February 24, 2022 9:50 a.m. 

Douglas County Commissioners Tim Freeman, Chris Boice and Tom Kress issued a proclamation in honor of FFA Week during their weekly business meeting on Wednesday.

FFA Week is February 19th through the 26th.

A County release said the proclamation recognizes the important role that the FFA youth programs and agricultural education classes have in local high schools in providing a strong foundation for youth to excel in leadership roles, realize personal goals and obtain valuable tools in order to prepare them for real-world success.

On Wednesday, 65 area high school students and 10 agriculture science teachers and advisors, representing 9 of the local FFA chapters attended the proclamation ceremony at the Courthouse.

Commissioner Chris Boice said “The group of kids we honored today are involved in a special program that most of us are pretty familiar with. These kids and their advisors do a lot of wonderful things in our communities”.

The release said FFA and agricultural education programs help to provide a future for food production, the fiber industry and natural resource systems, by ensuring a steady supply of young professionals to meet the growing needs in art, science, business and technology of agriculture in the United States and beyond.

FFA is a national youth organization, founded in 1928 as “Future Farmers of America”. It was officially renamed “FFA” in 1988 to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the industry of agriculture.