South Dakota State FFA Officers get advocacy training in Washington, D.C.

The officers of the South Dakota FFA recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in the State Officer Summit. Those attending were President William (Colton) Riley, Rapid City; Vice President Sarah Kroeger, Lennox; Secretary Marie Robbins, Elkton; Treasurer Grady Gullickson, Flandreau; Reporter Carolyn Blatchford, Brookings; and Sentinel Tucker (TJ) Bigge, Parkston.

This state FFA officer training will include 375 state officers from all 50 states, Porta Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands, and is the second conference in a training series for state FFA officers. It builds on the individual leadership skills learned in their earlier Base Camp and Check Point trainings. The Summit experience will focus on preparing the FFA state officers to serve as advocates for agriculture, agriculture education and FFA, as well as developing clear and consistent messages to share with the public.

The South Dakota Association of Cooperatives and South Dakota Cooperative Manager’s Association sponsor the team’s registration and transportation to attend this activity designed to further develop the leadership skills of South Dakota’s FFA membership.