By Liliana Madrigal
On Monday, May 13, FFA chose their new officer roles for the 2024-2025 school year.
Sadie Hemphill, ‘25 was elected as President, Marileigh Coon, ‘25 was elected as Vice President, Tanner Hutchings, ‘25 was re-elected as treasurer, Sophia Bickers, ‘25 was re-elected as Secretary, Emily Dean, ‘26 was elected as recruitment chair, and Breann Branch, ‘27 was elected as the sentinel.
Hemphill is a three-year member of FFA and this past year she worked as Vice President. “I planned the meetings, events, and planned the banquet which we’ve been posted on for a while,” she says.
As newly president, Hemphill says, “I’m really excited I’m president this year. I think it’s going to be really fun and a new challenge. I’m just really excited to try new things and experience the new year.”
She recommends students to join FFA. Hemphill says, “FFA’s great because it teaches you a lot of life skills whether you’re going into the agricultural industry or not. In the different events we do, like public speaking teaches you responsibility and gets you out of your comfort zone. I think it helps a lot of people and is just a really fun place to be on campus.”
In preparation for her role as Vice President, Coon says, “I’m so excited that I get to help this chapter grow another year and it’s going to be a great senior year. With Sadie being our president it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Coon is a three-year member.
Although FFA officers have different labels, they help in doing similar things.
Coon says, “On the team, we sort of do a lot of the same stuff, even though we have different titles. We have meetings that we have to plan for and figure out our agenda. We have a lot of speeches and competitions at the Tulare County Fair that we have to announce. We have a lot of announcements and reminders and we do a lot just to keep things running.”
Hutchings is also a three-year member. Hutchings says his role as treasurer involves “dealing with money and building up the FFA account.
His plans for next year include doing “more competition and events for the FFA members and exposing the organization to others who don’t know what it is.”
As a three-year member and previous secretary, Bickers says she plans to “motivate people to be involved within our chapter, examples are attending meetings, competing in opening and closing, welding contests, citrus, and more.”
When asked why FFA should be celebrated, she says, “FFA is the future of agriculture and preparing and teaching generations the importance of Ag. Through FFA we are able to connect with people who don’t have knowledge of agriculture.”
Branch is a first-year member and is the sentinel for FFA for the upcoming year. She says, “I’ll watch over meetings, help maintain meetings, and help keep the business in order. I’ll assist the president and prepare for different things that we will take care of.”
She has a couple of personal and professional plans for next year. Branch says, “My plans for next is to get more involved than I was in this previous year and do everything that I am able to and use my power to get more involved not only in FFA but also in Redwood.”
In the process of applying for the position as recruiter, Dean says, “I’m really excited. When I applied I wasn’t sure what to expect but I decided that I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and do something that I’d never done before. I’m really excited to hang out with the team more and really get more included in FFA.”
As a recruiter, Dean’s job is to get students to join FFA and join the cause of advocating for agriculture.
Agriculture is an important part of the Valley, in which Redwood is resided. In part, FFA is just a branch of helping Ag stay alive and expand.
Dean says, “We are the future farmers of America. I think it’s important and shows leadership and represents respect for all of our agriculture community.”
Liliana Madrigal
Liliana Madrigal '26 is a third year journalist. I enjoy baking, listening to music, and sleeping. Working for the Gigantea is cool.
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