By RYLEE BURD
Tiger Media Network
Students across Ellis County traded their everyday clothes for blue corduroy jackets last week, as Future Farmers of America chapters at Hays High School and Thomas More Prep-Marian High School celebrated National FFA Week. The week highlights how agricultural education continues to shape students and strengthen the community.
Local chapters of the National FFA Organization marked the week with service projects, competitions, and outreach efforts designed to showcase leadership, service, and career development.
At TMP-Marian, FFA advisor Rick Binder said the week focused heavily on serving others while celebrating members’ achievements. The chapter kicked off the week with pizza for members, followed by a morning meeting with donuts. Members also helped serve and clean up at the Ag Appreciation Dinner, prepared and served breakfast for faculty and staff, and organized a schoolwide FFA trivia contest with prizes.
TMP-Marian FFA Vice President Faith Schmeidler said the activities reflected the organization’s deeper purpose.
“FFA has helped students grow in confidence, responsibility, and leadership,” Schmeidler said. “Personally, it gives students a place to showcase their abilities and build friendships. Academically, it connects classroom learning to real-world experiences. Professionally, it prepares students for careers through competitions, hands-on projects, and networking opportunities.”
Schmeidler noted that FFA is especially important in Ellis County, where agriculture plays a major role in the local economy. She said the program prepares students to become future farmers, business owners, leaders, and skilled workers who will strengthen the community.
Hays High School’s chapter also hosted a full slate of events. According to Hays FFA President Ella Neher, the chapter organized a Labor Auction, FFA Week Breakfast, agricultural tours with Ellis County Farm Bureau, and a Benefit Bingo and FFA Showcase. Members also competed in Career Development Events, earning first place in Ag Sales and third place in Employment Skills.
“Being involved in FFA means showing up at the local level, working hard toward team accomplishments, and growing as a leader alongside my fellow members,” Neher said.
A senior and four-year member, Neher said she plans to pursue a career in agriculture and credits FFA with improving her public speaking and communication skills while sparking her interest in the field. She said attending the Kansas FFA State Conventions has been among her favorite experiences.
Hays FFA advisor Nikole Winter emphasized that FFA’s impact reaches far beyond production agriculture.
“FFA is essential in developing the future leaders of our communities,” Winter said. “The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in students’ lives by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.”
Both advisors and student leaders addressed a common misconception: that FFA is only for students who live on farms or plan to become farmers. In reality, production agriculture represents just one segment of a broad industry that includes government policy, scientific research, communications, engineering, agribusiness, and more.
Winter explained that FFA is an “intra-curricular” program, meaning students apply classroom lessons through real-world experiences such as public speaking contests, job interview competitions, livestock judging, and agricultural sales events. Through officer roles and career development events, students develop professionalism, time management, teamwork, and the confidence to step outside their comfort zones.
Schmeidler shared the story of a once-shy freshman who avoided public speaking but, after competing in contests and reciting the FFA Creed before the chapter, gained confidence and later pursued a leadership role as parliamentarian.
Community partnerships also play a key role in the chapters’ success. Local businesses sponsor events, provide learning opportunities, judge contests, host tours, and attend banquets and fundraisers. Advisors say those partnerships connect students to real-world opportunities and demonstrate the community’s investment in their success.
Founded in 1928, the National FFA Organization continues to focus on leadership, service, and career development.
For local students, FFA Week is more than themed dress-up days or friendly competitions. It is a reminder that agricultural education connects classrooms, businesses, and families across Ellis County and prepares students to lead, serve, and succeed in whatever future they choose.