ABOVE: Throughout the summer, GHEC FFA hosted classes in topics such as nail art, baking and floral arrangements. From left: Elsy Johnson, Tisa Rosales Wegner, Aubrey Benoit and Kieyanna Wegner show off their arrangements. Photo courtesy of McKenzie Wagelie.

FAIRMONT – Across Martin County, FFA groups have been celebrating FFA Week.

Fairmont’s FFA currently has around 50 to 60 active members, with all students enrolled in Ag classes technically being members. Fairmont FFA Advisor Andrew Moeller said the relatively new group is continuing to grow.

“We were restarted again by former teacher Amber Seifert after not having a program for a while,” he said. “We’re starting to feel like we’re getting off the ground again. Nick Pease is the other advisor, we’re hoping we can bring stability and see the program grow into what we know it’s capable of.”

To this end, Moeller’s big goal is to help the group and students in it become more independent.

“I want it to be their own student-led organization,” he said. “Not the same program as it was when I was in high school. Even though we had our success doing it, I still want them to be [their own group]. FFA is typically a student organization. I want students to have as much say as they possibly can in what that looks like.”

Fairmont is also aiming to educate students as early as possible about FFA and all the available opportunities by having students in seventh and eighth grade take a class with Moeller.

“There’s all sorts of opportunities,” he said. “If you say there’s nothing in FFA for you, I guarantee you I can prove you wrong.”

Martin County West FFA has around 100 members. MCW FFA Advisor Stephanie Wohlhuter said there’s a strong FFA tradition in MCW, and it opens plenty of doors.

“We compete in about 20 different Community Development and Leadership Development events. Those are contests ranging from food science to floriculture, soils to general livestock judging. That allows kids to learn more about agriculture, but also develop some leadership and career skills.”

Even when students do not enter Ag after FFA, Wohlhuter said it has enhanced the development of several kids.

“I’ve seen kids blossom, develop some confidence in themselves, develop some leadership skills they maybe wouldn’t have had a chance to develop,” she said. “We see kids years later that are in a variety of careers, come back and say how good the experience was for them.”

Looking forward, MCW is preparing its teams to compete in the hopes of making it to the state convention.

“We typically send around 45 to 50 kids, and it looks like it’ll be similar this year,” Wohlhuter said.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain (GHEC) is in its fifth year of existence. GHEC FFA Advisor McKenzie Wagelie said there are 60 active members and 105 overall, around 75 percent of GHEC middle-high school students.

“It means a lot from where it was when I came,” Wagelie said. “Kids didn’t understand what it was or what it could be. Making those connections with the kids mattered. They do care about FFA activities. The officers are a big part of it, especially since the group has become more stable and student-run this year. It’s awesome to see because this is their organization, I am just here to help.”

Wagelie said the group is very invested in outreach events, getting students connected with professionals in different fields.

“This last summer, we went to the From the Ground Up Ag education event,” she said. “We helped set up and serve at that event to make connections with ag professionals. We get several invites and connections for businesses, and the kids can make connections from there.”

While the group has experienced a meteoric rise and stability thus far, Wagelie said she wants to see the growth continue.

“Continuing to see growth of membership,” she said. “I want to keep increasing on 105, have 80 percent or more students in. We want more active numbers too, going from 60 or so to 70 to 75. There’s an opportunity for everyone and we want to continue talking to all students about their possibilities.”

Truman FFA has 30 members. Truman FFA Advisor Tiffany Gamache said in her time with the group, she has tried to expand their reach to draw more students in.

“Kids don’t have to grow up on the farm to be in FFA,” she said.

Looking ahead from this week of celebration, Gamache said she wants her group to become more self-sufficient.

“To get the kids where they are running the chapter by themselves, while I would just be an advisor,” she said. “I want the students to become more self-sufficient and in charge like they had started to before COVID. Retraining the thought process, so they know right away what’s going on and what to do.”

Truman FFA is also planning to bring back its Ag Day event to expose students to other parts of FFA besides agriculture.

While the other FFA groups had their FFA week activities like dress-up days, Truman decided to postpone their official celebrations until later in the spring due to the weather.