FFA Corner

For three days in mid-December, the Illinois FFA Major State Officer Team embarked on a retreat to spend time focusing on the beginning of planning the 95th Illinois FFA State Convention.

December was full of learning, celebrating, ups, downs and a lot of growth. Throughout this last month, my team and I spent time exploring our new home of Indianapolis and dove deep into foundational training of National FFA office.

For over 150 years, Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel has hosted numerous extravagant guests and events, including the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, held Dec. 2-6.

National FFA officers are given the responsibility to represent the over 850,000 members of the National FFA Organization by being advocates for agriculture, agricultural education and FFA.

At the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo, held Oct. 26-29 in Indianapolis, nearly 70,000 students, advisers and guests from across the United States congregated in and around Lucas Oil Stadium to celebrate the successes of FFA members.

The road to Illinois FFA major state office is not a smooth path and the lucky few who are named state officers learn quickly that their term is not easy, either. However, it is among the most fulfilling journeys on which a teenager can embark.

The 2021-2022 Illinois FFA State Officer Team’s year is coming to a close. We are in the heat of convention planning and we are super-excited to see the streets of downtown Springfield filled with blue corduroy jackets.

Illinois State Capitol visits, attending the Tennessee FFA State Convention and State Career and Leadership Development Events competitions filled our March calendar.

Spring can be a busy time for the Illinois FFA Major State Officers and FFA chapters across the state. Chapters are preparing their members to compete in spring contests and celebrating members’ accomplishments at their own FFA banquets.

It finally arrived — National FFA Week. From Feb. 19-26, FFA chapters and members are celebrating the organization that has helped exhibit premier leadership, personal growth and career success.

In the FFA world, January is record book time. Students are polishing their record books for their Supervised Agricultural Experience for proficiency awards, state degrees and American degrees.

What was the first big gathering you attended this summer? Did it feel the same as events prior to March 2020, or was there something different?

The sun glared into my eyes as I felt the heat of the stage soak up through the soles of my shoes. Microphone in hand, blue corduroy jacket zipped up, I walked out onto the grandstand stage at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, swept my eyes across the crowd seated across the dirt track and waved.

From trying green chili custard to watching sunrises over desert mountains, the week I spent in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was full of new experiences. I’d never been up close and personal with a pecan tree nor was I used to seeing cacti as a regular plant dotting the landscape.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” The major state officer team and the 25 section presidents found themselves this year serving Illinois FFA in the most unusual and innovative ways.