FFA tradition lives on at Housy

FALLS VILLAGE — Every February, FFA members around the country celebrate National FFA Week.

For the general public, here’s what FFA is and how it impacts our community.

FFA began in 1928 as Future Farmers of America. In 1988, it changed its name to The National FFA Organization to reflect the growing diversity of the agricultural industry. The name change also promoted the organization’s objectives of public speaking and leadership opportunities.

In the 97 years since FFA’s creation, it has helped millions of students grow as leaders, and achieve career success in and out of agricultural fields. FFA members use the skills they learn through their experiences to attain real-world accomplishments.

More than one million members in 9,235 chapters across all 50 states, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are currently part of FFA. Of those members, 112 belong to the Housatonic Valley FFA chapter.

Housatonic Valley FFA members participate in events at the chapter, district, state, and national levels every year. Last year, members attended the Washington Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., and the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

These experiences allowed students to interact with members from across the country. The Housatonic Valley FFA Alumni Association sponsored both of these events.

Students also compete in Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events. This past fall Delanie Keeley, Hannah Johnson, Darwin Wolfe, and Madison Melino placed first in the state Equine Evaluation CDE, and Madeline Collingwood, Cole Simonds, Sidney Crouch, and Michael Gawel placed first in The Nursery Landscape CDE. Both teams will go on to compete at the National FFA Convention this fall.

Students also attend workshops hosted by state FFA officers throughout the year as well as participating in a variety of community events. Members volunteer at the Big E, Goshen Fair, and Falls Village Car Show and sponsor rabies clinics over the summer.

Chris Crane, Housatonic Valley FFA president, said “FFA is such a great opportunity, I can’t wait to celebrate our chapter and see what we have in store for the rest of this year.”

What’s in store: Spring Career Development Events, Leadership Development Events, and our annual agriculture education open house, when the community can see first hand what the FFA students are doing.

Housatonic Valley FFA members are grateful for the continuous support from our community and are eagerly anticipating the upcoming opportunities to show our students’ personal growth through our program.