by CAGEN WOOD, Polk County FFA Federation Officer
We said goodbye to October and watched November come rushing in with a sea of American blue corduroy at the 98th National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana on Oct. 29-Nov. 1. This year’s convention, which is the highlight of the year for FFA members from across the country, had more than 73,000 attendees and featured the best of the best competing in dozens of Career and Leadership Development Events and being recognized for outstanding work in a number of categories. Members from across Polk County were right in the thick of things with contestants, award winners and delegates making the journey north.
Lakeland Christian School’s Mattie Fountain represented Florida in the National Creed Speaking LDE after taking top honors in the state contest last year. The Creed is a five-paragraph statement of the FFA’s values and beliefs. Participants are asked to recite the Creed from memory and then answer questions about its meaning and purpose. This event helps participants develop better public speaking skills, grow their confidence, and gain a deeper understanding of the organization’s values. Mattie did an excellent job and earned a Silver Emblem Award at the National contest.
Congratulations are also in order for Lake Wales’ Bok Academy North Middle FFA, which was a finalist for this year’s “Premier Chapter: Growing Leaders” award. This award recognizes chapters with outstanding activities in leadership development. Bok Academy North and Bok Academy South, along with Lake Wales and Mulberry all received the Three Star Chapter Award. This is the highest rating a local chapter can earn in the National FFA. This highly sought after award recognizes chapters that excel in demonstrating outstanding leadership, community service, and agricultural education.
The highest degree in the National FFA that an individual member can earn is the American Degree. It is awarded to members who meet very difficult requirements, including a specific number of hours in agricultural education, community service, and financial investment from their supervised agricultural experience (SAE). Polk County had a dozen students who worked diligently over the past few years to be able to get on stage and receive that award at this year’s Convention. The American Degree is only received by approximately 1 percent of total FFA members throughout the country each year. Congratulations to the 12 outstanding students from schools across Polk County who get to say they are now part of the 1 percent!
The awards and achievements from the National Convention weren’t the only things that Polk County FFA members were up to in November. The Polk County Federation officer team hosted their annual Friendsgiving at Bonnet Springs Park on Nov. 4. Students from FFA chapters all over the county were invited to hang out, eat food, play games, and most importantly make new connections or rekindle ones that they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Polk County FFA Members in Indiana for the National FFA Convention.