By Melissa Lua, State Treasurer
The California FFA State Officer Team has embarked on another busy month, diving straight into action after a brief home break. Our month began with a tour of California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo. We toured the agricultural facilities, including the school farm, meat processing lab, and dairy unit—where we treated ourselves to some delicious ice cream! We had the privilege of meeting Dr. Bill Hendricks, the interim dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, and wonderful staff who shared inspiring insights about the innovative opportunities available at Cal Poly.
On September 7 and 8, our adventures continued down the central coast at the South Coast Region’s Sectional Officer Leadership Conference (SOLC), at the Santa Maria Career Technical Education Center. Here, we connected with sectional leaders and presented workshops that “forged” new skills. The conference theme, “Show up and Show Out,” truly resonated, inspiring sectional leaders to make a meaningful impact in their communities this year.
As we gear up for an action-packed chapter visit season, our team has been busy creating engaging workshops for students of all grades. We started with local visits to Galt, Liberty Ranch, and Elk Grove High Schools before hitting the road on September 16. Over three days, our team covered the Central, Superior, and North Coast Regions, with John and Josh visiting schools in Davis, Fairfield, and Vacaville, Gianna and I stopping at Wheatland, Chico, and Lower Lake, and Camille traveling to chapters in Lindhurst, Durham, and Potter Valley.
Following our week on the road, we met in Ukiah for the North Coast Region’s Chapter Officer Leadership Conference (COLC) at Mendocino College. We facilitated team-building workshops for chapter leaders and had a blast judging a lip-sync battle. The regional theme, “Unlocking Opportunity Together,” was truly applied as chapter leaders engaged in hands-on workshops, gaining valuable insights from regional leaders.
On September 23, excitement was in the air as we gathered at the FFA Center in Galt, for the first California FFA Executive Committee Meeting of the year. The meeting brought together our state officer team, the six regional presidents—Cheyenne Coronado (San Joaquin), Mark Mitchell (South Coast), Lily Vaughn (Superior), Noah Kamea-Stanisai (Southern), Allison Aguiar (Central), and Ryan Taylor (North Coast)—alongside members of the California FFA Advisory Committee and the California FFA Adult Board. Together, we reviewed reports and made key decisions to guide our FFA initiatives this year.
The following day, thirty members who were selected to serve as delegates to the National FFA Convention & Expo arrived at the FFA Center. They participated in a training session, learning about parliamentary procedure and their respective committees in preparation for discussions at the business sessions.
At the end of the month, the state officers were welcomed with open arms at Chico State University. An eventful day was spent touring the campus and university farm—including the swine, sheep, beef, dairy, meat processing lab, and plant facilities. We ended the day with a scenic hike overlooking the city of Chico. Thank you to Dr. David M. Hassenzahl, interim dean of the College of Agriculture, and Dr. Thomas Henderson, Chico State professor, along with all the staff and students who showcased the future of agriculture at Chico and made this tour possible.
Stay tuned for more thrilling updates as we continue to travel across California!
