Arizona FFA chapters are joining over 50,000 other youth from across the United States at the 94th Annual FFA National Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, IN. This year the students are back in person after the virtual only event last year.
The FFA is a national agricultural education youth organization represented in all fifty states, the US Virgin Island and Puerto Rico.
Twenty -nine chapters from across Arizona have traveled to the convention this year. Eleven teams from those chapters have qualified to compete in one of the twenty-six different career or leadership development events.
A pair of students, Paden Dillard and Ty Kochaji, from the Highland FFA chapter in Gilbert, reached their way to one of the top three in the National Agriscience Fair animal science category.
According to Bethany Matos, the Executive Secretary of Arizona FFA, “The National Convention provides an opportunity for students to develop their leadership and build relationships with members from across the country expanding their perspective.”
Kaylee Zimmerman from the Trivium FFA chapter, Goodyear, and former state officer is hopeful for a spot on the six-person National FFA officer team. She has made it past the first round of the process which comprised of a panel interview, nine individual interviews and an extemporaneous speech. After round one, the candidates were whittled down to 21 from 37.
Round two consisted of a practice media interview, two agricultural issue conversations, a workshop demonstration and one more panel interview.
The final decision of the four regional vice presidents, the secretary and the national president will be announced at the 7th general session on Saturday.
Kaylee is one of five candidates in the running of the Western Region Vice President but is also eligible for one of the two at large positions; the national secretary and president are appointed from any of the regions.
At the convention’s seven general sessions delivered over four days, FFA members are celebrated with various awards, listen to nationally acclaimed speakers about motivation, leadership, and agricultural issues, as well as celebrate talents of the members.
This year Arizona had two chapters that received the coveted 3-star chapter award, Buckeye and Casa Grande, as well as several agriscience fair top 10 national finalist in various categories.
The convention also offers an abundance of other agricultural education activities. Students have the option of attending workshops on leadership and agricultural issues, agricultural industry tours, service projects, career and leadership development events, and local cultural experiences.
One of the conventions largest draws is the Agriculture Expo. Companies from large to small from all over the US teach, give out information and have activities for the FFA members to experience. Students get information about careers, scholarships and can interact with professionals about choices they have post high school.
Educational institutes from around the country that recruit students and educate them about the various programs available from military, trade schools and universities are available as part of the Expo.
The National FFA Organization was founded in 1928 as the Future Farmers of America. The name was changed in 1988 to the Nationals FFA Organization to be more inclusive by recognizing the various other agricultural entities beyond farming.
The FFA has 735,038 student members in 8,817 chapters throughout the United States including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The purpose of the FFA is to “make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for personal growth and career success through agricultural education,” according to the National FFA statistics website.