Hillsboro FFA Chapter attends national Washington Leadership Conference

Members of the Hillsboro High School FFA Chapter recently attended the National FFA Organization’s 2013 Washington Leadership Conference during the week of June 10-16.

The annual conference focuses on leadership development, personal growth and community service.

More than 2,200 students – up to 340 a week – from throughout the U.S. who are FFA members will attend one of the conference’s six week-long sessions in June and July.

“Students come to the Washington Leadership Conference wanting to make a difference. They leave knowing they can – and will,” said Dwight Armstrong, CEO of the National FFA Organization. “I believe students are generally aware of global problems like hunger and poverty but many are sheltered and disconnected from what’s happening in the world.

During their time in Washington, FFA members experience real-world problems and take critical steps toward personal growth and developing leadership skills they’ll need to make a difference in people’s lives, starting in their own communities.”

Created in 1969 and held annually in Washington, D.C., the conference helps students develop leadership skills, identify personal strengths, develop awareness of societal differences and human needs and strategize how they can help others through community service. Throughout the week, each student develops a community-service initiative for their local community, with the intention of students returning home and implementing their plans.

The 2013 National FFA Organization's Washington Leadership Conference is sponsored through the National FFA Foundation by Timberland PRO, Monsanto, CSX, TransCanada, Crop Production Services, Farm Credit and CHS.

The conclusion of each weekly session of the Washington Leadership Conference is a Day of Service, where students work together on a real, hands-on community-service project. Last year, through each week’s Day of Service, students contributed a total of $85,283 worth of volunteer labor to the greater Washington, D.C. Students packed, sorted and distributed more than 29.5 tons of produce and shipped more than 100,000 meals overseas.

“Monsanto's support of the Washington Leadership Conference reflects our sole focus on agriculture and commitment to American farm families,” said John Raines, lead of customer advocacy at Monsanto.

“Monsanto has a long tradition of supporting agriculture youth through scholarships, education and leadership development programs. We are enthused to support FFA members dedicated to developing the leadership skills they'll need to achieve success and personal fulfillment.”

For more, visit www.FFA.org/WLC.

“CSX is proud to support the participation of FFA members in this life-changing leadership development conference,” said Tori Kaplan, AVP, CSX Corporate Social Responsibility. “The Washington Leadership Conference is an awesome opportunity for students to learn how to become a visionary and develop their decision-making and goal-setting skills while expanding their understanding of agribusiness and participating in community service. The experience and skills that students will learn will stay with them for a lifetime.”

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 540,379 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,489 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

About National FFA Organization

The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 540,379 student members as part of 7,489 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at www.FFA.org, on Facebook, Twitter and the official National FFA Organization blog.