Randolph County Board of Education recognizes FFA programs

Submitted photo In accordance with the national organization, Randolph County Schools will recognize Feb. 20-27 as ‘National FFA Week.’ Pictured from left are Amber Sanders, Dalton Swecker — both students from Tygarts Valley High School — and Lee Wright, vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor for TVHS.

Submitted photo
In accordance with the national organization, Randolph County Schools will recognize Feb. 20-27 as 'National FFA Week.' Pictured from left are Amber Sanders, Dalton Swecker -- both students from Tygarts Valley High School -- and Lee Wright, vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor for TVHS.

ELKINS -- Each year, a group of young leaders are recognized by Randolph County Schools for their interest in agriculture.

During this week's Randolph County Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Debbie Schmidlen signed a proclamation declaring the week of Feb. 20-27 as "FFA Week."

Schmidlen praised FFA students in the county, adding the program at Tygarts Valley High School is large, has an active enrollment and "represents the school well."

Despite COVID19 restrictions on the number of attendees allowed at meetings, two students from the TVHS FFA program – Amber Sanders and Dalton Swecker – were able to take part in a presentation to the Randolph County BOE, along with their advisor, Lee Wright.

The proclamation will also be celebrated nationally to highlight ways FFA promotes citizenship, volunteerism, patriotism and cooperation among its members.

The proclamation reads, "FFA and agricultural education provides a strong foundation for the youth of American and the future of the food, fiber and natural resource systems. ... FFA and agricultural education provide a strong foundation for the youth of America and the future of the food, fiber and natural resource systems."

The National FFA Organization is a youth leadership organization that seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of young people by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth,and career success through agriculture education.

FFA members can compete in Career Development Events that cover job skills in everything from communications to mechanics. Some events allow students to compete as individuals, while others allow them to compete in teams. These competitions happen at a local or district level, state level, and on the national level.

Students are supervised by agricultural education teachers who cooperate with parents, employers, and other adults who assist individuals in the development and achievement of educational and career goals.

The FFA was founded in 1925 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, by agriculture teachers Henry C. Groseclose, Walter Newman, Edmund Magill,and Harry Sanders as Future Farmers of Virginia. In 1928, it became a nationwide organization known as Future Farmers of America.

In 1988 the name was changed to the National FFA Organization, now commonly referred to as FFA, to recognize that the organization is for students with diverse interests in the food, fiber and natural resource industries, encompassing science, business, and technology in addition to production agriculture. Today FFA is among the largest youth organizations in the United States, with 669,989 members in 8,630 chapters throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. FFA is the largest of the career and technical student organizations in U.S. schools.