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CapitalPress.com
Friday, April 8, 2022
Q&A: Retiring Idaho FFA offi cers share their experience
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
After a busy and excit-
ing year of promoting and
advancing the FFA mission,
Idaho’s retiring state offi cers
will now move onto their
next adventure in life.
They say they have
learned so much and are
grateful for the life skills
gained and the relationships
made that will serve them
well beyond their year in
offi ce.
FFA President Kayden
Driggs, Vice President Katie
Hebdon, Secretary Claire
Shelton, Treasurer Cassie
Moody, Reporter Kennedy
Farden and Sentinel Cassie
Morey refl ected on their year
of service in a Q&A with
Capital Press.
Their responses have been
edited for clarity and length.
What is it like to be a
state FFA offi cer as far
as your schedule and
responsibilities?
Driggs: The schedule and
overview of a state offi cer
is very diverse and unique.
We do everything from
board meetings, chapter vis-
its, legislative visits, travel-
ing, meeting with other state
offi cers, creating workshops,
working with other organiza-
tions and more.
Hebdon: As state offi -
cers, we spend a lot of time
on the road traveling around
the state and the country. We
get to visit numerous FFA
programs and interact with
members and business rep-
resentatives. Being a state
offi cer has taught me how to
manage my schedule eff ec-
tively so that I can do behind-
the-scenes work like social
media while still getting my
schoolwork complete.
Shelton: Serving on the
state offi cer team keeps you
busy. Our team has visited
chapters all across the state,
led Gem State Leadership
Conferences for members,
toured agricultural business/
industries, met with legisla-
tors in Boise and Washing-
ton, D.C., led district offi cer
trainings, promoted the Idaho
FFA Association through
social media and more. As
we only get one year serving
OFFICER BIOS
State President Kayden
Driggs: Teton FFA;
second-year student, Col-
lege of Southern Idaho;
hopes to be accepted
into veterinary school to
become a large and small
animal veterinarian
Idaho FFA
Outgoing Idaho FFA state offi cers at the Idaho Capitol in January. Left to right are Vice President Katie Hebdon,
Treasurer Cassie Moody, Sentinel Cassie Morey, President Kayden Driggs, Reporter Kennedy Farden and Secretary
Claire Shelton.
the association as a state offi -
cer, we do everything we can
to promote FFA and serve
our members.
Moody: One of the best
parts of being a state offi cer
is that no two days are ever
the same. We are blessed
with the opportunity to do a
variety of activities. Some
of our typical responsibili-
ties include corresponding
with FFA members and advi-
sors, attending weekly meet-
ings, serving on the Idaho
FFA board of directors, cre-
ating workshop materials
and more.
Farden: We have a very
busy schedule almost all the
time with many responsi-
bilities, but we have been
taught valuable time-man-
agement skills and how to
balance many responsibili-
ties at once.
Morey: Being a state
offi cer comes with a lot of
responsibilities, but the pay-
off is so worth it. Our sched-
ule is usually pretty full.
Although state offi ce keeps
us very busy, it is one of the
most rewarding responsibili-
ties I have ever had.
How did the pandemic
aff ect your experience?
Driggs: I am extremely
thankful and grateful that
as we were elected the pan-
demic started to calm down,
allowing us to travel and
transition back to a normal
way of life together.
Hebdon: The greatest
eff ect the pandemic had on
us was teaching us how to
be fl exible and roll with the
diff erent situations thrown
at us. We are honestly just
so grateful to be out serv-
ing Idaho FFA members in
person again.
Shelton: We wore masks
at schools that required them
and at the national conven-
tion. Typically in July the
whole team would attend
the State Offi cer Summit
in Washington, D.C., how-
ever, this year Kayden and I
were the only ones that could
attend in person. Luckily our
whole team was still able to
come for legislative visits.
Moody: One of the main
ways the pandemic aff ected
our experience is that we
were elected virtually, which
meant I didn’t meet my
teammates in person until
we met for our fi rst train-
ing. Other than that, we have
had a fairly typical state offi -
cer year. I am beyond excited
and feel extremely blessed to
have our state convention in
person this year
Farden: Towards the
beginning of the year, we
were asked to wear masks in
select places. But other than
that I did not see much eff ect.
Morey: We got into offi ce
at almost the perfect time.
All of our events have been
in person. We are so excited
to be back in person for the
fi rst state convention in three
years.
What did you learn this
year and how has it infl u-
enced your life?
Driggs: One year teaches
you many lessons that we
take back home, learn and
grow to help us keep suc-
ceeding. The most import-
ant lesson I have learned
this year is to enjoy what is
around us in life right now
and go where life takes you.
This has infl uenced my life
by putting people and lessons
in my life that have led me to
be a better person.
Hebdon: I have learned
so many diff erent things this
year, but I think a few of the
big ones are how to engage
a diverse group of people,
more knowledge to advo-
cate for agriculture, better
teamwork and communica-
tion skills. State offi ce has
infl uenced my life because I
know I want a career based
in servant leadership and
agriculture.
Shelton: I learned a lot
about communication. As
our team often was spread
all across the state, commu-
nication was a key for a suc-
cessful year as a team. I had
to learn how communication
styles work diff erently for
everyone. This year taught
me lifelong skills that I will
use for the rest of my life in
my future career. Serving as
a state offi cer has given me
many opportunities and skills
that have helped me grow as
a leader and as a person.
Moody: I cannot even
begin to describe the impact
it has had on my life. Some of
the most notable things I have
learned are good communi-
cation skills, public speaking
skills, time management and
teamwork. I have also been
heavily impacted by those
I have worked with, such as
my teammates, as they have
pushed me to be the best ver-
sion of myself.
Farden: I have learned
how to communicate eff ec-
tively, work with a team and
individually and how to man-
age my time. These are all
skills needed in real life and
they have helped me dramati-
cally in day-to-day life.
Morey: I have learned so
much this year. As an agricul-
ture education major, this year
has really infl uenced my love
for teaching students more
than I ever thought it could. I
learned a ton about time man-
agement, how to keep a pos-
itive attitude when times get
tough and, most importantly,
how to be myself all the time.
What were your goals
and did you accomplish
them?
Driggs: My goal was to
serve, inspire and be inspired.
All of these have seemed
to have been accomplished,
which helps me grow as an
individual and pushes me
to do more after my time in
offi ce.
Hebdon: I wanted to meet
new people and travel to
places in Idaho that I hadn’t
been. I accomplished both
goals while on chapter vis-
its and at national conven-
tion. In addition, I wanted to
become a better team player
and speaker. State offi ce has
defi nitely helped me grow in
so many ways as a leader.
Shelton: My goal was to
take up all opportunities to
promote FFA, encourage oth-
ers to join and make everyone
feel welcomed into this orga-
nization. I did chapter visits
in fi ve of the 10 districts and
encouraged students to join
this organization and shared
my FFA experiences coming
from no agricultural back-
ground. Another goal was
increasing our engagement
on the Idaho FFA TikTok
account. I ran the account
and through posting engag-
ing videos, we have been able
to use this platform to advo-
cate for FFA and agriculture
State Vice President
Katie Hebdon: Nampa
FFA; fi rst-year student,
University of Idaho dou-
ble majoring in agricul-
tural business and animal
science; wants to pursue
a master’s in nutrition
to become a dairy cattle
nutritionist
State Secretary Claire
Shelton: Meridian FFA;
fi rst-year student, Univer-
sity of Idaho double ma-
joring in animal science
and medical science;
wants to become a pedi-
atric otolaryngologist to
help children overcome
the hearing and speech
obstacles she has faced
State Treasurer Cassie
Moody: Middleton FFA;
fi rst-year student, Uni-
versity of Idaho majoring
in agricultural education
to teach high school
agriculture
State Reporter Kennedy
Farden: New Plymouth
FFA; fi rst-year student,
College of Southern
Idaho double majoring in
agribusiness and animal
science; wants to work
in marketing or sales in
animal health
State Sentinel Cassie
Morey: Deary FFA; fi rst-
year student, University
of Idaho majoring in
agricultural education;
wants to teach agricultur-
al education
on behalf of the association.
Moody: A few of my
goals were to lead with a ser-
vant mindset, better my facil-
itation skills and to broaden
my horizons in the agricul-
tural industry. I was pre-
sented with several opportu-
nities that allowed me to put
these goals into place, and I
am very thankful for each of
them.
Farden: My goal was to
be confi dent leading others
and learn more about who I
am as a leader. Looking back
on the growth I have made,
I not only accomplished my
goals but many checkpoints
along the way.
Morey: One of my biggest
goals was to simply make an
impact on as many students
as possible. Although this
goal isn’t super measurable, I
have done my best to accom-
plish this by making true con-
nections with students, always
being kind, setting an exam-
ple of how important it is to
stay true to yourself and being
active on social media to reach
as many students as possible.
What advice do you have
for incoming offi cers?
Driggs: You only have 1
year, take it all in and enjoy
every part of it, the good and
the bad.
Hebdon: Soak up every-
thing and don’t take your time
for granted. You only have
a limited amount of time to
serve Idaho FFA members, so
cherish all of it. Take advan-
tage of every opportunity and
late night because those make
the best memories.
Shelton: Take advantage of
every opportunity that comes
your way. This is a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to serve,
so do what you can to make
the most of your year.
Moody: Soak in every
single moment. Remember
that it is an honor to serve in
this position and never forget
how blessed you are to have
this opportunity, especially
through times when you feel
challenged.
Farden: Take in every
moment and keep a good atti-
tude. You only get this experi-
ence once, make the best out
of it. Oh, and always have a
good pen handy.
Morey: No matter what
the situation is, be your-
self. I could never stress this
enough. It is so much easier
to enjoy your time in offi ce
if you be who you are. No
one ever changed the world
by being someone other than
themselves.