Wallaces Farmer

Slideshow: Iowa FFA Leadership Conference sees record-breaking attendance and generosity.

May 7, 2019

6 Slides

For three days in April, over 6,600 Iowa FFA members, advisers and guests representing chapters from across the state met in Ames for the 91st annual Iowa FFA Leadership Conference. Held in Hilton Coliseum and the adjacent Scheman building on the Iowa State University campus, this year’s conference had the largest attendance in the event’s history.

Membership in FFA is growing in Iowa, says Josh Remington, executive director of the Iowa FFA Foundation. It now stands at 15,400 students, with 242 chapters statewide. The annual conference is the culmination of a lot of hard work by these high school students, and they are recognized for their achievements.

The high attendance led to a huge outpouring of support in the form of donated canned goods, pet food, snack bars and other items destined for flood-stricken areas of western Iowa. More than 5,000 pounds of food was collected.

Skill building, leadership activities

The 2019 conference had a record number of FFA members participating in 25 different skill and leadership Career Development Events. Along with other volunteers, I assisted with a couple of these contests. The two categories I helped judge this year were FFA Chapter Exhibits and Ag Communications.

The Chapter Exhibits (over 100 of them) are table-top displays all located throughout the Hilton Coliseum concourse. The exhibits highlight an activity each chapter carried out during the year. Many of the activities had to do with community service projects. There were five teams of judges, with three judges per team, scoring each exhibit. It took us all morning the first day to complete that task.

In the afternoon, the communications judging took place. A dozen of us judged written feature articles and letters to the editor written by FFA members who entered these categories of the communications competition.

Giving back to FFA

Why would you volunteer to help judge contests at the FFA state conference? People take time off from their busy work schedules to travel to Ames to do this every year. I asked that question of Anne Oshel Sneller and Tony Sexton who were on the three-person team I judged with for Chapter Exhibits.

Tony is a young farmer from Lakeview in western Iowa, an alum of East Sac FFA. “I appreciate the learning experience I gained as an FFA member, and I do this as a way of giving back, to show appreciation for this great organization,” he says. “The students benefit from our evaluation, constructive comments and feedback on their entries. They are grateful for our willingness to help judge their work.”

Anne is also an FFA alum who is passionate about volunteering as an FFA judge. Now a financial manager at Wells Fargo in Des Moines, she says: “The leadership and professional skills I learned as an FFA member in high school, especially by participating in the contests, helped me get to where I am in my career today. I graduated in 2005 from Clarke Community High School in Osceola where I participated in many extracurricular activities, and FFA was one of my favorites.”

In high school FFA, Anne participated in the Conduct of Meetings, Parliamentary Procedure and Job Interview events, and earned her Iowa FFA degree. As an adult alum, she has volunteered as a judge for FFA Proficiency Awards, chaperoned FFA members from her local FFA chapter where she now lives (Earlham) to a FarmHer Grow Convention, and has helped an FFA member prepare for the Job Interview contest.

“Thanks to all the volunteers for their generous service to the Iowa FFA Association,” wrote Chase Brinigar, 2018-19 Iowa FFA state president, in a thank you letter sent to volunteers. “We are grateful for your continuous support to provide the best possible experience for our members. Your time and dedication are truly appreciated.”

Iowa FFA elects 2019-20 leadership

The annual conference ends with the election of the new Iowa FFA state officer team at the final session. These nine leaders will serve for a year, speaking with FFA members across the state, presenting at leadership discussion groups and workshops, and traveling.

The new officers will have the opportunity to take part in Iowa FFA Foundation activities, the Iowa State Fair, Iowa FFA Legislative Symposium, National FFA Convention and a wide variety of career development events. Members of the 2019-20 FFA state officer team are:

  • President Chandler Jahner, Pella FFA, Pella

  • Secretary Natalie Jefson, Forest City FFA, Forest City

  • Reporter Walker McDermott, CAM FFA, Anita

  • Southwest Vice President Tyler Comes, Atlantic FFA, Atlantic

  • South-central Vice President Mickayla McGill, Knoxville FFA, Knoxville

  • Southeast Vice President Hope Brecht, Belle Plaine FFA

  • Northwest Vice President Nole Bochman, GT/RA FFA, Graettinger

  • North-central Vice President Lukas Bucknell, Nashua Plainfield FFA, Nashua

  • Northeast Vice President Shelby Westhoff, Beckman Catholic, Dyersville

“Serving as a state FFA officer is an honor, as well as a great responsibility,” Brinigar says. “The year of service as an officer is an unforgettable one. The privilege of serving the 15,400 members in Iowa is an incredible, life-shaping opportunity that few get to experience.”

 

 

 

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