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Training seven individuals to perform as a team takes patience.

Tom Bechman 1, Editor, Indiana Prairie Farm

September 10, 2013

2 Min Read

Seven high school graduates made a decision this past June to run for a position as an Indiana FFA state officer. If successful, they knew they would lay out of school for a year and dedicate all their time, or almost all their time, to serving the Indiana State FFA, now over 10,000 members strong.

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You've likely seen the state officers at various functions. But who trains them? Who molds them into a team that can live in the same house together for an entire year? It's not a reality show, it's real life, and these students are expected to be exceptional role models and representative of FFA all year long for other members and for community and industry people they might contact during the year.

Actually, the answer is that several people help shape them. Their advisors have already laid a solid foundation or in most cases, they would not have been selected by the nominating committee and elected by delegates at the State FFA Convention. Once elected, the person directly responsible for their day-to-day training and schedules is Joe Martin, FFA program specialist. A former ag teacher at Tri-County High School near Wolcott, he now has the responsibility for showing new officers the ropes, and heading them in the right direction each year.

Steve Hickey, director of the Indiana FFA Association and part of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, also helps work with these young people. He plays a big role during the state fair, which takes about a month to set up, man the FFA Pavilion during the fair, and then tear down after the fair. He also interacts with the officers at various activities during the year.

Coty Back, his assistant and a former Kentucky state FFA officer, also provides guidance to help these young people develop content for the workshops they lead for members.

Lisa Chaudion, Foundation Executive Director, was in charge of them recently at the Farm Progress Show. She worked with them to help raise about $40,000 for the Indiana FFA Foundation during the show through a benefit auction.

About the Author(s)

Tom Bechman 1

Editor, Indiana Prairie Farm

Tom Bechman is an important cog in the Farm Progress machinery. In addition to serving as editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer, Tom is nationally known for his coverage of Midwest agronomy, conservation, no-till farming, farm management, farm safety, high-tech farming and personal property tax relief. His byline appears monthly in many of the 18 state and regional farm magazines published by Farm Progress.

"I consider it my responsibility and opportunity as a farm magazine editor to supply useful information that will help today's farm families survive and thrive," the veteran editor says.

Tom graduated from Whiteland (Ind.) High School, earned his B.S. in animal science and agricultural education from Purdue University in 1975 and an M.S. in dairy nutrition two years later. He first joined the magazine as a field editor in 1981 after four years as a vocational agriculture teacher.

Tom enjoys interacting with farm families, university specialists and industry leaders, gathering and sifting through loads of information available in agriculture today. "Whenever I find a new idea or a new thought that could either improve someone's life or their income, I consider it a personal challenge to discover how to present it in the most useful form, " he says.

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