By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, more than half a million FFA members across the nation will celebrate the FFA Organization and serve as advocates for agriculture during National FFA Week, Feb. 19-26.

“National FFA Week gives members a chance to educate the public about FFA and agriculture by hosting events such as ag olympics, ag breakfasts, volunteering for community service projects and speaking to the public,” said Indiana State Sentinel Micah Matlock. “Over 7,200 chapters across the country will be celebrating FFA Week, which is pretty awesome.”

The theme of this year’s FFA Week is Infinite Potential; that symbolizes the leadership potential that each and every FFA member possesses, according to Matlock.

“There are nearly 200 FFA chapters in Indiana and nearly all 200 have individual events planned for National FFA Week,” he said, adding that each member of the state officer team will attend events in each of the 12 Indiana FFA districts.

 “We will each see 10-15 chapters a piece. I will return to my home district – district 9 in east central Indiana. I will attend chapter breakfasts in at least three schools.”

A chapter ag breakfast invites all members of the school faculty, staff, local media to a breakfast hosted and prepared by FFA members, providing the opportunity to get the school and community more involved in FFA.

State FFA Secretary Megan Klotz added that National FFA Week is an opportunity to connect with high school students. The goal of National FFA Week, according to the FFA Organization, is to educate Americans about the possibilities for leadership and personal growth in FFA available for all youth.
“It’s a great chance to show what FFA is all about and provides an opportunity for recruitment,” she said.

Indiana Director of Agriculture Joe Kelsay will participate in National FFA Week activities such as attending the Molly Gibson Memorial Breakfast at Franklin Community High School at 7 a.m. on Feb. 24 in Franklin, Ind.

Kelsay will join other community members in supporting the Molly Gibson Memorial Breakfast to benefit the children at the Johnson Memorial Hospital. This annual breakfast honors the memory of Molly Gibson, a FFA student, who exemplified excellence on behalf of the organization, but lost her life in a tragic car accident in 1998.

Other members of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture staff will attend events including the Clinton Central FFA Breakfast at 7 a.m. in Frankfort, Ind. on Feb. 24; the FFA Bull Breeding Soundness Program at 9 a.m. on Feb. 25; the High School Lunchtime Literacy Event at Hamilton Southeastern High School at noon on Feb. 25 in Fishers, Ind.; and events at the Shenandoah FFA Chapter in Middletown, Ind. also on Feb. 25.

While the Indiana FFA State Officer team will attend chapter events individually throughout the week, they will come together at the end of the week for the community steak dinner hosted by Gibson Southern FFA Chapter in Ft. Branch, Ind.

“We’ve never been to this particular event, but we’ve heard it’s huge,” said Klotz, who added that the state officers will actually be playing the role of servers to help raise money for Gibson Southern FFA.

To follow the state officers around the state during FFA Week, visit their blog, which can be found at www.in.gov/isda

National FFA Week is sponsored by the Tractor Supply Co. and Carthartt, as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.