On Oct. 8 and 9, 378 FFA members traveled to Hollister High School to take part in the South Coast FFA Region’s Chapter Officer Leadership Conference. Chapter, region and state officers gathered for two days of leadership development and networking opportunities with FFA members from San Jose to Los Angeles.
The National FFA Organization is a student-run association that is organized in different levels of leadership, from chapter, through sectional and regional, to state and national. Students can run for office at every level. The regional conference was organized and run by the officers of the South Coast FFA Region with assistance from the California State officers, to offer growth opportunities and training for the chapter officer teams within the region.
FFA members had access to countless experiences to help them grow as leaders and individuals.
“Chapter leaders get to attend leadership workshops facilitated by regional and state leaders,” said South Coast Region President Abby Bianchi. “They also get to network with members from North Hollywood to Campbell. These connections will carry throughout the year as these leaders attend other events and activities.”
Bianchi is a senior at Hollister High School and served last year as the Hollister FFA chapter president and the South Coast Region vice president representing the Santa Clara Section.
Workshops included individual leadership development techniques and methods for best serving in their prospective officer positions.
“Although we as advisors try to impress upon them the different jobs and roles they are supposed to be serving within their chapter, on Sunday they really get to learn from the State FFA Officers what the role of their office is,” said Christine Ready, the regional president of the California Ag Teachers Association. “Getting those skills that help them to better run a chapter, run the organization, is really essential because they help prepare them for future leadership roles in any field that they happen to go into.”
Ready has been attending the leadership conference at Hollister High School as an FFA advisor for 10 years, taking part in the conference as a member of Atascadero FFA for three years prior to that. She is currently an agriculture teacher at Nipomo High School, Cuesta College and Alan Hancock College.
Compared to FFA state and nationwide leadership conferences, the regional gathering is a smaller conference that facilitates more interpersonal contact among members.
“The thing that’s really special about the Chapter Officer Leadership Conference is that it allows some of the best of the best students within our region to get to know each other on a deeper level,” said Ready. “It really gives students the opportunity to meet other leaders within our general geographic area.”
A key element of the experience is the time FFA members spend in their individual officer teams during the Saturday night reflection period.
“They get together as a team and they get to reflect on what they have learned so far,” said Ready. “They really feel like they get to know their fellow leaders in a way that they didn’t know them before. They get to share some common fears, some common hopes and dreams for the team.”
Aside from the conference’s workshops, speeches and presentations, it also offers several other activities, including a lip-sync competition and a dance. Awards are presented at the end of the conference, including the regional Chapter of the Year award.
Hollister High School and the team at Hollister FFA have been a longtime host of this event.
“We really appreciate the hard work that the team at Hollister High School put in every year,” said Ready. “It takes a lot to get an event like that coordinated and the team is obviously very competent. The facilities really shine and help the students feel like they are valued and that agriculture education is valued in the South Coast Region.”
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