FFA officers making memories with members

With under a month left of the 2023-2024 Illinois FFA major state officers’ term, the team isn’t wasting any opportunities to make some memories before they retire their blue jackets.

With all attention now focused on planning for the 96th Illinois FFA State Convention, the officers took every opportunity the month of April to leave their marks on individual students for the final time at banquets, contests and other events.

When an FFA chapter has completed its year, it may hold a chapter banquet, where members, parents, supporters and other community members come together to share in the chapter’s successes.

Over the last month, the officers have attended over two dozen banquets, where they presented speeches and watched award presentations. These banquets are one of the highlights of the year for many chapters around the state, and they allow the state officers to learn more about the chapter and community that supports them.

In addition to banquets, officers also assisted with a variety of contests. The past month has been a very busy time for FFA members as they have had the opportunity to compete in the Parliamentary Procedure LDE, the Conduct of Chapter Meetings LDE, the Ag Mechanics CDE and the Ag Business Management CDE.

These events, like all Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events, allow students to explore possible ag-based careers in addition to practicing real-world skills.

The lawn behind the FFA center is now marked with streaks of orange paint and flags, meant to serve as the outline of the stage on which the officers are practicing their convention session and speech scripts.

With the Illinois FFA Convention being the largest annual gathering of Illinois FFA members, the officers are excited for the Bank of Springfield Center to be bustling with blue jackets.

Apart from the speeches and the sessions, the convention to be held June 13-15 will hold numerous opportunities for students to learn and grow, including workshops, contests and a college and career fair.

More information about the annual convention can be found on ilaged.org.

Cooper Nelson from the Canton FFA Chapter is the 2023-2024 Illinois Association FFA state reporter.