At the 95th National FFA Convention & Expo the National FFA Alumni and Supporters recognized several individuals and chapters with top honors for their service.
At the National FFA Foundation's Celebration Dinner, three individuals were presented with Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporters Achievement Awards. Each recipient is awarded $500 to donate to the FFA alumni chapter or state FFA alumni association of their choice.
Glenn Howell of the West Carteret FFA Alumni and Supporters in North Carolina received the award for his dedication to the organization. Howell was the 2020-21 president of the North Carolina FFA Alumni Association. During his term, the value of grants awarded to FFA chapters by the alumni association doubled. Howell also served on the North Carolina FFA Board of Directors, helping to further agricultural education in the state. In the past, he was a North Carolina FFA state officer and North Carolina FFA camp director, and he taught agriculture for more than 30 years.
As an alumni member of the Granton FFA Alumni and Supporters in Wisconsin, Charlotte Johnson has been instrumental in the recruitment of new alumni and the continued engagement of existing members. Johnson has been an officer in the alumni chapter for the last six years, including serving as president. As an alumni member, she has participated in numerous community service events such as helping deliver meals to low-income families during the holidays. Johnson continues to be an exceptional mentor, volunteer and advocate for Granton FFA.
Clyde Johnson, a member of the West Bend Hawkeye FFA Alumni and Supporters in Iowa, has made a positive impact serving as chairperson of the Iowa FFA Alumni and Supporters membership committee. As an advocate, he has also served on the Iowa Governor's Council on Agriculture Education, which provided ideas, suggestions and community feedback from across the state to the governor and legislature.
Winners from three other categories were presented during the third general session of the National FFA Convention & Expo today.
The Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapter Award went to Bell FFA Alumni and Supporters in Florida. The chapter was recognized for excellence in business operations, alumni and supporter member development, advocacy, student development, agricultural education and FFA program development. Among their achievements, Bell FFA Alumni and Supporters created a mentorship program to teach and train prospective leaders for the chapter. The scholarship committee raised money to support five scholarships for graduating FFA members and five lifelong learning scholarships. The chapter was also able to help fund the need for a new animal science teaching laboratory, raising a total of $23,300 for the program.
The Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporters State Association Award recognizes states for their work in growing quality programs. This award is judged on a state's efforts in local FFA Alumni and Supporters chapter development and retention, FFA Alumni and Supporters member benefits, advocacy, Team Ag Ed and business operations.
Wisconsin FFA Alumni and Supporters received this year's Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporters State Association Award for their dedication to FFA and agricultural education. At the 2022 Wisconsin FFA Alumni and Supporters Convention, where more than 250 members attended to help celebrate 50 years of alumni membership, they held nine innovative breakout sessions to assist individual members in personal and professional growth. The association gave a total of 24 grants totaling $14,400 to send FFA student members to the National FFA Organization's Washington Leadership Conference.
The Outstanding Corporate FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapter Award was presented to BASF FFA Alumni and Supporters. Based in the Southern region, the chapter has created a platform to communicate and share with its more than 60% of membership located remotely. Planning by the leadership team includes establishing dates, identifying members to highlight and key focus for quarterly meetings. BASF helped source $28,000 for chapter grants and supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs in Idaho and California. The chapter has also interacted with 18 states to help support and promote state FFA officer training.
The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 850,000 student members as part of 8,995 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Categories: Iowa, Business, Education, Government & Policy