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Posted By Katie On April 9, 2013 14 Comments

What is behind the blue jackets

Filed Under: America's Farm Table, Family Values, Small Town Living Tagged With: advantages of rural education, family, family farm, FFA, North Dakota 14 Comments

Tonight is our local FFA banquet. I am reposting from last April below after I attended our first local FFA banquet. This past year, our son has grown as a person because of our local FFA program. Tonight he will recite the FFA Creed which he has practiced and last fall won in the district competition. In June, he will compete at the state level of the FFA Creed contest. To me, FFA is a leadership program that more and more young people should join and get active in because of the traits it instills in kids for a lifetime, including 7 a.m. practices along with organizational skills, finding their voice and gaining confidence in who they are. The Ag Sales team Hunter participated on this year placed second at state in March. He won “gold” in Ag Sales at state. He also won the Ag Sales competition at an event in Oakes, North Dakota this year. It is success that is not measured with many accolades like he may have in sports in high school. However, FFA has given our son growth opportunities that are vastly different than what he learn on the basketball court. The skills and strength Hunter is gaining from FFA will outlast any sports team he will participate on as a teenager or adult.
So what is the behind the blue jackets of FFA? Read on…

I wasn’t raised around FFA. It was for farmers. Future Farmers of America. That wasn’t me. I was going someplace, big and far away, far, far from farming, far away from North Dakota. However, once my rebellion subdued and I moved home to my parent’s farm house as a single mother in college, I learned I loved farming.

But I didn’t choose farming as my profession, yet. Instead I have been submersed in agriculture business for the past decade plus. I have learned that the best interviewees I have met and hired a few along the way were former FFA leaders. I had the opportunity to work with FFA and partner with a client and two former colleagues to lead the first ever social media training with state delegates at the National FFA Convention in 2011. Then I was asked to be on our local FFA advisory board.

Our son joined our local FFA chapter this year.
Did he join to become a farmer?

No. He joined because he wants to be successful in life. He even at age 14 can see the FFA program teaches him responsibility, accountability, preparedness, organizational skills, respect, tremendous public speaking skills and naturally, leadership.

Hunter is an over active teenager. He hasn’t figured out exactly what he wants to focus on, so he is in everything. It’s the beauty of a small school and small town. There is room for kids to participate as much as they would like. I didn’t have that school environment but my husband did. Hunter attends that same school, in the same town as my husband, Nathan, did.

Nathan wasn’t a farm kid but he loves FFA. He was active at a local, state and national level in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. He played in the National Band in front of former President George H.W. Bush in 1992. He became president of his local chapter. He told me last night as we talked about our evening after getting home that before joining FFA he was an awkward 8th grader. It was his FFA adviser that told him how smart he was and that he could be successful. No one other than his sister or parents had told him that before his FFA adviser did.

I said “How did you know to join FFA?” He said, “My dad told me to get more involved in 8th grade. So on the first day of school, I walked down the hall to FFA teacher’s room and told him, I wanted to join FFA.”

FFA empowered my husband. It changed him forever as a person.

Last night we attended our first ever local FFA chapter banquet. I had no idea what to expect. I was blown away by the student led evening. Hunter has not given enough time to FFA this year. He has split time between many other activities. Last night, however, he heard from state leadership as well as our local chapter kids and adviser, Mr. Brown. When our son stepped forward near the end of the banquet to be recognized as the incoming junior vice-president of our local chapter, I knew something had changed for him. He stood taller. He smiled bigger. He was already being empowered as an 8th grader like my husband was over 20 years ago by the same organization, in the same town, in the same school.

 
And he was wearing his dad’s blue jacket. I’m a sentimental fool. These pictures aren’t my best because I was shaking to hold back tears. Hunter would have been so embarrassed of his crying mom. I did my best to hold back my emotion. He would have rolled his eyes and said “Oh, Mom, please!” But Nathan understood. He knows. We are right where we should be, for our kids future. FFA is a part of that future. I could not be more proud.

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Comments

  1. Kelly M. Rivard says

    April 14, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    I reared up reading this. I wish i could have had more time in FFA, but getting to take part in building a chapter from the ground uup my senior year was amazing.

    Best of luck to your son as he moves forward! What a great tradition!

    Reply
  2. Doug Leier says

    April 14, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    Proud to be FFA alumnus and nodded my head as I read the post. Like your husband I didn’t have a niche to fit into at my HS–it was a little bigger than most small towns–and about 3x the size of the school I moved from in Jr. High. My new HS was too big for a small town kid to fit in.
    I wans’t a farm kid, but enjoyed hands on and anything outdoors, so I gave Ag a try…and then the FFA. My senior year in HS I was elected president…it gave me the success and grew the confidence I needed for the future. 22 years late I’m still active in the FFA on the board and attend the State Convention every year.
    You are so right the FFA members categorically ‘get it’ sure like everything in life there might be a few which don’t..but Hunter should be proud to be a member of the FFA and the FFA proud to have him!

    Reply
  3. TexWisGirl says

    April 14, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    love that he wore nathan’s jacket! sweet!

    Reply
  4. Prairie Mother says

    April 14, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    Yay for FFA! What a great organization. I really hope my kids get to be involved in it when they are older. I wasn’t in it but my 6 siblings, dad, husband, 2 brother in laws and one sister in law were. We even have a picture of all of them in their blue jackets from a few years ago.

    Reply
  5. Colleen Cecil says

    April 14, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    I love FFA! I participated in every aspect and know I am a better person for it. I also learned while reading your post that Nathan and I were at the same National FFA convention when President Bush spoke. Small world. Congrats Hunter on your new leadership role! And by the way, I was holding back a few years as I read this and he’s not even my kid so you have every right to tear-up Katie.

    Reply
  6. Janice says

    April 14, 2012 at 9:04 pm

    Sounds like an awesome evening that sets him up for an awesome future as well!

    Reply
  7. Michelle says

    April 14, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    This is a great organization that does so many promising things at our local high school. I have no doubt Hunter will excel in FFA!

    Reply
  8. Annie, Morning Joy Farm says

    April 15, 2012 at 1:15 am

    I was at that same National Convention!! As our chapter was going through security, the secret service officer asked me “Where’s North Dakota?”.

    FFA rocks, I’m a proud alum. Our family continues to be involved every way we can!

    Reply
  9. LindaG says

    April 15, 2012 at 1:48 am

    *hugs*

    Congratulations! :o)

    Reply
  10. Elizabeth says

    April 15, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    I credit FFA for helping me realize my passion for agriculture, and empowering me to be who I am today. I have been away from it now for a few years, but I’m sure the sentiment will return as our family will be attending our local chapter banquet this evening to watch my baby sister (ok, she’s 16 but still little in my eyes) be inducted as an officer. Thank you for sharing your story!

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    April 16, 2012 at 2:10 am

    Wishek is so fortunate to have a wonderful advisor. I certainly hope this program continues because it is valuable on so many levels!!!

    Reply
  12. Katlyn Rumbold says

    September 28, 2012 at 9:27 pm

    Great post!! Some of my favorite memories happened in that blue and gold jacket….FFA helped me get where I am at today! Truly a great organization:)

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Why Is FFA Relevant For Our Future? says:
    February 16, 2014 at 9:43 pm

    […] nothing to you, I understand. For a majority of my life, it meant nothing to me either. But why is FFA relevant to you, to me and to our future? I am going to share why I think it is relevant. You can […]

    Reply
  2. Why Agriculture and Food Education Makes A Difference For Kids says:
    September 24, 2014 at 3:36 pm

    […] North Dakota school offers a strong agriculture education program and it is then connected to our FFA program. I have shared before Why FFA is Relevant For Our Future.  It is the program that has had the […]

    Reply

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I am a mom of three kids and a wife to Nathan. Together we live on the North Dakota prairie, 97 miles from a Starbuck's. I share about family, food, farming and the prairie that I love. I used to commute 98 miles one-way to work but it required too much coffee. So now I am home, consulting, speaking, writing and primarily, juggling family life.
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