Winter Park FFA wildcat

Program Handbook

The program, start to finish.

Winter Park FFA is new. It is not improvised. What follows is the full architecture of the program — the courses, the competitive teams, the standards we hold ourselves to, and the vocabulary you will hear in the first week — set out plainly enough that a family can evaluate it and a student can walk in on day one already knowing how it works.

The program Courses Where this is headed Careers What officers do The words Official Dress Conduct Questions

The Program

Agricultural education is a career pathway, not a club.

Official FFA emblem

Agriculture is the largest industry in Florida and one of the largest in the world, and the field spans veterinary science, biotechnology, food science, environmental systems, engineering, business, and design. Students in this program are not picking up a hobby. Florida designates FFA as the Career and Technical Student Organization for both of these programs — the co-curricular half of a state career-preparatory pathway, not an after-school club attached to it. What happens in the chapter is the applied half of the coursework.

More opportunities for students, not less.

FFA Motto

Learning to Do, Doing to Learn,
Earning to Live, Living to Serve.

FFA Mission

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.

The three-circle model of agricultural education: classroom/laboratory, SAE, and FFA

Agricultural education has three parts, and you get all three:

  • The classroom and lab. The actual course you're enrolled in during the school day.
  • FFA. The competitions, the conferences, the leadership, the trips, the jacket. What most people picture.
  • Your SAE. Your own hands-on project outside of class — a job, an animal, a business, a research plot.

You can't really do one without the others, which is why officers have to stay enrolled in an ag course all year. It isn't red tape — the class is the thing the rest hangs off of.

No agricultural background is required or expected. The majority of FFA members nationally have never lived on a farm, and the program was rebuilt decades ago around that fact. This chapter is designed for the students who are actually at Winter Park — and a student with no prior exposure is not behind anyone.
"Is this a class or a club?" It's a class. FFA is built into it, not added onto it. A student enrolls in a real, state-standards-based course during the school day — that's what shows up on the transcript and satisfies a credit. FFA is the co-curricular organization that belongs to that course, the way a lab is part of a science class. There is no version of this where a student joins "the club" without also being enrolled in the course. The class comes first; everything else is what the class earns you.

Course Sequence

Two state career-preparatory programs, one entry point.

These are not locally invented electives. Both are Florida Department of Education Career and Technical Education programs in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources cluster, with state-defined standards, industry alignment, and a defined course sequence. A student who starts as a freshman can finish with a coherent six-credit body of work.

Agriculture course pathway: Agriscience Foundations 1 is the only prerequisite, leading to two independent pathways — Agritechnology (1 then 2) and Animal Science & Services (2 through 6, in order)

Agriscience Foundations 1  Course 8106810 · 1 credit

The entry course for both programs. Agricultural history and global impact, career pathways, scientific reasoning and research design, biological and physical science principles, environmental systems, laboratory safety, leadership, and agribusiness. At least twenty percent of class time is laboratory work.

Counts as Equally Rigorous Science. This course satisfies a science graduation requirement — it does not merely occupy an elective slot.

📄 Download Syllabus

State standards for this course (2026–27 Florida DOE Curriculum Framework)
  1. Examine the history of AFNR production at the local, national, and global level.
  2. Employ scientific reasoning to make informed decisions in AFNR systems.
  3. Apply scientific skills and principles in natural resources.
  4. Apply scientific skills and principles in plant science.
  5. Apply scientific skills and principles in animal science.
  6. Apply scientific skills and principles in food science.
  7. Apply scientific skills and principles in power, structure, and technical systems.
  8. Explore AFNR professional development organizations.

Animal Science & Services  Program 8106200 · up to 6 credits

A five-course sequence following Foundations. Anatomy, physiology, nutrition, genetics, and health across livestock and companion animals, alongside production management, finance, safety, and the correct use of animal health-care, grooming, restraint, and laboratory equipment.

Feeds: veterinary science, livestock, poultry, and dairy competition — and the fair show ring.

📄 Download Syllabus

State standards for this program (2026–27 Florida DOE Curriculum Framework)

Animal Science & Services 2

  1. Describe animal science and the role of animals in society.
  2. Classify animals according to hierarchical taxonomy and agricultural use.
  3. Evaluate and implement the steps and requirements to pursue a career opportunity in the animal industry.
  4. Describe animal and human first aid and laboratory safety.
  5. Recognize normal and abnormal animal behaviors.
  6. Apply principles of comparative anatomy and physiology to uses within various animal systems.
  7. Demonstrate safe animal handling and management techniques.
  8. Analyze the community's responsibility in options for caring for unwanted/neglected livestock.
  9. Evaluate the importance of the animal science industry to understand the impact on global economy.

Animal Science & Services 3

  1. Analyze feed rations, additives, and supplements and assess how they meet the nutritional needs of animals.
  2. Evaluate animals for breeding readiness and soundness.
  3. Explain the reproductive system and breeding of selected animals.
  4. Design programs to prevent animal diseases, parasites and other disorders and ensure animal welfare.
  5. Apply basic principles of veterinary science to animal production.
  6. Analyze biosecurity measures utilized to protect the welfare of animals on a local, state, national, and global level.
  7. Demonstrate knowledge of preventive medicine and disease control.
  8. Select animals for specific purposes and maximum performance based on anatomy and physiology.
  9. Prepare, groom, exhibit, and market animals.
  10. Maintain and analyze records.
  11. Explain the components of the American business system.

Animal Science & Services 4

  1. Apply animal health practices.
  2. Maintain equipment and facilities.
  3. Operate, maintain, and repair machinery and equipment.
  4. Investigate emerging technologies in Animal Science.
  5. Apply scientific principles in the selection and breeding of animals.
  6. Maintain and analyze records.
  7. Manage pasture and forage crops.
  8. Understand the relationship of animal production and the environment.
  9. Evaluate the effects of environmental conditions on animals.
  10. Identify and interpret environmental issues and regulations pertaining to animal industry.

Animal Science & Services 5

  1. Discuss animal marketing techniques.
  2. Apply advanced animal health practices.
  3. Maintain and analyze records.
  4. Perform emergency first aid on animals.
  5. Implement procedures to ensure that animal products are safe.
  6. Identify, select, and breed food-producing animals.
  7. Analyze county, state and federal agencies that support the animal industry.

Animal Science & Services 6

  1. Plan routine management of food-producing animals and facilities.
  2. Maintain and analyze records.
  3. Design animal housing, equipment, and handling facilities for animal production.
  4. Comply with government regulations and safety standards for facilities used in animal production.
  5. Identify and interpret rules, policy, and regulations affecting the livestock industry.
  6. Evaluate the effects of environmental conditions on animals.
  7. Identify and interpret environmental issues and regulations pertaining to animal industry.

Agritechnology  Program 8106800 · up to 3 credits

A two-course sequence following Foundations. Plant and animal production and processing, agricultural mechanics, marketing, and the biological and physical science behind them — with the laboratory and technology practice that supports agricultural and food science technician work.

Feeds: floriculture, nursery and landscape, vegetable crops, citrus, environmental science, and food science competition.

📄 Download Syllabus

State standards for this program (2026–27 Florida DOE Curriculum Framework)

Agritechnology 1

  1. Explore the scope of the agriscience industry.
  2. Determine proper animal health and nutrition.
  3. Identify components of reproduction.
  4. Identify procedures in animal production.
  5. Develop procedures for exhibiting animals.
  6. Compare, select, and use plant production systems.
  7. Investigate proper methods to fertilize plants and crops.
  8. Operate, maintain, and service facilities, tools, and equipment.
  9. Apply principles of agribusiness finance.
  10. Evaluate the importance of the food and fiber system to understand the impact on global economy.
  11. Examine the scope of career opportunities in and the importance of agriculture to the economy.

Agritechnology 2

  1. Analyze the scope of the agriscience industry.
  2. Recommend steps for proper animal health and nutrition.
  3. Select, and use plant production systems.
  4. Fertilize plants and crops.
  5. Irrigate plants and crops.
  6. Control plant pests.
  7. Maintain, and service facilities, tools, and equipment.
  8. Describe procedures for harvesting and marketing agricultural products.
  9. Compare principles of agribusiness finance.
  10. Explain the components of the American business system.
  11. Investigate agricultural cooperatives structure and function.

Full official standards for every Florida CTE course are published by the Florida Department of Education Curriculum Frameworks, and can also be looked up by course number at CPALMS.

Industry certifications — a credential, not just a grade.

An industry certification is a third-party credential that verifies a student has mastered specific, employer-defined skills in a field — the same kind of thing a Microsoft Office or CPR certification is, but for agriculture. Certifications matter for three concrete reasons: they carry weight with employers who didn't teach the student themselves, they count toward Florida's high school and middle school grading formula, and they give a college application or a job interview something to point to besides a transcript. This chapter will be pursuing them, not just discussing them.

AEST  Agriculture Education Services and Technology

A Florida-based certifying body built at the request of the Florida Farm Bureau, which wanted a trusted credential employers could rely on when hiring. AEST certifications are industry-written, sector-specific, and directly relevant here — including an Agritechnology certification that lines up with this chapter's own Agritechnology pathway, alongside options in Agriculture, Agriculture Systems, Agricultural Mechanics, and more.

aest.ag/certify/certifications →

iCEV

A curriculum and testing platform that hosts certification exams from a range of industry and government partners — from NOCTI to USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service to BASF Plant Science. Where AEST is Florida-grown and agriculture-specific, iCEV is national in scope and brings certifications from outside partners directly into the classroom alongside the curriculum that prepares students for them.

icevonline.com →

Sowing seeds by hand
The SAE is a state requirement, not a chapter tradition. Every student in these programs must complete a Supervised Agricultural Experience — through career exploration, directed laboratory work, project ownership, an internship, a school-based enterprise, or service learning. It is written into the framework, and it is the piece that turns coursework into something a college or an employer can see.

Every student starts somewhere, and it does not have to be an animal. Three realistic starting points:

  • A plant. A garden bed, a few container plants at home, houseplant propagation to sell — a plant-based SAE is real, low-cost, and available to literally every student regardless of where they live.
  • An animal. From a backyard-legal species up to a full market or breeding project, sized to what the family can actually support — see Shows & Fairs for what's realistic here.
  • Research. A structured question, an experiment, and a written or presented result. This is a genuine SAE category on its own — not a consolation prize for a student without land or an animal.

SAE for All is the best outside resource for browsing real project ideas across all of these categories before deciding.

Money to actually start one: National FFA gives out $1,000 SAE Grants every year to members in grades 7–12 who can show financial need — this is real money to help a student start or grow their project, not just cover the cost of showing up. Applications open in October and close Nov. 15.

Enrollment is the one requirement for membership. A student must be enrolled in an agriculture course to hold membership, compete, or serve as an officer. If the course is not on a schedule yet, request it — that is the single step that runs on a timeline the chapter does not control.

Where This Is Headed

One entry point. Two real pathways.

After Agriscience Foundations, this program branches into two directions — this is the actual course structure the school has approved, not a future hope. Both are real, state-recognized programs with jobs on the other end of them.

Veterinary students examining a dog

Animal Science & Services Pathway

Anatomy, physiology, nutrition, genetics, and health across livestock and companion animals, plus production management and safety. This is the pathway behind the fair show ring and the veterinary science CDE.

Leads toward: veterinary medicine and vet techs, livestock and dairy production management, animal nutrition, breeding and genetics, USDA and animal health inspection.

Students examining an aquaponics tank

Agritechnology Pathway

Plant and animal production and processing, agricultural mechanics, and the technology behind modern farming — this is where production agriculture, food systems, and aquaculture live. Aquaculture is a confirmed part of this program going forward.

Leads toward: precision and production agriculture, food science and processing, agricultural engineering and mechanics, aquaculture and aquaponics technicians, greenhouse and nursery management.

This is a growing program. Exactly what sits inside the Agritechnology pathway — how far it extends into food systems, aquaculture, and production technology — is still being built out. What's certain: aquaculture is coming, and this pathway is the technology and production side of agriculture, not just plants.

Career Pathways

Agriculture is a much bigger industry than most people picture.

This is not a program for students who grew up on a farm, and it is not one built around owning an animal. Agriculture touches science, technology, math, business, and public policy — a student can be all in on this program and never own or show an animal at all. Here is the actual range:

National FFA magazine feature on a career in forestry

Science & Research

Plant pathology, soil science, animal science, food science, agricultural research. The lab side of the industry.

Technology & Innovation

Precision agriculture, agricultural technology development, data analysis in farming, aquaculture and aquaponics systems.

Business & Management

Agricultural finance, supply chain management, marketing and sales, agribusiness.

Environment & Sustainability

Environmental conservation, sustainable agriculture practice, natural resource management.

Policy, Advocacy & Government

Agricultural law and regulation, government relations, extension services — the side of the industry built at events like Capitol Days and the Washington Leadership Conference.

Education & Communication

Agricultural education, agricultural communications, community outreach and extension work.

Explore this for real, not just in the abstract. AgExplorer (National FFA's own career-exploration tool) and SAE for All (real project ideas that don't require owning an animal — research, placement, entrepreneurship, and school-based options) are both worth ten minutes of a student's time before they decide this program isn't for them. FFA also funds real money toward college: see FFA scholarships.

The Officer Team

What each job actually involves.

Pick based on what you want to get better at, not on which title sounds most impressive. Every one of these is real work, and in a first-year chapter every one of them matters more than it would somewhere established.

President

Runs the meetings, keeps the team pointed the same direction, and speaks for the chapter to the school and the community.

Best fit if: you're comfortable being the one people look at when something needs deciding.

Vice President

Owns the committees and the calendar. Makes sure the things we said we'd do actually get assigned to someone. Steps in when the president can't.

Best fit if: you're organized and you like making plans real.

Student Advisor

Ranked directly under the vice president. The Student Advisor mentors newer members, carries the general membership's perspective into officer meetings, and advises the president and vice president — the officer whose job is to tell the team what it does not want to hear. In an established chapter this seat usually goes to a past officer; in year one it fits a student arriving with middle school FFA experience.

Best fit if: people already come to you for advice, and you will say the hard thing out loud.

Secretary

Minutes, membership records, correspondence, and the chapter's paperwork. In a brand-new chapter, the secretary is building the filing system that every future officer will use.

Best fit if: you're detail-driven and you actually finish things.

Treasurer

Dues, fundraisers, the budget, the receipts. Real money, tracked carefully, reported to the chapter.

Best fit if: numbers don't scare you and you're trustworthy with other people's money.

Reporter

Social media, the newsletter, photos, the school announcements. If nobody knows what we did, it may as well not have happened — that's the reporter's problem to solve.

Best fit if: you already make content and you have an eye for a good photo.

Sentinel

The room itself — setup, cleanup, equipment, and greeting people at the door. The sentinel is the reason a nervous freshman isn't standing alone at their first meeting. Quietly one of the most important jobs on the team.

Best fit if: you notice when someone's on the outside of a group.

Historian

Builds the record of a chapter that doesn't have one yet — photos, scrapbook, the story of year one. Everything you save becomes the chapter's history permanently.

Best fit if: you're creative and you think in pictures and stories.

Parliamentarian

Keeps meetings orderly and fair using parliamentary procedure — the rulebook groups use to make decisions without it turning into an argument. Also the officer most likely to end up on a competitive parliamentary procedure team.

Best fit if: you like rules, structure, and being the person who knows how it's supposed to work.

Chaplain

Leads the chapter's moment of reflection at meetings and major events, and looks out for the team's morale and wellbeing — the officer who checks in when someone's having a hard week.

Best fit if: people already trust you with how they're really doing.

The committee leaders.

Beyond the traditional offices, this chapter seats three committee chairs — one for each division of the National Chapter Award, the national standard by which FFA chapters are evaluated — plus a fourth working seat built around what this chapter actually needs on the ground. Structuring the officer team this way from year one means the chapter's Program of Activities is built to that standard from the first meeting rather than assembled retroactively.

Growing Leaders Chair

Owns everything directed at the members themselves: leadership development, scholarship and academic support, healthy lifestyle activities, personal growth, and career readiness.

Best fit if: you think about what the people around you need in order to get better.

Building Communities Chair

Owns everything directed outward: community service, environmental projects, citizenship, relationships with stakeholders, and economic development work.

Best fit if: you want the chapter to be visible and useful outside the ag building.

Strengthening Agriculture Chair

Owns everything directed at the industry: agricultural advocacy and literacy, safety education, chapter recruitment, and the support groups — parents, alumni, and industry partners — that a program depends on.

Best fit if: you can explain why this field matters to someone who has never thought about it.

Barn Manager & Livestock Committee Chair

The one officer whose job lives mostly outside — barn upkeep, feeding schedules, and coordinating the students carrying market and breeding projects this year. Every chapter running livestock needs one clear person in charge of the animals, and this is that seat.

Best fit if: you're the one who actually shows up to feed on the weekend without being asked twice.

Chairs plan and document real events. Each division covers five activity areas, and each activity is recorded with a stated goal, a planned impact, and a measured actual impact. That documentation is the National Chapter Award application. It is also, not incidentally, exactly how project management works everywhere else.

Glossary

The words people will use around you.

Nobody will explain these. They'll just start saying them. Here they are in plain English.

Advisor
The teacher who runs the chapter — for us, that's Dr. Paterson. The advisor teaches the agriculture courses, supervises every SAE, and is the adult who signs off on almost everything: applications, purchases, travel, and the Program of Activities. "Advisor" is a title with real authority attached to it, not an honorary label.
SAE — Supervised Agricultural Experience
Your own hands-on agriculture project outside of class. Raising a show animal, working at a vet clinic or nursery, growing something to sell, running a lawn-care business, or a research project all count. Every member is expected to have one, and it's how you earn degrees.
CDE — Career Development Event
A team competition in an actual agricultural skill: livestock judging, forestry, floriculture, agricultural mechanics, food science, and dozens more. Most people just call these "contests."
LDE — Leadership Development Event
The speaking and meeting side of competition: public speaking, job interview, opening and closing ceremonies, parliamentary procedure. These are the ones that make you better at things you'll use for the rest of your life.
Official Dress
The uniform worn at competitions and formal events. Required for officers. Full details in the next section.
Degrees
Levels you earn as you go. Greenhand is the first — you learn the Creed, the emblem, and the Code of Ethics, and submit a short application. Chapter Degree takes real work: a running SAE, community service hours, leading a discussion, and demonstrating parliamentary procedure. State and American take years and are a serious achievement.
The FFA Creed
A short piece written in 1928 that members learn and recite. Reciting it is its own competition for first-year members, and it's usually the first thing a new member memorizes.
Program of Activities (POA)
The chapter's plan for the year — what we're doing, when, and who's responsible. The officer team writes it. This year we're writing the first one that has ever existed here.
Chapter, Federation, District, State
Nested levels of organization. Chapter is us. Federation groups the chapters in Orange County. District is bigger, then State, then National. Competitions generally start at one level and advance up.
Official Manual
National FFA's handbook — ceremonies, degree requirements, history, and the Code of Ethics. Every member should have access to one.
Greenhand
A first-year member. Not an insult — it's an actual degree with a pin.
Committee Chair
The officer who owns one third of the chapter's actual work — see the three committee chairs on the Officers page. A chair plans real events and documents them; it is not a junior title.
Alumni & Supporters
The adult wing of FFA — parents, graduates, and community members who back a chapter with time and fundraising after their own student has moved on. Sometimes just called "Alumni" or "Boosters." Winter Park's is just now being founded — see the Parents page.
Star Rating (Star Greenhand, Star Chapter, etc.)
A competitive award layered on top of the degree system, judged on SAE growth, leadership, and community involvement. Not every member pursues this, but it's a real credential when they do.
AET / Record Book
The record-keeping system (Ag Experience Tracker) where a student logs their SAE — hours, income and expenses, skills gained. It sounds like paperwork and it is, but it's also the paper trail that gets a student a degree, a proficiency award, or a scholarship.
National Chapter Award
The national standard chapters are measured against, built around three areas: Growing Leaders, Building Communities, and Strengthening Agriculture. It's the reason this chapter's officer team is structured the way it is from year one.
Showmanship
A judged class where the student's handling of the animal is scored — not the animal itself. It's a real, separate competition from the market or breeding classes, and often the class a first-year exhibitor has the best shot in.
Market Class vs. Breeding Class
Two different kinds of show classes. Market animals are judged on how well they'd perform as a meat product and typically end in an auction. Breeding animals are judged on conformation and how good a future parent they'd make, and go home with the student instead.
Ethics Certification
A required workshop and test before any student can exhibit an animal at a sanctioned show. Not a chapter rule — the Florida State Fair runs it, and it applies everywhere in the state. See Shows & Fairs for dates.
Ag Ed vs. FFA
Agricultural education is the classroom courses. FFA is the co-curricular organization built on top of it. People say "FFA" to mean the whole thing, but technically FFA is one of the three legs — alongside the classroom and the SAE — not the whole program.

Official Dress

Required, and worth getting right.

For officers this is mandatory at every competition, banquet, and formal chapter function. It's identical nationwide, which is the point — 900,000 members in the same jacket is a powerful thing to stand inside of.

Official Dress example — jacket and required items
  • The official FFA jacket — blue corduroy with your name and chapter on it. Worn zipped all the way to the top, collar turned down, cuffs buttoned.
  • A white collared shirt, with the official FFA tie or the official FFA scarf.
  • Black slacks with black socks, or a black skirt with black nylons.
  • Black dress shoes with a closed heel and a closed toe. This is the rule that catches people every single year — no sandals, no open-toe flats, no boots. Check your shoes the week before, not the morning of.

How to order your jacket:

  • Go to ShopFFA.org and choose Men's or Women's Official Jacket.
  • Pick a size first. If you don't already know your Official Dress jacket size, STOP here — don't guess, and don't order yet. Come try one on with Dr. Paterson first so we get it right the first time.
  • Add the jacket to your cart, then click "Click Here to Personalize" — a popup will ask for our Chapter Number first: enter FL0096 and click Change to auto-fill the back lettering.
  • The personalize form then opens with these fields:
    • Chapter Number: FL0096 (already filled in)
    • Advisor Name: Amy Paterson
    • Front Line 1 (Member Name): the student's own name
    • Front Line 2 (Office) and Front Line 3 (Year): optional — leave blank unless you already hold an office
    • Front Line 4: leave blank
    • Back State Line 1 and Back Chapter Name Line: auto-filled to FLORIDA / WINTER PARK from the chapter number — don't edit these
    • A second, duplicate Back Chapter Name Line field appears below it — do not fill this one out, it should stay blank
  • Double-check spelling before submitting: front lettering can be redone later for a fee, but back lettering (chapter/state) cannot be changed once ordered.
Official jackets cannot be returned, exchanged, or credited. Follow the sizing instructions and illustrations on ShopFFA carefully, and don't guess — this is why trying one on with Dr. Paterson first matters.
Winter Park FFA chapter number: FL0096. You'll need this to order — it's what tells ShopFFA which state and chapter name to embroider on the jacket back.
Official garb of a recognized religion may be worn with Official Dress, and required personal protective equipment may be worn as well. If you have a question about how this works for you, ask me directly and we'll sort it out.

Shop Official Dress and FFA gear at ShopFFA.org →

What it costs: the jacket runs around $75. Most students already own black pants and a white shirt, and where they don't, those are inexpensive.

Nobody misses out over money. The chapter fundraises for jackets and keeps a loaner rack. If cost is a concern in your house, apply anyway and email me — that conversation stays between us and it has no effect on selection.

👔  We're Building an Official Dress Closet

More opportunities for students, not less.

We're seeking new and gently used white button-down shirts, black dress pants, black skirts (pencil skirt, knee length preferred), and black dress shoes — for men and women, in all sizes. This helps any student who doesn't have access to Official Dress yet, or who simply forgot what they needed on a specific day.

Item, size/condition, and quantity if you know it.

Day to day, officers wear a chapter polo and khakis. Far less formal, and the chapter provides the polo.

Conduct

What we expect of each other.

National FFA publishes a Code of Ethics that every member agrees to. Here's what it comes down to, in ordinary language — and it applies to members, and doubly to officers, who agreed to be examples.

  • Dress for the occasion and take care of the jacket. It represents more people than just you.
  • Be courteous and respect other people's rights — including people you don't like and chapters you're competing against.
  • Be honest. Don't take unfair advantage of anyone, in the show ring or out of it.
  • Respect other people's property and the school's.
  • Watch how you speak to and about people, in person and online. Officers especially: what you post is chapter business.
  • Show up on time, participate, and respect opinions you disagree with.
  • Demonstrate real sportsmanship when you win and when you lose.
  • Take pride in this organization and in agriculture as a career field.
  • Share what you learn with the members coming up behind you.
  • Appreciate and promote diversity in this organization. Everyone gets a seat here.

Members are also expected to refrain from tobacco and alcohol while underage and at all times when representing FFA, and to help discourage that behavior in others.

The short version: when you're in the jacket, you are the whole chapter as far as anyone watching is concerned. Act like it. That's the entire job.

Questions

What families ask.

My child has never done anything like this. Are they behind?
No. This chapter is in its first year, so nearly everyone is starting at the same place at the same time. That's genuinely unusual and it's the best possible moment to walk in.
Do we need land or animals?
No. Plenty of members never show an animal at all — they compete in speaking, food science, floral design, mechanics, or forestry. For students who do want to show, we can usually work out housing an animal, so ask before assuming it's off the table.
What does it cost?
There's no required membership fee. The jacket is the largest single individual cost at roughly $75, and the chapter fundraises for jackets and keeps loaners on hand. Trips and shows vary and are always announced well ahead with fundraising attached. No student is turned away over money — email me and we'll handle it privately.
How much time does this take?
A regular member: a monthly meeting plus whatever activities they choose. An officer: meetings, planning, events, and the retreat — a real commitment, and one reason the application asks so directly about everything else on your plate.
Can my child do this alongside a sport or band?
Usually yes, and many do. The application asks about conflicts specifically so we can plan around them honestly rather than discovering them in October.
My eighth grader is coming to Winter Park next year. What should they do now?
Request an agriculture course when they choose classes — that's the one thing that has to happen on a schedule we don't control. Everything else can be sorted out once they're here.
What happens at the officer interview?
Interviews run after school on Wednesday, August 19, starting at 2:00, in the Ag Room, Room 810. It's a panel interview — industry professionals and school administrators, rather than one person alone. Your student gives a prepared speech of up to five minutes (two or three is plenty), then the panel asks a round of questions. It's short, there are no trick questions, and "I don't know, but here's how I'd find out" is a perfectly good answer. Practicing the speech out loud to an actual person twice beforehand is the whole secret.
Does my child have to be an officer to be involved?
Not at all. Officers are a handful of people. The chapter is everyone. Members compete, travel, and earn degrees exactly the same way.

Still have questions?

Ask. There is no question about this that's too basic, and I would much rather answer it now than have you sit it out.

Apply to be a founding officer