MANHATTAN — Several northwest Kansas students participated in the Kansas FFA District Officer’s Conference held in Junction City Aug. 12 and 13.
Students taking part included Eli Ohlde, State FFA President from Clifton Clyde; Tierney Kester, District President from Stockton; Natalie Hawkins, District Vice President from Atwood; Jaylinn Pfeifer, District Secretary from Ellis; Trey Kuhlmann, District Treasurer from Stockton; Jaden Smith, District Reporter from Northern Valley; and Lane Fischer, District Sentinel from Ellis; and Mr. Shane Austin, District Advisor from Stockton.
The strengths-oriented theme of “The Leadership Games” encompassed the key elements of identifying our StrengthsFinder theme, working through conflict, and identifying processes to solve problems throughout their year of service. Just as each of these ideas is necessary in any business or organization, district officers are expected to serve with these key themes in mind as they use their strengths to impact the lives of FFA members. Throughout the year, they will be serving FFA members across the state and building leadership skills that will make them capable, responsible citizens in life.
Starting with an executive committee meeting, officers were able to discuss current issues facing Kansas FFA and Kansas agricultural education. Students are able to bring perspectives from around the state which will be put into action by the Kansas FFA Association.
The conference continued with an exciting session which allowed students to explore their StrengthsQuest themes. District officers were able to explore the ways they interact with their teammates, and how they can help their district officer team to navigate the upcoming year. In the second session, the district officers discovered the importance of knowing how they individually deal with conflict and what different conflicts might arise throughout their year of service. They were then given tools to help them solve those conflicts and identified an accountability partner for the coming year.
Inspiring words from the Associate Dean of Academics Programs for the K-State College of Agriculture, Dr. Don Boggs further encouraged the officers in their endeavors. Later, the officers focused their energy in a training session specifically focusing on key skills that will enable them to produce great workshops. District officers were able to practice these skills and learn how to apply them in their own workshops through a rotational, hands-on experience.
The third session included the officers discovering how they can work through different problems they will encounter by using the adaptive leadership process. In the final session, led by national officer candidate Kyler Langvardt of Chapman, district officer teams brought together the ideas that they had learned, and used them to create a brand that they will use throughout the next year.
As the conference drew to a close, district officers reported on the ideas that they choose to pursue before heading home to implement the skills that they learned.
The Kansas FFA District Officers Conference is facilitated and organized by the officers of the Kansas FFA Association, the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University, and the Kansas State Board of Education.
The Kansas FFA Association has over 9,000 members in 185 chapters. The National FFA Organization is the largest high school vocational organization in the nation and prepares its 649,355 members for leadership and careers in science, business, and technology in agriculture. The mission of the FFA is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.