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The Kansas State FFA Convention has come and gone with the usual excitement.

P.J. Griekspoor, Editor

June 20, 2019

2 Min Read
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OPTIMISM: You can always count on excitement, optimism and moving moments when its time of the state FFA convention.

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s excitement at a Kansas State FFA Convention.

And if there’s one thing that will lift your spirits, inspire confidence in the future and make the whole world a brighter place, it’s talking with a newly elected State FFA president.

This year was no exception, as I talked with Logan Elliott about his hopes for the future, his fellow officers, and their plans for future events and activities during the coming year.

At a time when there’s a lot of talk about millennials and eating Tide Pods, etc., it is immensely refreshing to talk to high school and college kids who are focused, brilliant, full of ideas and enthusiasm, and who show every indication of being willing to work hard at solving the world’s problems and making it a better place for future generations.

For his part, Logan is already a fifth-generation beef producer and speaks with pride about his family’s long history with the Hereford breed.

He also knows that he wants to teach — ag education to be specific — and that his preference would be to find his way back to his alma mater in Riverton and be an FFA advisor.

His parents are both educators as well as farmers, so he said he’s staying with family tradition on both counts.

The next year will be challenging, he said, as he balances the responsibilities of state office with the learning curve of his freshman year of college at Kansas State University and the ongoing work of keeping his cattle herd growing.

It made me tired just to think about the pace of his life. But it also made me proud to have a role in Kansas agriculture and to get to know great young people like Logan. I’m looking forward to following the work of him and his team through the coming year.

For anybody out there feeling discouraged about the future, I’d encourage you to reach out to a local 4-H club or FFA chapter and just get to know some of the young people participating in those programs.

I promise you’ll walk away with an outlook that feels brighter.

About the Author(s)

P.J. Griekspoor

Editor, Kansas Farmer

Phyllis Jacobs "P.J." Griekspoor, editor of Kansas Farmer, joined Farm Progress in 2008 after 18 years with the Wichita Eagle as a metro editor, page designer, copy desk chief and reporter, covering agriculture and agribusiness, oil and gas, biofuels and the bioeconomy, transportation, small business, military affairs, weather, and general aviation.

She came to Wichita in 1990 from Fayetteville, N.C., where she was copy desk chief of the Fayetteville Observer for three years. She also worked at the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minn. (1980-87), the Mankato Free Press in Mankato, Minn. (1972-80) and the Kirksville Daily Express in Kirksville, Mo. (1966-70).

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