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Indiana candidate seeks post as National FFA officer

By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — More than 40 of the most talented and ambitious FFA members in the country will soon compete for one of the six coveted positions on the National FFA Officer team, and for the state of Indiana, one name clearly rises to the top of the leader board in Miss Desiray Simmons.

Simmons, of Flora, Ind., served recently as the 2006-2007 state FFA vice president and was named Indiana’s top candidate for national office during the state selection process earlier this summer.

“At first I was pretty apprehensive about the thought of running for national office, but soon after I attended the Indiana FFA State Convention, I was reignited to pursue my passion for the FFA Organization by representing our great members,” said Simmons, past member of the Carroll at Flora FFA chapter. “At that time I only had a couple weeks left to apply, but I didn’t let that stop me and I will never regret my decision to run.”

From that point, Simmons, who is currently a sophomore at Purdue University majoring in agricultural education, sent in an application, resume and her Supervised Agricultural Experience materials to the state level. During the Indiana competition, she competed in a series of interview rounds, including a presentation, discussing ag issues and a personal interview.

According to Simmons, the national application and interview process is quite parallel to the competition on the state level.
“The competition formally begins on Saturday, Oct. 19, when we will have a series of rounds such as discussing ag education issues, stand and deliver speaking, presenting a workshop, a stakeholder round, when you are given 10 minutes to have a conversation with a group of individuals that you might come in contact with as a national officer such as an FFA member, industry professional, government official or a parent,” she explained.

During mid-week, Simmons and others will face a gigantic cut, where the nominating committee will eliminate half of the 40 applicants, leaving about 20 members left to compete in an additional 3-4 rounds of competition on Friday, Oct. 24.

Then on Saturday, she said, the nominating committee, composed of nine industry and ag education professionals, will name the National FFA Officer slate comprised of president, secretary, eastern-region vice president, central-region vice president, western-region vice president and southern-region vice president. From that point, the slate will be presented to the National FFA delegates seated in session, and Indiana hopes Simmons name is on the list.

For the past year, Indiana FFA had the honor of one of its own being named to serve on the national level with Tyler Tenbarge, of Haubstadt, Ind., serving as the National FFA Eastern Region Vice President. In fact, Tenbarge served as president during Simmons’ stint as a state officer, so she said she garners a lot of enthusiasm and motivation from her past teammate. Prior to Tenbarge, it had been nearly eight years since a Hoosier took the state as a national FFA officer. In 1999, Jodee Ruppel was elected to the position of National FFA Secretary, according to Brian Buchanan, director of the Indiana FFA Foundation.

“Tyler has been a great asset to me during this process,” said Simmons. “After our term as state officers together, Tyler worked for the Indiana FFA Foundation and during that time he put together binders of all of the national officer candidates in the last 10 years including their applications, written tests, possible questions and rounds.

“So after spending some time studying all those materials he worked so hard to put together when he was running for national office, at this point, I feel pretty prepared as to what I’ll see, but I still need to be prepared for what I’m not expecting.”
To prepare for the national competition, Simmons will enjoy her fall break by practicing rounds at the Indiana FFA Leadership Center during the Speaking Opportunities and Achieving Results program for younger members to learn about the opportunities in FFA, provide a keynote address during the Tri-County FFA degree banquet and travel to various FFA chapter on Tuesday, Oct. 14 practicing her workshop presentation.

“Indiana and many of the ag teachers have been very helpful and supportive of me during this process and I am very appreciative of that,” Simmons said.

She credits her inspiration to run to the Indiana FFA members whom she has met throughout her years as a member and state officer.

“I’ve seen the kids that I’ve had an opportunity to influence, and it just really ignites my passion to serve, I get excited and nervous just thinking about this opportunity,” Simmons said.
“Also, of course, Tyler has really pushed me to be better, when I get down, he is always there to tell me I’m great and that really helps.”

If selected to serve as a national officer and represent Indiana and the National FFA Organization as its ambassador for agriculture, the year-long duties will require traveling more than 100,000 miles, meeting top leaders in business, government, education, visiting approximately 40 states, delivering nearly 100 speeches and 100 workshops, spending four weeks attending states conventions, working more than two months in training or convention planning under the guidance of National FFA leadership executives and attending a once-in-a-lifetime 11-day international excursion to Japan.

Specific responsibilities may include providing personal growth and leadership training for FFA students and setting policies that shape the future of the organization, all the while promoting agricultural literacy, according to the National FFA.

For more information or to find out if Simmons is called to serve on Saturday, Oct. 25 and throughout the 2009 school-year, visit www.ffa.org

10/15/2008