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In
1928 the first sectional gathering of the New Farmers of America (NFA),
the group established for African-American boys, paved the way for its
founding in 1935. Dr. H. O. Sargent, a federal agricultural education
official, conceived the idea of a national New Farmers of America
Organization. G.W. Owens and J.R. Thomas, who taught at Virginia State
College, co-authored the NFA constitution and the FFA and NFA merged in
1965.
In
honor of Dr. Sargent, the FFA offers two awards relating to diversity.
The H. O. Sargent Member Award and Non-member Award recognize members
who achieve diversity in agricultural education and FFA.
Alabama
was the 36th state to receive its charter in 1929. The original charter
certificate, signed by Henry Groseclose and written by hand, hangs in
the office of the Career/Technical Education Field Office at Auburn.
Earl Solomon of Uriah (Monroe County) was the first state president. The
oldest living former state president is Mr. Austin Ezell of the Spruce
Pine Chapter (Franklin County), who served in 1933. FFA chapters across
Alabama were assigned charter numbers according to schools or names of
the chapters and Abbeville High School (Henry County) bears the
distinction of having the charter number of AL0001. After the initial
charter numbers were distributed numbers were assigned to chapters as
they joined the state association.
At
the third national convention in 1930, the FFA creed was adopted. It is
one of the longest-standing parts of the organization. Erwin Milton (E.M.)
Tiffany of Wisconsin wrote it. The creed was revised in 1965 and 1990;
however, the basic values and beliefs of the creed are still intact and
remain a solid foundation for the FFA’s principles.
As
stated earlier, the National FFA Organization started out as the Future
Farmers of America, and this name was used for 60 years. However, in
1988 the name was changed to the National FFA Organization. The current
name maintains the organization’s roots, while reflecting the science,
business, and technology of agriculture. An interesting sidebar - girls
were admitted into the FFA in 1969.
The
FFA is one of two student organizations to have a federal charter. The
Boy Scouts Organization is the other. Public Law 740, passed by Congress
in 1950, made FFA an "intracurricular" part of the agriscience
education program. FFA activities are now considered to be a part of the
agriscience curriculum and are not to be considered as
"extracurricular."
One
of FFA’s most widely recognized symbols is the blue corduroy jacket.
Dr. Gus Lintner, advisor of the Fredericktown (Ohio) FFA Chapter was
looking for a uniform for the Fredericktown Band, which was to appear at
the 1933 national convention. His design of the blue corduroy jacket
captured the attention of the official delegates and they voted to adopt
it as FFA’s official dress.
Alabama
has had 13 national officers. Jennifer Himburg from Ariton (Dale County)
currently serves as Southern Region Vice President. Two served as
national secretary and the others as Southern Region Vice President. The
Falkville Chapter (Morgan County) had back to back national officers in
1985-86, Robert Weaver, and 1986-87, Jayme Feary.
The
state convention has been held in three cities: Auburn, Birmingham, and
Montgomery. From 1934 to1946, the convention was in Auburn. Birmingham
hosted the convention in 1947. The convention returned to Auburn in 1948
and remained till 1968. (There was not a state convention in 1966.) The
convention moved to Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum in 1969 and remained
there until 1976. In 1977 through 2003, the convention was held at the
Montgomery Civic Center. Auburn became the host city again in 2004 and
the convention is still held there annually.
FFA
districts in Alabama date back to 1934, when several chapters organized
themselves into three districts, simply called districts one, two, and
three. Although membership in districts was voluntary, most chapters
chose to affiliate themselves with a district to take advantage of the
member opportunities available at that level.
By
1936, Alabama had 22 districts that included 114 of the state’s 138
chapters. Most of these districts were named for a nearby city, although
a few were named for a county or geographic location. Some of these
districts were Andalusia, DeKalb County, Gadsden, East Alabama,
Montgomery, and Muscle Shoals.
The
number and size of districts has varied a great deal over the years, as
districts often were reorganized every few years based upon membership
trends and the number of state staff members. In the 1950s and early
1960s, Alabama was divided into five districts. In the mid 1960s, the
state was organized into four districts. Several years later Alabama had
six district with a seventh district added in the 1970s. In 1991,
Alabama was divided into four districts, and in 2000 the state was
divided into three districts: North, Central, and South. Today, the
district organization continues to be a vital component of the Alabama
FFA, as it provides opportunities for leadership and friendly
competition among chapters.
The
Alabama FFA has had eight state advisors. C.W. Reed served the longest
at 18 years. R.E. Cammack, who served from 1930-1946, became the first
State Vocational Director, now career/technical director. T.L. Faulkner,
who served from 1957-1970, left agriscience education as state advisor
and became the State Vocational Director. B.P. Dilworth, succeeded
Faulkner as state advisor and also succeeded Faulkner as interim State
Vocational Director. There have been 10 State FFA Executive Secretaries.
Troy Newton, who is the current state advisor, served 18 years as
Alabama’s FFA Executive Secretary. Jacob Davis is the current
executive secretary.
Byron
Rawls, who was Alabama’s executive secretary from1960-1964, eventually
became the national FFA advisor and served from 1979 to 1983.
Alabama,
just like the national FFA, has had a terrific history. From its humble
beginnings in the late 1920s to the technological 2000s, FFA has played
a key role in helping make life better for millions of young people.
Although production agriculture practices are not taught as much today
as in the 1900s, the FFA still inspires youth to success through its
many activities and purposes.
Philip
Paramore is a State Staff Member for Alabama FFA. |
