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87th Missouri FFA Convention a wrap

Missouri FFA convention, like others across the U.S., is a coming together, a celebration of awards, rewards and friendships. It’s about saying ‘hello’ to new state officers and ‘goodbye’ to old ones.  Shaylee Wallace, had just left the stage as outgoing Missouri State FFA Vice President last Friday.

“It’s one of the most emotional roller coasters you’ll ever be on. One minute you’re laughing with your team and the next minute you’re crying because after tonight you part ways and you don’t know when you’ll see each other again.” Shaylee, a Branson Missouri FFA member, says being an officer is about serving others, but the officers benefit, too. She tells Brownfield Ag News, “We’re here to give back to the Missouri FFA but what these 26,000 members don’t realize is how much they give back to us and how much they impact our lives and, really, how much we grow as leaders because of them.”

AUDIO:  Interview with Shaylee Wallace (2:00 mp3):

Brandelyn Martin is the new Missouri State FFA First Vice President. She is a member of the Silex FFA Chapter in northeast Missouri.  She tells Brownfield Ag News she has always wanted to be a state FFA officer, “My uncle is actually an ag advisor so he’s the one that got me started in FFA. So, I kind of grew up around the organization. Whenever I got into high school I knew right away that I wanted to become a part of this organization. So, I started participating in a lot of career development events and leadership development events and I started doing speaking contests and I really found my niche in the organization.” She plans to go to the University of Missouri and major in Agriculture Journalism.

Her goal as an officer is to make an impact on at least one student at every stop along the way, “Because I want to have an everlasting impact on FFA members around the state of Missouri and I want them to be able to say ‘Brandelyn Martin was my biggest role model.'” Her family has a small farm raising laying hens, and hogs for showing.

AUDIO:  Interview with Brandelyn Martin (3:10 mp3):

Alex Stichnote is the new Missouri State FFA Secretary. She goes to high school in southern Boone County and is with the Ashland FFA, “It’s kind of been a dream of mine to always be able to be a state officer. I’ve always wanted to encourage students to pursue their FFA careers and this is a great opportunity to do so.” Alex started in 4-H at the age of eight and by age 12 she was showing in the horse, goat, poultry, and rabbit shows at her county fair.

She wants to get settled into college at Mizzou this fall then work more toward her goals and dreams, “Further down the road I would love to work in the ag industry in a big company like Purina. Just talking to people about agriculture and talking to people about products and advocating for my industry.” Alex Stichnote is the first state officer from the Ashland FFA chapter.

AUDIO:  Interview with Alex Stichnote (2:00 mp3):

Adam Kirby is the new state president of the Missouri FFA.  He tells Brownfield he is ENTHUSED to be leading this organization. He tells Brownfield his first plans as president, “I think, as an officer team, first-off, we have to really get to know each other. We come from different parts all across the state so working together is one of our first goals. Continuing off of that, within this first couple of weeks, getting to know each other, I think, is to continue to develop the Missouri FFA Association and help the members reach their goals to the best of our abilities.”

AUDIO:  Interview with Adam Kirby (3:00 mp3):