Ten state FFA officers came to Cortez on Friday to encourage students in high school agriculture classes to get involved with the organization.
The officers are high school students in elected positions, and Cortez was their last of 10 stops around the state.
“We’re here to get students excited and involved,” said Natalie Wright, a state officer and reporter. “They have a place in FFA.”
Twenty students from schools in Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, Dolores County and Montezuma-Cortez high school went to the Montezuma County Fairgrounds Friday morning for the BIG – Becoming Involved as a Greenhand – event.
“It’s not even ag-based today. We’re just getting them excited,” said Wright. “I’m sure they’ll all be best friends by the end of the day.”
They started off with introductions. And then they danced and played bingo, with a twist. Instead of crossing out numbers like B-12, students went around the room and asked each other questions – whether they play a sport or an instrument, for instance – and filled their boards with names of those who fit the descriptions.
The idea was to break students out of their comfort zone, Wright said.
There were also a few workshops where they learned more about FFA and what getting involved looks like and might offer them. The four state officers The Journal spoke to underscored the invaluable connections they’ve made through FFA.
“I encourage people to invest their time and attention to FFA. It’s ag-based, but it focuses on building the next generation of leaders and well-rounded people,” said Aidan Datteri, a state officer and treasurer whose grandfather and father were involved in the organization before him.
“I fell in love with it my freshman year, and now it’s about making a difference in people’s lives and being a support they’ve never had,” Datteri said.
Since its founding in 1928 until 1988, what’s now known as the National FFA Organization was called the Future Farmers of America. Its name changed to encompass more than just farmers.
Essentially, it wanted to broaden its initiative to include those interested in science, technology, industry, math and production farming, too – not just traditional farming, according to its website.
To date, there’s over 1 million members nationwide from all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
When students take a high school ag class, they’re automatically enrolled in FFA, but they get to choose their level of involvement with it. Students are able to join in any grade, not just freshman year.
“It’s easy to overlook because we’re not a sport,” said Wright. “But nationally, there’s over a million members, and its growing.”
Aunica Naranjo, a state officer from Cortez, said there’s 9,000 members across Colorado, and that number is growing, too.
“Cortez is rural – it’s bigger than some other places around here, but it’s still rural,” said Naranjo. “There’s agriculture all around us here, and sometimes it’s hard to notice.”
Naranjo said she first got interested in agriculture through 4-H growing up, and that FFA, in her eyes, was a good next step.
“Try anything that minorly interests you and take as many opportunities as you can,” Naranjo said.
Come Oct. 21, the officers will hit the road again and head east to Indianapolis for the National FFA convention, which starts on Oct. 23 and ends Oct. 26. In years past, over 72,000 students attended. This year is the 97th annual national convention.
“The best way I can describe it is a sea of blue jackets,” said Weston Burkhart, a state officer sporting the uniform he spoke of: A dark blue corduroy jacket with “Colorado Association” and the FFA seal embroidered on the back.
The event at the fairgrounds was to show students that FFA is about more than being a student. It emphasizes being leaders and pursuing agriculture in ways they personally find interesting and meaningful.
