Youth News
Oklahoma's National Officer Piper Merritt Challenges FFA Members to be "Forever Learners" in Indy
Wed, 24 Oct 2018 10:52:08 CDT
On Tuesday, prior to the official kick-off of the 91st National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays had the opportunity to check-in with Piper Merritt. Merrit, who hails from the Owasso FFA Chapter in Oklahoma, has served this past year as the Central Region Vice President on the National FFA Officer Team and this week will wrap up that year-long experience. She talked about that experience and how she plans to close this chapter of her career in the FFA. Listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
"It's been the most amazing experience I've had. This has been a year of travel, of growth, of rough times - but of great moments that far outweigh any trial that I've gone through," she confided. "Our team is so excited for this convention and people are really grabbing on to that message of 'Just One' and running with it."
"Just One," is the theme for this year's convention. Merritt explained the idea behind that message being broadcasted to FFA members in attendance this week.
"Every experience in this organization begins with just one moment or just one conversation. Just one is the basis of everything we do," she said. "Hopefully, this is just one convention that will improve members' lives and give them an opportunity to grow."
Merritt says that spending the year getting the chance to explain what the FFA Organization does has been one the joys of her life. She says that the agriculture industry is at a pivotal moment when the has an opportunity to connect and engage with the consumer better than ever before to share with them how business is done behind the scenes in order to feed and cloth them and their families.
"We have an opportunity to tell our story and to allow them to understand our production methods and to honestly - create a better environment where we work together rather than against each other," she remarked. "I think our organization can continue to aid that process."
The personal message, though, that Merritt hopes to leave members with, will be shared later this week when she will have the chance to speak to them all directly during her retiring address. She says the message she will share actually stemmed from a conversation with Hays during an interview after she had won National Office. Hays asked Merritt the one thing she hoped to accomplish in office, to which she responded that her goal would be to learn something from everyone she came into contact with during the course of the year. Her retiring address entitled, "Forever Learner," distills that notion for members and encourages them to follow that example.
"Every single one of us has the ability to learn from every single person we impact and encounter," she said. "But, it's going to take a few things from us on our behalf to be forever learners. So, hopefully I can help guide some members through that process."
One again, we are taking pictures in and around the 2018 National FFA Convention- click or tap here to check out the National Convention Album on FLICKR. By the way- we continue a tradition as several state officers of the Oklahoma FFA will be taking pictures for us during the course of the meeting.
Our exclusive coverage of the 2018 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis October 24-27 is a service of ITC Great Plains, Your Energy Superhighway- learn more about this high voltage, transmission only utility and their commitment to the communities they serve which is the cornerstone of their business - Click or tap here for their webpage. We also appreciate the support of the Oklahoma FFA Association and the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association. Click or tap here for more information about one of the top states in the US in the FFA- the Oklahoma FFA Association. FFA is a student organization for high school-aged students interested in agriculture and leadership. Oklahoma FFA impacts the lives of over 27,000 members in 359 chapters across the state.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
