Former FFA members and friends of FFA from across the state are invited to "reunite" from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 12, in Farm Bureau Park at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. FFA All-State Reunion attendees can register to win door prizes that will help them stay connected long after the reunion ends.
"Although reunions are notorious for reminiscing about the good old days, we will focus on the future," says Ed Wiederstein, an Audubon County farmer who is chairman of The FFA Enrichment Center’s Capital Campaign Committee.
"We promise to leave ‘historic photos’ in the FFA archives. Instead, we’ll show renderings of where The FFA Enrichment Center will be located on the Ankeny campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). We’ll also share a sneak preview of how the building will look and talk about how the project will benefit FFA, agriculture and Iowa."
You’ll get to see a sneak preview
With approximately 75,000-square-feet of classroom, laboratories and meeting space, the facility is being designed by Walker Architects of Des Moines to meet specific educational and leadership training needs of Iowa’s 12,000 plus FFA members and 245 agricultural education instructors.
The Center will feature small meeting and large conference rooms, biotech and science laboratories, the Pioneer Agriscience Computer Laboratory, the Cargill Communications Center with fiber optic connectivity, recreation/exhibition facilities, as well as offices for state FFA officers and the Iowa FFA Foundation staff. A second floor will house DMACC’s Agribusiness programming and related disciplines.
A brief informational program, featuring Wiederstein, DMACC President Rob Denson and Iowa FFA Association President Shamus Brown, will be held from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.
"We hope to see you August 12th at ‘America’s Favorite Fair’," says Wiederstein. "There is no charge to attend the reunion, and it’s ‘right in your own backyard.’"
For additional information about the reunion, contact Shannon Latham at (515) 371-0450 or shannonllatham@yahoo.com.