Wasem, Andrade, and Richard Re-Elected to Serve on FFA Cabinet

By Ayla Ozturk

FFA [Future Farmers of America] holds elections every spring to select officers for the upcoming school year. 

A President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter, and Sentinel make up the FFA cabinet. 

Incumbent officers often run for re-election to continue serving the chapter. These students are typically passionate about FFA and enthusiastic about serving their fellow members. 

Lillie Wasem, Madison Andrade, and Regan Richard chose to run for re-election and show their dedication to FFA and its members. 

As the girls enter their senior year, they are moving up to prominent leadership positions to serve FFA once again. 

President: Lillie Wasem

Lillie Wasem, class of 2023, currently serves as FFA Secretary. She was recently elected FFA President after three years of membership.  

“I loved being an officer last year, so this year after being an officer for 2 years I of course wanted to do it again especially for my senior year because I love FFA and being a bigger part of it!” Wasem says.  

As President, she has a “bigger role than [she] ever had in the chapter]. Her new position entails her becoming a top-level leader and bringing ideas to the team and overall creating more change.  

Wasem says that she gained a large amount of knowledge while serving FFA as an officer. Her main takeaway is that “it is possible to make an impact and be more than yourself in a club like this.” 

Her goals for next year are to get FFA more involved and serious as a chapter. She wants to take her fellow members to conferences and competitions to put Redwood on the map.  

Wasem feels that she has served FFA by using her ability to communicate and connect with many people. 

She loves learning about the underclassmen in FFA, which she describes as “so important and fun!” 

Wasem tells FFA members, “This next year should be really exciting, and FFA will be more involved in higher aspects!” 

Vice President: Madison Andrade

Madison Andrade, class of 2023, currently serves as FFA Sentinel. She was recently elected FFA Vice President after three years of membership. 

She decided to run for re-election because she had an amazing experience serving the 2021-2022 term.  

Andrade says, “I enjoyed being a part of such a big role in the FFA and especially being a leader to my peers. FFA is something I truly love to be involved in.” 

As Vice President, Andrade must ensure FFA is meeting their goals that are set at the start of the year.  

She will also hold great responsibility, work closely with the President, and be a leader to the chapter. Andrade says, “I am so excited to take on this new role.”  

Andrade says serving as an officer has taught her many skills, notably teamwork. She says, “Our officer team worked so well together, and we were always able to count on one another.”  

She also learned a lot about leadership. An FFA officer holds a major leadership role. People look to them for guidance. Andrade has learned many useful leadership techniques that she “can’t wait to use”. 

Andrade works to show her leadership skills both within and outside of FFA. She sees to it that she helps others at any given time.  

“I always try to be a leader outside of FFA even if it is a tiny role of leadership, I am still giving it my all.” Andrade says. 

Andrade tells FFA members, “This coming year is definitely going to be amazing for our chapter. I hope that we get more members, and everyone gets involved as much as they can. I want this year to be the most fun, but also the busiest. Join Redwood FFA!” 

Secretary: Regan Richard

Regan Richard, class of 2023, currently serves as FFA Reporter. She was recently elected FFA Secretary after three years of membership. 

She decided to run for re-election because of her experience serving the 2021-2022 term.  

Richard says, “I know that I’ll have a lot of fun next year, my senior year, being an officer.” 

As Secretary, Richard will take detailed notes of FFA meetings to create a Minutes document. She will then review the Minutes and approve them to be added to the FFA records. 

In addition, Richard will review the minutes from the last meeting at the start of the next. 

Her experience as Reporter has given her life skills that will aid her in her new responsibilities. 

Richard says, “I have learned [how to] talk with people, to have better social skills, it’s just easier to meet new people, and just having fun [in general].” 

Her goal is to increase member involvement and make sure people feel welcome in FFA. 

Outside of her job description, Richard has served FFA by being responsible for her duties and making it her top priority. 

Richard tells FFA members, “Don’t be shy to try out for competitions or anything like that, it’s really fun. You get to meet new people and have more experience with things [in life].” 

What is next?

Andrade was able to provide some insight into FFA’s plans for the 2022-2023 school year. She reports that the officer team is already preparing for next year.  

The FFA Extemporaneous Public Speaking Contest is designed to develop the skill of expressing themselves on a given agricultural subject without having to prepare/rehearse beforehand.  

Students write their own six-to-eight-minute speech and learn how to deliver it to an audience. The chapter plans to attend many of these contests and encourage member involvement. 

In addition, FFA is planning to attend Agriculture Mechanics competitions. These competitions give their welders an opportunity to enter the contest and show off their skills. 

The officers want to help freshmen get involved and bring them to conferences that will teach them valuable lessons they will use for the rest of their lives. 

Andrade says, “We want to ensure everyone can be seen for all the great things they can do in and outside the shop.” 

Tags: ayla ozturk, elections, ffa, FFA 2022-2023, ffa elections, ffa officers, gigantea government and politics, gopo, government and politics, john coon, Lillie wassam, Madison Andrade, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, Regan Richard, rhs, visalia ca