FFA Corner

After meeting over 5,500 students and traveling over 14,500 miles, the Illinois FFA major state officers have completed four of their six weeks of chapter visits.

September was yet another busy month for this year’s Illinois Association FFA major state officers. The month started off with the S.T.A.R. — Section Teams Activities and Responsibilities — conferences.

The month of August was very busy for this year’s Illinois Association FFA major state officers. The month kicked off with training from Andrew McCrea, a former national officer.

The road to Illinois FFA Major State Office is not a smooth path and the officers learn quickly that their term is very busy; however, it is among the most fulfilling journeys on which a teenager can embark.

The beginning of June started in the Northeast. I spent a week visiting schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and learning about their agriculture programs.

As the 95th Illinois FFA State Convention draws near, the Illinois FFA state officer team has been busy putting the finishing touches on the annual extravaganza.

If you asked the five Illinois FFA state officers where they would be on any given night during February and March, each answer would be different each time.

The Illinois FFA state officer year is already nearly two-thirds complete, but Rachel Hood, Derek Sample, Levi Maierhofer, Haley Bode and Kate Colgan are not slowing down their service yet.

January started off with loads of training. We started with facilitation and workshop development, where we created activities we want to do with students this year and the messages we want to share through those activities.

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.