Agricultural News
Advocating for FFA in Our Nation's Capitol- Former Woodward FFA Member Riley Pagett is Living His Dream
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 20:43:50 CST
A featured speaker at the 111th Annual Convention of the American Farmers & Ranchers was a home town boy, grown up and living a dream in our Nation's Capitol. Riley Pagett is the director of government and nonprofit relations for the National FFA Organization.
In this role, Pagett has been establishing and strengthening relationships with government agencies, legislators and nonprofit organizations that provide support for key FFA and agricultural education initiatives. At the AFR Convention, Pagett spoke to members of the LEAD program that was established in 2015 by the farm organization, in an effort to provide leadership development activities for younger members of the group.
Paget explained to the lunch crowd he addressed that he fell in love with the FFA organization while at Woodward High School in northwest Oklahoma, was elected to a state office of the Oklahoma FFA and eventually climbed to the very top of the leadership of the blue and gold- being named the President of the National FFA in the fall of 2010.
After his year as National President and the return to Stillwater to finish an undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University, he served on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator James Lankford, managing aspects of the senator's agriculture, energy, environment and nutrition portfolio. Pagett has also served as a clerk and legislative assistant for the U.S. Committee on Agriculture for the U.S. House of Representatives, as Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas served as the Chairman of the Committee and lead the members through the development and passage of the 2014 Farm Law.
After his presentation to the AFR, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays talked with Pagett about his role in educating people inside the Washington beltway about the values of the FFA, and why it is considered to be the premiere youth leadership development program in America. He and Ron talked about how Riley is currently combining two things he really loves- the FFA and Politics- as he represents the FFA Organization in Washington. You can hear their conversation by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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