It’s break time for a group of young Indiana leaders who have been going hard since being elected to the Indiana FFA state officer team in June. The fall has been a busy time with leadership camps for the state’s chapter officers and district kickoffs. Allie Abney, state FFA president says the first half of the year brought them face to face with many Indiana members.
“One of our main goals this year is to increase membership and one way for us to do that is to get out into the community, get to know them and just have a good time,” she told HAT.
In addition to many stops across the state, Kayla Hoenert, State Secretary, joined Abney for the state president’s conference in Washington DC.
“We got to meet with state officers from every state as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. I had never been to DC so that was a fantastic experience for me to visit our nation’s capital and also get to know some of these other people who will be helping us serve members across the United States.”
It seems each year the state officer team is comprised of members who grew up on a farm and members who didn’t. This year one of those who didn’t grow up on a farm is Rebekah Frey, Northern Region Vice-President.
“I really didn’t have a huge ag background until I got to the 7th grade and my friend introduced me to FFA. I lived in a rural community but wasn’t really highly involved in the agriculture part of it. when I got involved it opened my eyes to where I was actually living in rural America, and it was beautiful. I learned a ton throughout my years in high school and my uncle moved into the position of FFA advisor. It was fun to learn that FFA is for everyone and not just for the farmers.”
Their future plans are also diverse. Frey intends to study graphic design. Hoenert wants to be a large animal vet and will attend Purdue. Abney will double major in ag-econ and ag communications and hopes to attend law school.
The other 4 state officers will be profiled Thursday.
Hear the interviews with all three, conducted during the Indiana State Fair here: Allie AbneyAllie Abney Kayla HoenertKayla Hoenert Rebekah FreyRebekah Frey