Submitted photo Marshall FFA members Cami Baumann and Amaya Williams attended he State Leadership Conference for Chapter Leaders (SLCCL) at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve near Hackensack.

HACKENSACK — Nearly 200 Minnesota FFA members gathered for two sessions of the State Leadership Conference for Chapter Leaders (SLCCL) at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve near Hackensack from June 26-28 and June 30- July 2 to develop leadership skills for their communities and home chapters. Members from the Marshall FFA chapter included Cami Baumann and Amaya Williams

This elite leadership conference is targeted at FFA members who have gone above and beyond in their local chapters. These FFA members come from all corners of the state, represent unique sectors of agriculture and have been recognized as top leaders in their schools.

The conference is modeled after the FFA’s Program of Activities which gives an example of activity areas the ideal FFA chapter should participate in. While at this conference, members are able to network with other students and share some of these activity ideas from their own FFA chapters.

A chapter’s Program of Activities focuses on growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture. During sessions under each of these three areas, members were able to discover more about the role of healthy lifestyles, recruitment, agriculture literacy, fundraising and community service in their FFA chapters.

“Students gathered from across Minnesota to come together and better each other’s chapters,” Minnesota FFA President Lafe Aarsvold said. “After reviewing the15 National Quality Chapter Standards, members shared ideas from their own experiences. Students were challenged to return to their home chapter to implement some of the new ideas they learned about at the conference.”

FFA members had the opportunity to connect with different individuals outside of sessions during fun activities such as volleyball, canoeing, and hiking. Each night, the state officers shared reflections with the campers, and the final day wrapped up with chapters sharing ideas to incorporate in their home chapters.

The State Leadership Conference for Chapter Leaders serves the Minnesota FFA Association by building talented and young individuals. These members often end up as leaders in multiple organizations and receive high academic marks during their postsecondary education before beginning very successful careers.

This leadership conference was made possible with financial contributions from the CHS Foundation and Northland Ford Dealers as a special project of the Minnesota FFA Foundation.