Delegates elect officers during third day of FFA convention

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Bryer Nelson is excited for the opportunities he will be given and the opportunities he will be sharing with FFA members during the upcoming year as the president of the Illinois Association FFA.

Nelson was elected president by the delegates at the 98th Illinois FFA State Convention, held in Springfield.

“I am honored to be given this opportunity and I am looking forward to the year,” the Canton FFA member said.

Along with Nelson, delegates elected Collin Johnson, vice president; Haven Cash, reporter; Owen Rigg, secretary; Lane Perry, treasurer; and Levi German, sentinel.

Nelson shows sheep and cattle for his FFA projects.

“My grandpa and dad showed sheep and I grew up with my siblings showing sheep and that’s how I got started in the ag field,” said the son of Brent and Cassie Nelson.

During the past year as the Section 12 president, Nelson met many FFA members throughout Illinois and he learned about the duties of a state officer.

“Through the conferences and contests, I realized that I want to continue to do that because this is what makes me happy,” said the state president who is advised by Colton Downs.

Many people helped Nelson as he prepared for the election process, including his parents and his older brother, Cooper, who was a state officer in 2023-2024.

“Cooper helped me tremendously through this process,” he said.

After the completion of his president term, Nelson will attend the University of Illinois.

“Right now, my major is going to be agricultural education, but it could change in the future,” he said.

Vice President

Collin Johnson is a sixth-generation farmer.

“Agriculture runs deep in the Johnson family,” the FFA vice president said. “It has been so awesome to grow up with that background that teaches you so many life skills.”

During his year as vice president, the Franklin FFA member plans to connect with as many members as possible.

“My No. 1 advice is to stay true to yourself,” said Johnson, who is advised by Kaitlyn Kane and Brent Nelson. “True courage is found in those who are willing to take chances, step into the arena and as you take those chances, be true to yourself and trust God.”

Next year, Johnson will attend Cornell University to study ag policy.

“My future career aspirations are to become an agricultural lawyer to help defend family farmers and people involved in agriculture on the national level,” said the son of Adam Johnson and Brooke Hild.

For many years, Johnson has been interested in history and how decisions are made.

“Serving this past year as a section president and having the opportunity to go to the state capital and Washington, D.C., to lobby for agriculture has really opened my eyes to all the opportunities,” he said. “That has really sparked my interest to become a lawyer.”

Reporter

Chapter FFA reporter is the first officer position held by Haven Cash.

“I was also a 4-H reporter, so I have a lot of experience in this role and this is where my passion is,” the state reporter said. “I love agricultural communications and I am really looking forward to my duties this year.”

Cash helped to grow specialty crops such as pumpkins, sweet corn and cucumbers on her grandparent’s farm.

“That introduced me to my love for agriculture because I like to get my hands in the dirt,” the North Clay FFA member said.

The FFA reporter’s dad and cousins were FFA members.

“My family has been active in the blue jacket, so naturally I was drawn to the organization,” said the daughter of Dustin and Lisa Cash. “Ever since the chapter visit by a state office my freshman year, I have encouraged myself to chase my goals as my passion increased.”

Advised by Katrina Van Dyke, Cash has three FFA projects.

“Agricultural communications was my main project and I also worked in a greenhouse and my third project was sheep entrepreneurship,” she said.

Cash encourages FFA members to take advantage of every opportunity.

“If you take that step, it could completely change your life,” the FFA reporter said. “And like me, you might meet some of your best friends that you never knew existed until this year.”

Following her year as reporter, Cash will attend Lake Land College in the agriculture transfer program.

“Then I plan on transferring to either Oklahoma State University or the University of Illinois to major in agricultural communications,” she said.

Secretary

“I am looking forward to meeting members because it is really about the people and the connections you make,” said Owen Rigg about being elected the state FFA secretary. “We all have different backgrounds and our own story to tell.”

Rigg set the goal to become a state FFA officer at the first convention he attended in 2021 as an eighth-grade student.

“I was watching the elections and I turned to the member next to me and said I want to do that,” the Williamsfield FFA member said.

The state secretary has three FFA projects, including agricultural communications where he does a feature at his school called “FFA Friday.”

“I do video announcements and talk about different chapter events and recognition,” Rigg said.

“I have a YouTube Channel called ‘How to FFA,’ where I talk about different CDEs and LDEs and explain how to compete in the contests,” he said. “And I am a FFA in the USA Reporter, where I write stories which are posted on the National FFA website.”

For his safety book, Rigg is a lifeguard at Hawthorne Pool and Lakeside Waterpark.

“I also have an ag mechanics design and fabrication project where I build deer blinds with my dad, who is also my adviser,” said the son of Kent and Jill Rigg.

Rigg will be attending Southern Illinois University next year to major in aviation technology.

“I want to do maintenance on aircrafts and one day I want to start my own business,” the state FFA secretary said.

Treasurer

“It is super surreal that this actually happened and I got elected to this role,” said Lane Perry moments after becoming the state FFA treasurer. “Being involved in different FFA events, I interacted with past major state officers and I had that in the back of my mind that these were the coolest people on earth.”

A model, that Perry has turned into a goal is “every day served is a day lived authentically.”

“I want to be as authentic as possible in connecting with members because through connections is where the impact comes from,” the Marshall FFA member said.

“I come from a beef cattle operation, so it was pretty easy to join FFA,” said the son of Justin and Angie Perry. “I started my projects with beef cattle and then expanded into agricultural sales-placement where I worked three different jobs and I was state runner-up for that area this year.”

Advised by Kristen Crouch, in addition to competing with his cattle at shows, Perry has also shown dairy goats and Boer goat wethers.

Perry will study agribusiness and minor in animal science at Oklahoma State University after his year as the FFA treasurer.

“The plan right now is a career in agricultural sales and maybe something with livestock feed,” he said.

Sentinel

“My goal is to inspire as many members as possible and help them grow as leaders in their communities and chapters,” said Levi German. “I want to help them step out of their comfort zone to make their own impact on the world.”

Becoming a state officer, the sentinel said, is a dream come true.

“My whole high school career, I have been thinking about a state office,” the Nokomis FFA member said. “I am truly thankful for all the members who believed in me.”

German spent time on his grandpa’s farm when he was younger.

“FFA has helped me grow a sense of pride for agriculture and the importance of it,” said the son of Jared and Jodi German, “especially this year as a section president as I was advocating for agriculture at the state and national level.”

Advised by Mason Fesser and Marissa Hartke-Carlock, German has a turf grass management project where he started by mowing three years and increased it to nine yards.

The state FFA sentinel loves building and designing things and will be studying civil engineering at SIU-Edwardsville.

As the Section 19 president this year, one of the activities during chapter visits revolved around Route 66 and the importance of infrastructure for American agriculture to transport goods.

“When I realized that, it clicked in my head that civil engineering is a field that you may not think is related to agriculture, but it truly has an impact,” German said. “That’s when I decided to study civil engineering.”