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Oklahoman Elected To Top FFA Post
By Paula Bowles
Oklahoma Department of CareerTech
At the 2005 National FFA Convention in late October Oklahoma resident Travis Jett was elected the National FFA President. It’s been 25 years since someone from Oklahoma was elected to this high post and Jett is eager to spread the message that agricultural education can make a positive difference in our world.
“It’s such a great opportunity to represent this organization,” Jett said. “I have a true passion for helping local chapters and seeing them respond to the needs of their communities.”
Travis Jett
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Jett said he knows that leading this 490,000-member group will be an amazing experience. More importantly, he said it will give him an opportunity to continue to provide service to others. “It’s satisfying for me to build people up,” he said.
This 20-year-old from Laverne, Okla. was one of six individuals elected to hold national office from a field of 37 candidates. Jett said he is honored to be chosen as the national president of this prestigious organization through an officer selection process that is known to be intense and rigorous.Nominees first qualify at the state level and submit an in-depth application to the national organization. At the convention candidates participate in six rounds of interviews, take an in-depth written test on the organization and agricultural topics and complete a writing exercise. A nomination committee, composed of nine state FFA officers, recommends the slate of six national officers for approval by the convention delegates. |
In this new role he will be one of six officers that serves as student leaders for the organization. The team will work alongside the National FFA Board of Directors to shape policy and ensure that the organization continues preparing students to be successful in the business, science and technology of agriculture.
As national FFA president Jett will take the year off from his coursework at Oklahoma State University where he is a junior majoring in agricultural economics and pre-law. During his tenure as president he will log more than 100,000 miles meeting with FFA members, agricultural education teachers and FFA supporters as well as leaders in business, government and education. In February he will participate in a 10-day tour of Japan.
In the future he hopes to return to northwest Oklahoma to practice law and work on the family ranch. Working alongside his family on the ranch taught him what it means to be a person of character, he said.
Jett said he attended his first state FFA convention with his father when he was in eighth grade. He was active in sports, student council and choir in high school, but he said, “I found my true passion in FFA. Through FFA I’ve made so many connections and met so many people who have influenced my life.”
“Living to Serve,” the theme of the 2005 National FFA Convention, is more than a slogan to this young man. His life is a testimony to that principle and one that is echoed in his favorite quote by Zig Ziglar, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
His advice to other young people is this, “Take advantage of every opportunity. You never know where these opportunities will lead. |
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Travis Jett is the seventh National FFA President from Oklahoma.
| 2005-06 |
Travis Jett, Laverne |
| 1980-81 |
Mark Herndon, John Marshall |
| 1976-77 |
C. James Bode, Geary |
| 1969-70 |
Harry Birdwell, Fletcher |
| 1950-51 |
Walter Cummings, Freedom |
| 1944-45 |
Oliver Kinzie, Cushing |
| 1932-33 |
Vernon Howell, Guymon |
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