is in their hands.  Take time to encourage the young ladies and gentlemen in your life that are becoming great leaders. 

Flooding the City with Blue and Gold

By Sarah K. Correll, Indiana FFA Organization
State Secretary

Your 2011-2012 FFA State Secretary is a sweet tea drinking, livestock showing, reasons loving advocate for agriculture. Sarah Correll is from Peru, Indiana and recently graduated from North Miami High School after four years of balancing class, livestock shows, judging contests, honor society, drama productions, and everything else she could get involved with. She is extremely thankful and very excited to be spending this year serving the members of Indiana FFA and helping to spread the Indiana FFA message!

Indianapolis will soon be opening its doors to more than 50,000 middle and high school students from across the nation.  These students will be from all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but they will all be in the city to enjoy one event: the National FFA Convention.  National convention will draw in agricultural education students and FFA members to participate in a variety of activities, including sessions with impressive keynote speeches, competitions, concerts, and the career show.  Most will also be staying in the Indianapolis area for the duration of the four day event.

As an Indiana FFA State Officer, I started the week a little bit earlier than most.  Most members will be spending Wednesday, October 19 through Saturday, October 22 at convention; however, my team and I  headed to Indy on Sunday the 16^th as we serve as official convention delegates.  As delegates we have the opportunity to meet with state officers and other members from all of the other states to discuss issues that are currently facing our organization.  These issues range from establishing contests for collegiate members to continuing the floriculture competition, and I am personally very excited to be on the Agriculture Experience Committee.  My committee will be discussing potential programs about production agriculture for our high school membership, which means that along with meeting FFA members from across the country, we will also get to talk about traditional agriculture and how we can get back to our agricultural roots.

Outside of committee work my team and I will also be attending the sessions to hear the National FFA Officers and other speakers speak, going to the concert, and frequenting the career show.  The career show hosts agricultural companies and colleges from across the nation and is a great place to meet people and to learn about the agricultural industry.  We will also be meeting up with the hundreds of Indiana students that will be attending the convention to see the sights and to compete.  Indiana members will be representing the state well in contests ranging from dairy cattle evaluation to prepared public speaking and from agribusiness management to beef production proficiency.  We wish every one of them good luck and hope to see them recognized on stage as a top four finalist or even as a national winner!

Indiana will also be represented by Morgan Gadd as our national officer candidate.  Miss Gadd has taken the last few months off of college to study and prepare to run for a prestigious position representing and serving the over 500,000 National FFA members as a National FFA Officer.  She will go through a variety of tests, interviews, and speaking exercises before convention officially begins, and we hope to hear her name announced as a national officer during the final session Saturday!

As a team and as Indiana FFA members, we couldn't wait to make the short trip to Indianapolis for the National FFA Convention!  Convention is an exciting time of reuniting with friends, taking care of business, competing, learning, and celebrating success, and we are all especially blessed to host it right here in Indiana.  It will surely be a week that none of us will forget!

FFA: One Generation to the Next

Guest Post By Micah Matlock, 2010-2011 Indiana FFA State Sentinel

Agriculture is the foundation of civilization and society today, just as it has been for over the past 10,000 years.  Just as civilization and society has changed drastically from generation to generation, so has agriculture.  I come from a family of dairy farmers over 4 generations back on both sides of the family.  There are few things that I find more fascinating than having the chance to sit down with my grandfather and listen to him ramble on about the “glory days” when he was a dairy farmer in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  It is astounding to see how far agriculture has come in the last 50 years.

The list of changes in agriculture from 4 generations ago is endless.  Even the list of changes from one generation ago (my father’s generation) to today’s generation is extensive.  When my dad was managing a 500 head registered Holstein farm in the late 1980’s, corn was only $2.00 per bushel, diesel was only $1.50 per gallon, and milk was $12.00.  Now, for various reasons, prices of these commodities have risen significantly with corn at $7.00 per bushel, diesel at $3.70 per gallon, and milk nearing $18 per hundred weight and these prices will no doubt only continue to rise!  Agriculture has always been, is, and will always be the foundation of our American economy.

Even the changes in FFA from my father’s generation, when he served as the 1971-1972 Indiana FFA State Vice President, to my generation have been drastic as I now serve as the 2010-2011 Indiana FFA State Sentinel.  For instance, ‘FFA’ is no longer called the Future Farmers of America.  Instead, we are now simply known (on the national level) as the National FFA Organization to further demonstrate the changing agriculture industry as it diversifies and becomes more than just farming.  Also, for the majority of the time that my father was an FFA member, women were not allowed in FFA in Indiana until 1970.  Now, not only do women make up over 50 percent of the membership, they also hold over 60 percent of the leadership positions in FFA.  For example, for the first time in Indiana FFA history, the Indiana FFA State Officer team consists of six women, and one guy (me).  Those were only two changes out of the countless number of changes that the FFA has seen since it began in 1923. 

What’s even more exciting than how much agriculture has changed in the past 50 years is how fast agriculture is changing today.  What we have seen is that each generation in our country becomes one more generation of American society that is removed from the farm.  This creates less and less understanding about where our food comes from and how it is produced.  Therefore, the demand for excellent leaders in the agriculture industry that can proactively advocate the importance of agriculture continues to rise.  That demand has in turn placed pressure upon my generation’s shoulders to be able to carry the load when our time comes.  I have no doubt that my generation of FFA members (over 523,000 members strong nation-wide) will rise to the challenge to see that agriculture continues to flourish, just as it has since the first person grew their first crop.

Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Give a Bit of Home

Imagine being a soldier stationed in Kuwait during the holidays. While proud to serve your country, there’s still no place like home at Christmas.

And that’s why - for the fourth year in a row - Indiana Christmas Tree Growers are participating in the Trees for Troops Program. Indiana growers rank 11th in the nation for fresh grown Christmas trees, including Scotch Pine, White Pine, Canaan Fir, Fraser Fir and Douglas Fir, as well as many other Spruce and Fir varieties. Our state’s producers will send a total of 80 trees overseas to military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait and  also donate 125 trees to the Great Lakes Naval Station stateside.

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture has participated in years past, and this year the FFA State Officers will also join the growers from across the state on November 30th when trees will be dropped off and processed at Dull’s Farm in Boone County. In April 2010, the Campbell Soup Company, the FFA and local volunteers restored the Dull Family Farm barn as part of the Campbell’s Help Grow Your Soup program.
 
Dull’s was selected due to its proximity to Indianapolis and the Fed Ex station (which donates all the shipping.) The trees will then be delivered to the various bases on the weekend of December 4th.
“What a blessing for these soldiers to see the 7 feet long by 10 inch square box arrive, open it and experience  the aroma of a fresh, real tree!” said Tom Dull, Owner of Dull’s Tree Farm in Boone County. “We give them the aroma of Christmas and a bit of home.”

Indiana Christmas Tree Growers and Fed Ex are donating their services, but there are still other expenses to this program. If you would like to make a donation, go to the Christmas Spirit Foundation,  which is a charitable branch of the National Christmas Tree Association, for more information. The Christmas Spirit Foundation’s mission is to advance the spirit of Christmas year-round for kids, families and the environment.

Oh! And Indiana Christmas Tree Growers want to give back to you, too! Enter below and you could win a $40 gift certificate toward a wreath at any participating Indiana tree farm.
 
Visit www.indianachristmastree.com to find a farm near you!
  
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The winner we be chosen at random after 9 PM (EDT) on Thursday, December 2, 2010. The winner will be announced on Friday's post.