OFI 847: Drawing Connections With The FFA | FFA SAE Edition | Cody Collins | Pittsfield High School FFA

Published: July 1, 2020, 6:30 a.m.

Sign Up To Receive Our FFA Stories Newsletter! Email address: SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING CODY COLLINS!  In today's world, is there really any person we would describe as a "non-traditional" FFA student.  Perhaps not, but at one point in time a student who did not come from a farm might have been considered "non-traditional".  Cody did not have any prior connections to agriculture or the FFA except for his older sister being an FFA member.  She pushed Cody to join, and he has not looked back. Cody describes himself as going "all out" for four years in the FFA and having a wonderful time.  Cody had no knowledge of agriculture when he began, but today he has developed a passion for agriculture.  He described himself as being welcomed with open arms by everyone in the FFA and agriculture. Cody tried every career development event that he could, excelling in public speaking.  Cody followed in his sister's footsteps going into the FFA and his brother's footsteps working at McDonald's.  In Illinois there is a state proficiency award for food service, and he won that award.  Because of Cody's time in the FFA, he is able to connect the different aspects of agriculture to what he was doing working the food service industry. Cody is a musician, and his instrument is the trumpet.  He also sang in his school's choir.  Today he is studying music education at Quincy University.  He hopes to be a music teacher in the future.  Cody always knew that he wanted to be a teacher, and at the end of high school he found himself choosing between teaching agriculture, history and music. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Food Service HIGH SCHOOL: Pittsfield High School; Pittsfield, Illinois MASCOT: Saukees FFA ADVISOR: Jody Heavner CONTACT INFORMATION FOR CODY COLLINS: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Pittsfield High School Website: Cody's FFA Advisor's Email Address: jheavner@pikeland.org Pittsfield High School Telephone Number: 217-285-6888 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA  Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward. REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: “The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:   Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters