Hendrix elected as state FFA executive committee member

    Last week was exceptionally busy for Taylor Hendrix, a recent HHS graduate and newly elected state FFA officer. All the applications, interviews and testing completed on her journey toward becoming an officer were on top of the usual state convention demands — Supervised Agricultural Experiences, state FFA degrees, meetings and competitions.
    Now for the 2018-2019 year, Hendrix will serve as an executive committee member on the 10-person state officer team. It’s a goal she’s been working toward for years and one that makes it well worth delaying her enrollment at Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska.
    As a state officer, she will be involved with such events as the Greeley Stampede and the National Western Stock Show, and she will join her fellow officers on an international trip to learn about agriculture in another country.
    She will also have the opportunity to work with FFA chapters throughout the state, facilitating workshops and leadership trainings and helping with chapter banquets. Her year will be filled with CDEs, MFE, ALD, LDCs ­— all the things that make up a high schooler’s time in FFA. Only this time she’ll be on the other side, serving as a leader and mentor for the new students.
    Many of her own mentors helped Hendrix on her way to becoming a state officer. A lifetime of support from her parents, Loren and Patty Hendrix, was coupled with the influence of ag teacher and FFA adviser Shauna Brown and even former state officers. Whitney Mount of Brush played a particularly important role while visiting the Holyoke chapter as a state officer.
    It was Hendrix’s sophomore year, and Mount gave her a small dinosaur while helping with Holyoke’s chapter banquet, encouraging Hendrix that she could do anything. In that moment, Hendrix decided she wanted to run for a state office. “Seeing how they influenced our members — and especially me — I wanted to have that opportunity,” she said.
    Though new to the state officer team, Hendrix has served in several roles on the local and district levels. As a sophomore, she was chapter reporter. In her junior year, she was chapter president and district sentinel. This last year, she served as chapter vice president and district secretary.
    Though becoming a state officer highlighted her state convention, Hendrix earned several other honors while in attendance. She was the State Proficiency Award winner in the ag sales category for her SAE as a dealer of Total Feeds. Her beef production SAE also earned gold. She was also a State Star in Agribusiness finalist.
    Looking to the year ahead, Hendrix has one big goal: to help members find their true passion for agriculture. After all, that’s what FFA has done for her, inspiring a future in ag business.
    
Holyoke members receive state FFA degrees
    Hendrix was joined by 11 other Holyoke FFA members at the June 5-7 Colorado State FFA Convention in Pueblo. They were Trent Huffman, Holden Redman, Alex Vieselmeyer, Brenna Sullivan, Kaylee Camblin, Emma Roll, Tristen Roll, Corben McCallum, Jillian Hunter, Jalen Hunter and Colby Purkeypile.
    Redman and Hendrix received their state FFA degrees while in Pueblo. Though not at the convention, Kaitlyn Kent, Rebecca Owens and Tobin Moore also received their state degrees this year.
    Vieselmeyer earned a place on this year’s nominating committee, which worked for three days to choose the next state FFA officer team.
    While at the convention, students attended various sessions with keynote speakers and awards. They also toured Milberger Farms and learned about produce production.