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SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING MADDIE FUGATE! The level of maturity that I see in FFA students is like no other population of youth that I have ever seen.  Today's guest, Maddie Fugate, demonstrates this unbelievably well. Early on in Maddie's FFA career she knew that she wanted to achieve at a high level.  As a freshman in high school she was thinking that becoming a national officer was where she should land.  Maddie did something at that point that many more of us should do.  She gave some serious thought to her own strengths and weaknesses and assessed whether or not they matched up with becoming a national officer.  Her conclusion was that they did not. That realization took Maddie back to the drawing board to figure out what high level of achievement in the FFA matched up with her natural abilities.  It dawned on her that winning an American Star Award was the achievement to shoot for.  With that in mind, Maddie started figuring out which American Star to go after. Maddie was naturally curious and wanted deeper answers to things that other people just accepted without asking why.  This led her to trying to figure out the best way to decontaminate truck tires to avoid spreading disease on pig farms.  The answer was there and it was agriscience research.  Maddie began pursuing research and coming up with answers about biosecurity in the swine industry. Her exceptional ability and natural curiosity is what has led her to the national stage as an American Star Finalist.  If you are listening to this episode or reading this on the day of its release, she finds out tonight if she is the winner.  No matter what happens at the convention, the rest of us are winners.  Maddie is going to be improving agriculture for the rest of her life! Good luck Maddie! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Biosecurity In The Swine Industry HIGH SCHOOL: Mahomet-Seymour High School; Mahomet, Illinois MASCOT: Bowldogs FFA ADVISOR: Jennifer Wherley CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MADDIE FUGATE: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Mahomet-Seymour High School FFA website: Maddie's FFA Advisor's Email Address: jwherley@ms.k12.il.us Mahomet-Seymour High School's Telephone Number: 217-586-4962 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