Hometown Proud

Throughout high school, I never noticed the differences between school districts. I always assumed that every school was ran the same way that Knoxville was, and that all students had the same opportunities and experiences. However, this belief was quickly put to rest once I started traveling this year for chapter visits. Every school I have gone to has had a different atmosphere, belief system, and type of student interaction. While these differences may seem subtle, they have a huge effect on who we are.

South Central State Vice-President Mickayla McGill (middle, center) poses with some of her fellow Knoxville FFA members post COLT this Summer.

Looking back, I never appreciated the atmosphere or the support that my school system provided. There was never a sporting event or other extracurricular activity that my teachers did not attempt to attend. I was always excited to see a black and gold shirt in the crowd no matter where we were at. No matter how far away from home we were or what the weather was like, the community was always there to support us. From cheering at basketball games, yelling time splits at track meets, to even running across that course to encourage every cross-country runner; my coaches, teachers, family, and community did it all. The support that we as students were given helped us to be successful.

While you can’t really cheer for an FFA contest like you can a sporting event, Knoxville sure tried. From running through mock interview questions, watching CDE practices, to helping select our chapter’s future leaders, my other teachers always tried to lend a helping hand. Their support combined with the ag room atmosphere created by my advisor gave me the confidence to pursue my goals. Without the support of my school district and the Knoxville community, I would not be where I am today.

The support that my school and community have shown me throughout the past 13 years, makes me proud to call Knoxville my hometown. Since no two towns or schools are the same, each one has its own qualities that make it unique. Some of us come from a small town where everyone knows everyone, and others of us come from big towns in which we don’t even know everyone in our grade. Some of our schools specialize in athletics, while others focus on the arts. Either way, we each have something that makes us proud of our roots. What makes you hometown proud?

Be Proud, 

Mickayla McGill 

2019-2020 South Central State Vice President

Won't Back Down

“It wasn’t easy, but we did it.” A quote from a conversation with my grandpa about the ’80s. He and my grandmother did the seemingly impossible by keeping the family farm afloat and sending three kids through college. Others weren't that lucky. The “Farm Crisis”, as many refer to it, struck families all over. It collapsed strong agriculture companies, forced the hands of local banks, and attacked family farms alike, the crisis took no prisoners leaving some feeling powerless.

February 5, 1979—Thousands of economically struggling farmers arrive in Washington D.C. to draw public attention to rising farm debt and unfair federal ag policies. (Photo: USDA / National Archives and Records Administration / Iowa Public Radio)

Regardless if you come from a family whose farm survived the ‘80s or not, we all have our demons. For some of us, it’s a small business that’s floundering, a loved one’s illness or struggling to get out of bed in the morning, we all have a crisis we face. People face challenges monthly, weekly, daily if not hourly, but yet they hold on. They refuse to quit. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to hear of someone’s fight and their victories. Someone’s small victory can be the thing we need to keep going.

I was recently facing adversity with different aspects of my life. Things, as I perceived them, were spiraling out of control and there was nothing I could do. I had no grasp and no answer to what was going on around me. I called home one night I was pretty down and vented to my mom about what was going on. Post our conversation, I was laying in bed processing everything we had talked about while trying to go to sleep. I put in my headphones, closed my eyes and let a playlist distract my troubled mind. As I started to drift off, a song began to play:

No, I'll stand my ground

Won't be turned around

And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down

Gonna stand my ground

And I won't back down 

Tom Petty made me feel like I could run through a brick wall! Yeah, times were grim but even amidst all the chaos, I realized I was still standing. I hadn't given up.

I don’t know where you are or what you’re going through. I do know that you are reading this and that means you have a chance. A chance to overcome, a chance to survive, a chance to stand your ground. It’s no mystery the world is a tough place, life isn’t going to give you a fair shake and as soon as one storm ends, others brew. We don’t get to control those aspects of life, no matter how hard we try. We do get to control how we respond. Like those during the Farm Crisis, we can fight and we can win. Don't be afraid to be brave and say: “I Won’t Back Down!”

Let’s Go Get Em,

Chandler Jahner

State President

Mia's Delegate Experience

“Life is hard, everyone is tired, so let’s get to work.” The words of Ridge Hughbanks in his retiring address. His message and words affected me deeply along with hundreds of other FFA members. As I reflect on my experience as serving as a national delegate for the state of Iowa, I would say that most of us were tired but we also got a lot of work done.

Doing into national convention I didn’t know what to expect completely. I had been to convention twice before, once competing and once as an attendant, but I had never experienced any delegate process at any level before. So I was a little skeptical of what to expect and how the process worked. However, I soon realized the importance and impact a delegate has on the National FFA Organization.

The delegate process starts with everyone getting placed into six different committees, with a topic and focus around each one. This year I served on the membership experience committee with Natalie. The goal of each committee is to work together to form three recommendations for the National FFA Board of Directors to look at. With that, our committee worked all day to come up with these three recommendations: alterations to the jacket for disabled people, lowering affiliation cost, and a relaunch of “We are FFA” to be more inclusive. Each report would then get brought up to all delegates in the business session the next morning. 

The delegate business session was very interesting to be part of and I learned a lot. It was interesting to see how other state associations go about the process and how people voice there opinions and thoughts. We started the session by adopting a set of rules for the delegate process and then went into voting on the constitutions and by-laws to aline with the new federal charter. Once that had passed we went into the six different committee reports. Where each one was read, amended and debated upon, and voted over. It was interesting to see the different opinions come out from states even when most of them had at least one delegate that worked on creating the report. After all, reports passed, the business session was over and we got to experience the rest of the convention. By going to the expo and attending all of the sessions.

One of my favorite parts was cheering on Iowa FFA members as they crossed the stage. The time and effort that each one of them put in to win or receive an award is outstanding and very well deserved. When I was a freshman in high school, I got the honor to be recognized on stage for an agriscience fair project a partner and I had completed. To this day I remember the screams and cheers that came from Iowa delegates and the impact that had on me. I only hope that I did the same for members on the stage.

This trip to the National FFA Convention is something that I am very grateful for and will never forgot. From the long car ride, to late nights, everything we did was fun, eventful, and we learned something and grew as people. I am honored to have gotten this opportunity and to see the passion and drive that the State Officers have for this organization and how they want to continuously help others!

Cheers,

Mia Gibson

Northwest Vice President

Northeast District