Ms. Natalie Reed, the incumbent President, amidst the distinct sights and smells of a farm.
Throughout this week, I have had the great pleasure and privilege of conversing with a number of the Kitchen Cabinet of FFA, those estimable affectuators of policy beneficent to both students and the community at large. They deserve commendation for meeting such demands that necessarily fall to them in their capacities, whilst awash in the myriad responsibilities, obligations, and expectations that are visited on most students of industry and conscience.
Many may suffer under the impression that FFA is for a select few who delight in livestock, combines, topsoil, et cetera, as even the President thereof this year, Ms. Natalie Reed, who graciously obliged in speaking with me on the matter, initially did: “At first, I only wanted to show a pig because that’s all I thought FFA offered. I soon learned it had so much more.” Sure, the typical matters of business pertain to agriculture, but this by no means ought to be deemed a limited arrangement, as agriculture, like a great Leviathan, entangles its tentacles in all great matters, and, by many measures, is the reed upon which we all rest. As Jennings Bryan proclaimed in his notorious “Cross of Gold” speech: “…the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms, and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.”
Furthermore, while the substance of discourse may be earthy, this is but the material by which the crucible of leadership is molded, to be ignited by the fires of righteous causes, as affirmed by Madame President: “The purpose of FFA is to develop agriculture leaders to help make the future bright.”
Hence the importance of the Organization and its mass appeal. In the words of Madame President once more, the primary reasons one may wish to join are that “FFA helps students gain confidence, learn more about agriculture and where their food comes from, and find careers they are passionate about.”