TEXAS FFA
2015 TEXAS FFA CONVENTION REVIEW
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Keynote Addresses......................................................2 Special Remarks............................................................4 Special Presentation....................................................6 Retiring Addresses.......................................................8 Convention Photos.....................................................28 2015-2016 Officers....................................................32 Sponsor Recognition.................................................33 1
FORMER HARLEM GLOBETROTTER
MELVIN ADAMS Keynote Address “Don’t be what people want you to be. Ride in your lane.”
“Whatever your dreams, you are going to have obstacles in life. I challenge you today to rise above.” 2
FORMER USDA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JIM BOB SOLSBERY Keynote Address “Rise and keep agriculture strong because agriculture is going to keep you strong.”
“Negative and positive attitudes are contagious. You simply need to decide which one you are going to spread.” 3
TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
SID MILLER Special Remarks
“I owe a lot of who I am today to the FFA. I had a hero, and that was my ag teacher.”
“[The Texas Department of Agriculture is] making a pathway for young people to come into agriculture and find jobs and vocation.” 4
TEXAS GOVERNOR
GREG ABBOTT Special Remarks “The lessons you learn through the FFA, the values that you share will prepare you to lead both this state and this nation.”
“Success requires big aspirations to dream great things, and the work ethic to achieve them. The men and women in this arena today have both.” 5
REMEMBERING THE NFA
ADOLPHUS PINSON Special Presentation
50 Years of Leadership and Brotherhood
The last NFA President in Texas, Adolphus Pinson was presented his Honorary Lonestar Degree and a replica NFA jacket at the 87th Annual Texas FFA Convention. 6
Our schools, our nation, our society were once divided--segregated--separated white from black,
African-Americans from Caucasian-Americans. African American students attended segregated schools under a doctrine established under by judicial precedent set by an 1896 case known as Plessy versus Ferguson, in which the United States Supreme Court held that state laws that allowed or even required the separation of black and white were legal as long as facilities were equal. Thus began the doctrine of “separate but equal,” that divided students of different races into segregated schools.
The Future Farmers of America was born in this segregated world in 1928, and a parallel
organization rose in 1935 to serve the needs of African-American students: the New Farmers of America.
The two organizations mirrored each other. Both had similar traditions and structure--a creed,
opening ceremonies, a four-tiered degree system and a nearly identical emblem. The NFA also had deep Texas roots. 21 Texans served as national NFA officers, five of them national presidents.
The 1954 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education held that
separate was inherently unequal, striking down the separate but equal doctrine. Thus began the process of desegregation that officially reached agricultural education in 1965. In the 1965-66 school year, Texas FFA added 130 new chapters, most of which were NFA chapters that became FFA chapters.
The New Farmers of America convened its 31st and final national convention in Atlanta, Georgia in
October, 1965 and then traveled directly to Kansas City to participate in a merger ceremony held on October 13, at the National FFA Convention.
The last NFA President was a Texan--Adolphus D. Pinson from Neches, near Palestine in east
Texas. In his remarks in that ceremony, Mr. Pinson stated, “Please be reminded that the spirit of the New Farmers of America does not die here today. Rather, we awake into the dawn of a new day. Together we walk into the dawn as Future Farmers and toward a fuller realization of our educational aim and purposes…”
Adolphus Pinson took off his black and gold NFA jacket for the last time and put on the the blue and gold of the FFA.
That was 50 years ago. Today we remember that momentous, watershed juncture in our history. We remember it because it reminds all of us that in unity, there is strength. None of us is a strong as all of us. We remember it because our mission to make “... a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success…” is a mission for all students regardless of race or heritage. We remember it because our common vision and passion to feed and clothe the world and to become citizens of influence in our communities, state and nation bonds us together and transcends our differences.
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GRACIE HEDRICK Retiring Address
“Nothing in our lives will change until we decide to take action! Once we take action, we are on the way to our fairy tale.” 8
AREA VIII STATE PRESIDENT
“Sometimes all people need is to hear someone say three words, I believe in you.�
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JEB HOGAN Retiring Address
“Everyday there is an opportunity to stand in someone’s corner and cheer them on. Take those moments AREA III and truly live to serve.” 1ST VICE PRESIDENT 10
“When life throws a right hook, do your best to shake it off and keep moving forward.�
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KYLE MAHAGAN Retiring Address
“Take other people’s doubts and use it as motivation to achieve your goals. If you do this I promise you, you will be great.” 12
AREA I
VICE PRESIDENT
“Tell yourself that you are great, because if you don’t believe it, no one else will.”
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ZACH MCMEANS Retiring Address
“Each and every one of us is capable of changing the world, but before we can ever do that, we have to start loving the people we see every day.” 14
AREA II
VICE PRESIDENT
“You alone have the power to define yourself. There is no limit to what we can achieve.�
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KATIE HOLT Retiring Address
“Passion is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action.” 16
AREA IV
VICE PRESIDENT
“Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow, you may succeed if you give it a go.” 17
MATTHEW HUSTON Retiring Address
“Work harder than anyone else because in the end you are the only one who can control your success.”
AREA V
VICE PRESIDENT
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“When we fail we have three options: we can let it destroy us, define us, or strengthen us.�
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MICAH NEWTON Retiring Address
“The community you cultivate brings about a home that you can lean on for support, strength, and guidance.” 20
AREA VI VICE PRESIDENT
Home is a place where the people you love and care about are there waiting on you with open arms.
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RYAN PRINDLE Retiring Address
“Each and every one of you has the power to impact somebody’s life, whether it’s 1 person or 12,000.” 22
AREA VII VICE PRESIDENT
“Learn to look for people you can help; be a leader that cares.”
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CULLEN REEVES Retiring Address
“Don’t base your story off someone else’s, make it your own. This is your life. This is your work of art. This is your masterpiece.” 24
AREA IX VICE PRESIDENT
“I challenge you to be your own person and to live your life however you want. If you don’t like it, change it. Start today. Start right now.”
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DAVID TREVINO Retiring Address
“Go out, be yourself, and don’t be afraid to put your foot down for what you believe in.”
AREA X
VICE PRESIDENT
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“It’s time to stop caring about what others think and letting it negatively impact your happiness.”
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Meet your
2015-2016 OFFICERS Jason Edmondson President Area VII Burnet FFA
Brice Boyd First Vice President Area IV Hamilton FFA
Kaylynn Kiker Vice President Area I Fort Elliott FFA
Alec Winfrey Vice President Area II Seminole FFA
Kaleb Dautrich Vice President Area III Katy FFA
Micah Davidson Vice President Area V Valley View FFA
Brynn Darby Vice President Area VI Harmony FFA
Shannon Butler Vice President Area VIII Waxahachie FFA
Coy Westbrook Vice President Area IX Centerville – Groveton FFA
Alex Garcia Vice President Area X San Benito FFA
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2 0 1 5 Te x a s F FA C o n v e n t i o n Sponsors & Supporters Ti t l e
Gold
Silver Bronze Convention Anne Kimmey, Cultivate Agency
Mitchell Dale, McRee Ford
Randall Williams
Supporters Aaron Alejandro Andrew McCall Ansen Pond Blaze Currie Brent Graves Chrid Britton Cultivate Agency Darla Washington-Chitsey David & Terri Krebs Dustin Kinder Glen Alan Phillips
J.D. McLeod Jake Paine Jamie Ellis-Newman John Derrick Krysti Kelley Kyle Gilliam Lora Gonzalez Lyssy & Eckel Feeds Matthew Barnes Ronny Nauert Stacy Smith
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Steve & Barbie Mosley Terri Hardee-Romere Texas Young Farmers Toby Miller Tommy & Wendy Neyland Trevor White Tyler Koch W. Grant Bitner Wendy & Mike Dougherty
Photos by ShowChampions Photography and Travis Opelia 36