"I Believe, We Believe, We Are FFA!"

 

Since my last post, a new year was rang in, another college semester started, a National Championship and Super Bowl games in football were played out, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Nebraska 4-H Month (February), and Valentines Day were all part of the first 2 months of the great 2012 year. Wow! Nearly two months of 2012 have passed, all these events happening, and February isn't over! This month, there is a celebration of  the greatest organization (in my opinion) on this planet!  This week, this youth organization is celebrating all of what the organization has to offer, as well as it's members! I'm talking about the FFA. Yes, we are the organization with those blue corduroy jackets that you see in Indianapolis every October, or that you see in Lincoln around late March-early April, and we are proud to say "we are FFA!". This year's national theme "I Believe" showcases the many areas in which FFA members excel including contests, their Supervised Agricultural Experiences, and within their community. FFA members Believe.

Here are a couple of FFA fun facts. This agricultural, leadership, and service based organization is comprised of over 540,000 members! No, I didn't go crazy on the 0's... I said OVER 540,000 members! FFA is also the largest student-led organization in the world! Throughout my time as an FFA member I learned the importance of service. I have made serving others my passion and want to educate others about the great agricultural industry and work to unlock the individual potential in students and adults alike. It is now 10 years ago that I began my FFA journey. Even though I'm out of high school, and finished wearing the blue jacket, my service to this organization (and others) remains strong and will continue to remain strong. The FFA has impacted me and thousands of others over the years and I want to take this time to share a couple experiences and stories from being a part of the FFA that are truly exciting, as well as inspirational.

This FFA member I know truly made an impact on me when I met him almost three years ago. He has the ability to make a person laugh, he loves to meet new people and most of all, he enjoys having a conversation! With FFA, he started a couple different Supervised Agricultural Experience programs. One of them was a test plot of corn in which he was testing a nitrogen stabilizer, and he also started an SAE with his own bee farm. Being just a sophomore at the time, he had these two excellent SAE’s. For having them only one year, he applied for five proficiencies early that spring! He illustrated to me that potential is going above and beyond what we normally do to accomplish so much more, even through individual limitations.  This individual was born with cerebral palsy, which is a condition that causes physical limitations in movement. He could have entered high school with the attitude that he was born with his disability and do nothing; however, he chose to break away from his limitation and embrace opportunities. I'm proud to say I know this individual, and can imagine he's filled out proficiencies this year, as well as his State FFA Degree. This is an FFA member who can break away from limitations, explore the endless opportunities, and experience great success.

Throughout one's FFA journey, a number of people are met and friends are made. About three years ago I began a journey with six other individuals which I will never forget. While we had the time of our life, there were challenges, excitement, hard work, and memories made throughout our year together. I'm talking about my State Officer Teammates from 2009-2010. Since we retired in May of 2010, we have all gone our separate directions. While we don't see or even talk to each other on a daily or weekly basis, when we do see each other, it's always a great time to catch up. While we would love to all hang out and talk more, we each have developed our own passions we want to pursue. From my personal opinion, I feel that our passions were strengthened and/or developed through FFA and our State Officer year. Every one of us is pursuing a career within agriculture, and we are enthused about joining the force of our many friends and business leaders in "agvocating" the amazing industry of agriculture. There's not a day that goes by that I am not thinking about my teammates, and those memories that were made during our year of service to the Nebraska FFA Association. I saw myself and them grow as individuals and leaders. FFA opens up many doors of opportunities, friendships, and everlasting memories.

We are the National FFA Organization. We Believe in the future of agriculture, we Believe in opportunities, we Believe in hard work, we Believe in one another, we Believe in success, we Believe in ourselves, we Believe in service, we Believe in Doing to Learn, Learning to Do, Earning to Live, and Living to serve.

I Believe, We Believe, We Are FFA!

 

FFA Mission

The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

 Source: National FFA Webpage (www.ffa.org)