One state officer team retired and another was installed as the 86th Indiana FFA convention concluded Thursday at the Purdue campus in West Lafayette. The new team consists of President Kenzie Kretzmeier, Benton Central; Secretary Annalee Witte, Eastern Hancock; NR VP Brett Roberts, Columbia City; SR VP Mason Gordon, Rushville; Treasurer Sean Harrington, Tri-County; Reporter Courtney Adams, Sheridan and Sentinel Joshua Calhoun, Hope.
HAT joined the new president on stage as friends and family moved in to congratulate all the new officers. Kretzmeier said this is “absolutely” a dream come true.
“I imagined myself on the team but then once I got closer to the process I realized, wow, there are a lot of competitive people here to run for the state officer team. What an honor it is to be on the team and to be the president. I just can’t wait to lead this team and see what we have in store for this next year.”
She said she does feel the weight of responsibility that goes with the new position, but “We are a team of seven and we all work together. We are all equal and will all collaborate and get the job done.”
Kretzmeier has served as secretary, vice president and president of her FFA chapter in Benton County and served two years on the district officer team as secretary and then president.
“Along with FFA I am also a 10 year 4-H member and highly involved in community service activities through our church and our school, and I’m involved in a lot of academic groups such as National Honor Society, Council of Academic Excellence, and Spanish National Honor Society.”
Adams told HAT that being on the team doesn’t even feel real yet and Gordon added it’s hard to believe they’ll be the popular ones on the block now. See more in the HAT video.