We had a truly amazing time at the 89th National FFA Convention & Expo.

We have been reflecting on the experience and the wonderful takeaways from a week that truly touched our hearts and helped grow us as agricultural leaders. 

We started off the week leaving early Tuesday morning. We arrived in Indianapolis and immediately set up our booth in the expo center. We used this booth to showcase SAU and recruit students. We even had SAU alumni at our booth helping us spread the word about the great things going on here! The Trade Show opened at noon the next day and ran until Friday afternoon. During this time, we spoke to a lot of potential students, and were excited to see many students who were interested from the New England area. Not only were they impressed by what we shared, but they were also excited to hear that SAU was even more affordable than tuition in their home state. Overall, the booth was a hit. Especially with our life-size cutouts of Taylor, Kinsey, and Drew. By the end of the week, we had completely ran out materials we brought to pass out. One thing is for sure; if people didn't know about us before convention, they sure do now!

Saturday we watched seven of our very own Muleriders receive their American FFA degree. What an accomplishment!  We finished up the week by watching the final session of the convention, where Taylor McNeel gave her retiring address titled "Lead with your Heart." To watch for yourself, simply click here or see the video attached below. There are also a few pictures attached that we hope you will enjoy! 

The drive home was long, but we would do it all again in a heartbeat. Thank you so much to everyone for your help! 

Sincerely,

Wade Andrews, CFFA President

We've had a great start to our week. 

We are proud to be part of an organization being represented at the convention with 53,101 members, advisers, and guests attending. 

The theme of this year's convention is Transform. This week we will learn how to make a change through speakers, leadership workshops, and an expo of agricultural careers and service projects. As Taylor McNeel says in the opening session, "We transform by taking action."

The SAU Ag Department also has a booth at the Expo. It has been exciting to share our passion with other students and encourage them to make Southern Arkansas University their home away from home.   

To watch sessions from the convention you can visit: https://www.ffa.org/broadcast 

We will be checking in again soon. Thank you for making this trip possible for us! 

October is here, and we are counting down the days until we head to the 89th annual CFFA National Convention. 

Because of you, the Southern Arkansas University Collegiate FFA Team will be able to travel to Indianapolis! We are excited to receive our American Degrees, support our classmate, Taylor McNeel, as she leads the convention as the National FFA President, and recruit high school students to join our strong team of agriculture leaders here at SAU. 

Thank you for making this experience possible for us. 

Yesterday, SAU recruiters came to teach us how to properly and professionally recruit future Muleriders. We will have a booth at the National Convention and will be actively sharing the great things happening here. This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight our University and our program.

Five students will be traveling with Dr. Jeff Miller, chair of the Department of Agriculture, and will leave on Tuesday, October 18th. The remaining 11 students will leave from the Arkansas State Fair Hog Show with Mr. John Gentry and Mrs. Copie Moore on Thursday, October 20th. We will head back to Arkansas at the conclusion of the American Degree Ceremony on Saturday, October 22. 

We are excited to send you updates of what your generosity has allowed for our team. Again, thank you for supporting the Southern Arkansas University Collegiate FFA Team. 

Sincerely,

Wade Andrews/CFFA President 

With only 4 days to go in this campaign, your generosity has provided $1,642 towards our trip to Indianapolis and we are at 54% of our goal. Thank you! We are so grateful for your support. 

Please take time today to share this project with your family and friends. You can even challenge them to match your gift!

In the meantime, be sure to check out this story featuring young agriculture leaders attending SAU.

Click this link to view the story: State Leaders Choose SAU

Thank you for supporting SAU Collegiate FFA and the future of agriculture!