Tech’s representation in the Tennessee and National FFA organizations has become more pronounced, gaining the attention of many prospective freshmen.On the state level, half of FFA officers will be Tech students, with President Peyton Graham of Munford and State Vice President East Courtney Walker of Cumberland Gap, both incoming freshmen, joining forces with two current Tech student officers, Alyssa Fee, state vice president west and Secretary Elissa McLerran.
In addition to this achievement, the National FFA Organization named Tech student James Flatt 2010-2011 National FFA Southern Region Vice President after naming Tech student Chelsea Rose as a national officer in 2009.
“Having two national officers from the same state back-to-back is unheard of,” said David Frazier, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education.
Although there has been a noticeable rise in Tech officers elected lately, Tech has a consistent history of students becoming leaders in the FFA organizations. This is likely because of the high emphasis placed on recruiting agriculture students.
“Fortunately for TTU, we’ve got good recruiters here like David Frazier,” said Colby Paul, senior agriculture major.
According to Paul, Frazier is involved in training state officers and consequently creates a big pull for FFA members at the high school level.
The University’s zeal for recruiting dedicated students was displayed recently at the Tennessee FFA Organization convention in Gatlinburg.
With about 20 recruiters on site, Tech had the strongest presence at the convention and experienced higher interest from students compared to that experienced by many other state schools, Paul said.
According to the National FFA website, the organization provides its more than 500,000 members opportunities to develop “their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”
More information on the Tennessee FFA Association can be found at www.tnffa.org/.
