The Missouri State FFA Convention is heading farther west this year, and it will be a hybrid event offering both in-person and virtual sessions.

“While we shifted last year’s convention to a virtual format, we believe we can host an in-person event that will recognize student accomplishments in a safe manner,” Leon Busdieker, Missouri FFA state advisor, said in a news release. “Our desire to hold an in-person event for our award winners has been the overarching goal in our decision to modify our normal convention location and protocol. FFA is hands-on. It’s a four-year program, and we think this year’s plan is the best way to recognize our students for their accomplishments while still being mindful of health-related concerns.”

Convention breakdown

The Missouri State Fairgrounds opened its doors to the 93rd Missouri FFA Convention, allowing for the event with limited capacity. This year, only award winners and two advisors or chaperones per school — along with speakers and current officer parents — are allowed at the Mathewson Exhibition Center.

While the program is still being drafted, the State FFA Convention on April 30 and May 1 will have morning and afternoon sessions to recognize chapter activity awards, honorary state degree recipients, new FFA chapters, career development and leadership development event winners, proficiency awards, star state degrees, and state degree recipients.

Other scholarship and essay winners also will be honored at the convention. CDEs and LDEs are planned during April at various times and locations in Columbia to accommodate social distancing protocols.

A highlight of the convention will include an address from National FFA Central Region vice president and Missouri native Paxton Dahmer, which will also be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person.

Greater access to workshops

Student workshops will be available the week of April 26 on missouriffa.org, highlighting 12 presentations from Dahmer, current state FFA officers, and Teach Ag ambassadors and Postsecondary Student organization officers, and can be viewed via a password-protected verification system for members.

To keep up with the latest information from Missouri FFA, follow @MissouriFFA on Facebook and visit missouriffa.org.

The Missouri FFA contributed to this article.