Youth News
National FFA's New CEO Looks to Transform Organization into the FFA of the 21st Century
Wed, 19 Oct 2016 13:07:44 CDT
The National FFA Convention is happening this week in Indianapolis and covering the event is Radio Oklahoma Network's Farm Director Ron Hays, who had the opportunity to speak with Mark Poeschl, the National FFA Organization and Foundation's new chief executive officer. Poeschle has been on the job now not quite three months. During that time though, he says he has been asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of listening as he begins to develop his vision for the future of FFA.
"When I was interviewed for my position," Poeschl said, "the board asked me how we could transform FFA into the FFA of the 21st Century."
Poeschl says that certainly FFA must continue to strive for inclusiveness and diversity in the organization as well as within the industry of agriculture. He says there is also opportunities for the organization to reach out to corporate partners worldwide, and educate them on the importance of FFA and of the talent members could bring to the table down the pipeline, among other things.
"Most importantly," Poeschl said, "we need to identify ways that we can attract and retain talented ag teachers in our industry."
As a true believer that FFA can transform members with so much potential into viable and valuable futures leaders of agriculture, Poeschl will have no problem meeting the board's expectations as a forward thinker, taking into account the members' experiences in FFA as well as their futures beyond the blue and gold.
"Our students are- extremely articulate young people who can express their views very effectively," Poeschl said. "It's remarkable to me in my corporate career how many of the people I've worked with in agribusiness were former FFA members and to see the talents that they bring to business."
Listen to Ron's full conversation with Mark Poeschle, National FFA Organization and Foundation CEO, discuss his vision for bringing the organization into the 21st Century, by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
We will be taking pictures throughout the 2016 Convention in Indianapolis- and you can go and see them all in our Flickr Album by clicking here.
Our exclusive coverage of the 89th annual National FFA Convention in Indianapolis is a service of ITC, Your Energy Superhighway. Learn more about ITC Great Plains, LLC by clicking here. We also appreciate the support of the Oklahoma FFA Association and the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association. Click here for more information about one of the top states in the US in the FFA- the Oklahoma FFA Association. Oklahoma FFA impacts the lives of 27,154 members in 359 chapters across the state.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
