10 Reasons Why YOU Should Run for a State FFA Office

Considering running for a State Office? Submitting the intent to run form is the first step in running for a State Office! In order to run for a State Office, this form must be postmarked by March 1st. Not sure if you should submit an intent to run form? Here are the 10 Reasons Why YOU Should Run for a State Office!

10. You will be well fed!

And who doesn’t love food? I remember being well fed during the State Officer Selection Process. And this makes sense – as the “future of agriculture,” FFA members tend to value their food!

9. You will experience a new side of State Convention.

From dancing at the front of McCain Auditorium at the beginning of each session to facilitating workshops with the convention delegates, the State Convention experience for a State Officer Candidate is absolutely incredible!

8. You will be able to interact with one of the National FFA Officers.

One of my favorite parts of the State Officer Candidate Process was being able to interact with Abrah Meyer, the 2015-2016 National FFA Central Region Vice President. Abrah turned the holding room where the State Officer Candidates are kept while waiting for the next round into a place where everyone could just relax!

7. You will be able to positively impact the future of the Kansas FFA Association.

As a State Officer Candidate, you will facilitate conversation among the convention delegates. You will then prepare and present a report of the information discussed in your delegate committee. These reports are used to promote the continuous improvement of the Kansas FFA Association. By participating in the State Officer Candidate Process, you have several opportunities (such as this one) to positively impact the future of the Kansas FFA Association!

6. You will learn a TON about agriculture.

In preparation for the State Officer Candidate Process, I listened to the AgriTalk podcast every day. I also studied resources such as the High Plains Journal, Agri-Pulse, Grass and Grain, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture‘s website. Through this preparation, I learned a significant amount of information about agriculture. From the average age of a Kansas farmer (58.2 years old) to the number of people employed by the agriculture industry (12% of Kansas’s workforce), preparing to run for a State Office taught me a TON about agriculture. And it goes beyond the State Officer Candidate Process – learning about the agriculture industry in preparation for the State Officer Candidate Process has greatly helped me with my classes at Kansas State University.

5. You will have the opportunity to make professional connections.

While preparing for the State Officer Selection Process, you have the opportunity to make professional connections. For example, to prepare for the knowledge examination you could meet with leaders in agriculture and education and ask them about things happening in their industry. Or, you could prepare for the interviews by setting up practice interviews with school board members, school administrators, agriculture leaders, local business owners, and chapter FFA alumni. You can even consider preparing to practice proper etiquette during the meals by sharing a meal with a school administrator, your agriculture teacher, or another teacher! You also have the opportunity to make professional connections during the State Officer Selection Process. During this process, you will have many opportunities to interact with the members of the nominating committee (which includes two industry representatives, the State FFA Advisor, and the State FFA Secretary).

4. You will be much more prepared for future interviews.

Running for a State FFA Office will allow you to become familiar with behavioral-based interview questions, which are frequently used in job interviews (as well as scholarship interviews). The behavioral interview was introduced by Dr. Tom Janz in the 1980s. The logic behind behavioral interviews is that your past performance can be used to predict your future performance. As a result of going through the State Officer candidacy process, you’ll be able to answer behavioral-based interview questions (such as these) with ease:

• Describe a time when you decided to learn about something new just for the fun of it.
• Tell us about a time you had to complete a project on your own. How did you do?
• Tell me about a problem that you have solved in a unique or unusual way.

3. You will discover and develop your individual strengths.

In the past, I believed that the key to becoming a better leader was to eliminate my weaknesses. However, running for a State FFA Office taught me that it’s important to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. After being elected to a State FFA Office, one of the first things we did was complete a StrengthsQuest assessment. As my teammates and I learned about our individual strengths and how we fit together as a team, we were each able to begin discovering and developing our individual strengths.

Image Source: K-State Strengths

Over the past 244 days, I have had many incredible opportunities to continue to develop these strengths through my service as a Kansas FFA State Officer.

2. You will build lifelong friendships with the other State Officer Candidates.

The transition between high school and college can be difficult. For me, spending the summer in Manhattan with five of my best friends (after we were elected) made moving away from home less difficult. However, whether or not you are elected to a State Office, going through the candidacy process will allow you to interact with some of Kansas FFA’s most incredible leaders!

2016 Kansas FFA State Officer Candidates   

1. If elected, you will have the opportunity to promote and support the leadership development of over 9,100 Kansas FFA members.

From facilitating workshops at the State Convention to celebrating National FFA Week (and everything in between), the most rewarding part of serving as a Kansas FFA State Officer has been having the opportunity to promote and support the leadership development of high school FFA members across the state of Kansas. One of my teammates, Katelyn, summed up this experience:

So, there you have it – 10 Reasons Why YOU Should Run for a State FFA Office!

More information about the State Officer Candidate Process can be found here.