By Renee Larr
Recent Hamilton Southeastern High School graduate Claire Baney was recently named President of the Indiana Chapter of the Future Farmers of America for 2017-2018. She will serve full-time with a team of other officers to fulfill the mission of FFA.
“One thing we do as an association is that our team works together as a unit. We’re there to be someone on the team to help the unit progress,” Baney said. “As president, I will be working with my team trying to help Indiana FFA progress as we move forward in the future while being a strong teammate for the people on my team and being a great role model to the members of our association.”
The role is an unpaid position requiring all officers to live at the IFFA headquarters in Indianapolis.
“All of the officers defer a year of college to be in these roles. I’ll be going to Purdue in the fall of 2018 to double major in animal science and agricultural education,” Baney said. “I would like to become an agricultural teacher and an FFA advisor in the future.”
Baney applied in March and went through a lengthy application and interview process.
“We have a nominating committee that consists of nine people,” she said. “They include three past state officers from Indiana, three FFA members who are outgoing seniors and three senior FFA members who have been involved in the executive committee for our state.”
Each potential officer went through three days of rounds with the nominating committee to test their knowledge, writing skills and interview skills.
“We had a great time this year. We really enjoyed that process. Indiana FFA really values the process, because it’s the best way to find the greatest leaders for our organization,” Baney said.
She was notified that she was chosen as president during the annual convention in June. She started her role June 22 and will finish in June 2018.
For more, visit inffa.org.
