Agriculture is part of our daily lives, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear. This week, more than 760,000 FFA members across the country will share the story of agriculture as part of National FFA Week.
Today, FFA provides the next generation of leaders who will change the world. As the top school-based youth leadership development organization in the nation, FFA helps young people meet new agricultural challenges by helping members develop their unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of career pathways. FFA members are our future leaders, our future food-suppliers, our future innovators and so much more!
Whether it is through service projects or community gatherings, National FFA Week is a time for FFA members to raise awareness about the role the National FFA Organization plays in developing agriculture’s future leaders and the importance of agricultural education.
National FFA Week always runs Saturday to Saturday and encompasses Feb. 22, George Washington’s birthday. This year, the week kicked off on Feb. 20 and culminates on Saturday, Feb. 27.
In Montana, over 5,500 FFA members will participate in the weeklong event.
“Students will be serving their communities through community service projects and sharing the mission of FFA through sharing agricultural knowledge at middle schools,” said McKenna Quirk the Montana FFA State Secretary. “They will also be interacting with their teachers and actively showing their appreciation for their advisors and everyone who supports them within the FFA. So overall, it's a week to truly celebrate not only all the accomplishments that Montana FFA members have had but also all of the other ways that FFA positively impacts communities across Montana.”
The celebration is also a way for FFA members to thank program supporters and communities.
“The week really does embody our motto of ‘Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.’,” said Montana FFA State President Brooke Mehlhoff. “This week is especially really important for outreach and community. Looking at individual communities as far as what kind of service projects can you do. How can you show appreciation for your alumni and supporters. Anything that really builds those relationships. Especially this year when those relationships have been a little bit harder to come by.”
As they have done throughout the pandemic, FFA state officers will utilize technology to engage Montana FFA members statewide.
“Our team has been planning a virtual leadership conference called BLU Conference,” said McKenna Quirk.” “That acronym stands for Building Leaders Understanding. Our team is very excited about this upcoming conference. We're going to have virtual workshops from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. from February 22nd to February 25th.”
Whether you wore the blue corduroy jacket in the past or are a proud supporter of the program, everyone can participate in FFA week on Give FFA Day. Give FFA Day is Thursday, February 25th when monetary donations can be made to support Montana FFA and Agriculture Education programs through the FFA Foundation. Donations can be made at FFA.org/GiveFFADay.
