Two Thomas County Central High School Future Farmers of America chapter members celebrated their organization as part of a special delegation this week.
TCCHS students Tori Stringer and Katelyn Hancock attended the 30th annual FFA Day, held in Atlanta on Feb. 23. Each year, FFA chapters from across the state are selected to attend the day’s festivities. This year, members from 24 FFA chapters (including TCCHS) participated, and nearly 200 members, advisors, alumni and staff attended the event.
“This short trip to the (state) capitol has impacted the way I feel about my future,” freshman Katelyn Hancock, 15, said. “I learned that through hard work, dedication and a love for the FFA, we can accomplish anything we want. I now know that I can accomplish anything with FFA.”
The event included a group photo with Gov. Nathan Deal and a legislative breakfast that featured several speakers, such as Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Georgia House Agriculture Committee Chair, Rep. Tom McCall, and Georgia Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, Sen. John Wilkinson.
Also, students from TCCHS had the opportunity to breakfast with their Georgia House representative from District 173, Darlene Taylor.
Sophomore Tori Stringer, 15, participated in a previous FFA Day, enjoyed it, and was excited to go again. She liked getting to eat with the representatives and bonding with her fellow TCCHS FFA companions.
“I learned that the FFA has had a great impact on many of our politicians and the path that they took in life,” Stringer said. “This experience made me very optimistic about the hands that our state is in because, after every representative, senator or whoever spoke during breakfast, they always brought God into their speech.”
Students also had the opportunity to witness the reading of a resolution in honor of FFA, both in the Georgia Senate and Georgia House, and visited with representatives and senators. Visits to the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Department of Agriculture also transpired.
Hancock enjoyed meeting her area representatives and said meeting the state’s governor “isn’t an experience you can get every day.”
Georgia FFA Association Executive Secretary Ben Lastly, in an email to participating chapters that included an event press release, praised the day’s outcome. He wrote the youths “had a great opportunity” to experience their state capitol and hear from key state leaders “who value our program.”
The Georgia FFA, according to the event press release, is the third largest FFA in the nation, with more than 39,000 members in 310 chapters. FFA’s mission “is to make a positive difference” in students’ lives “by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”
Hancock encouraged others to dedicate time to the FFA organization.
“FFA has impacted my life in the way that I approach others and complete tasks,” she said. “FFA can help others with leadership skills and completing tasks.”
Stringer said FFA is important to schools, communities and the members’ future.
“FFA has a major impact on leadership skills that students learn, the relationships they develop, and the path they take later in life,” she said.
TCCHS FFA advisor Robbie Harrison accompanied the students during the event and said the experience was “a great honor and opportunity.”
“It was a great honor and opportunity for our students to see first-hand how our government works, as well as having the opportunity to meet law makers face-to-face,” Harrison said. “In addition, our students had the opportunity to immerse in the rich history of our state and watch our government at work. This opportunity will be a memory these students never forget.”