MAINE FFA ASSOCIATION, ALUMNI AND SUPPORTERS
Maine FFA Association Announces 2025 National FFA Officer Candidate
By: Jillian McLaughlin, 2025 Maine FFA State Reporter
At the 2025 Maine FFA Association State Convention, interviews were held to determine who would represent Maine as a 2025 National FFA Officer Candidate. Candidates were invited to submit applications highlighting their eligibility for the position, which were then reviewed by a panel of judges. Once all necessary paperwork was completed and it was ensured that all criteria were met, candidates were invited to participate in formal interviews before the judging panel. This candidate not only impressed the panel, which consisted of FFA alumni, University of Maine staff members, and DACF partners, but also current FFA members serving on the nomination committee.
The Maine FFA Association is proud to recognize Delaney McKeen as its 2025 National FFA Officer Candidate. McKeen, a nineteen-year-old recent graduate from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, is no stranger to the leadership opportunities within FFA. As a past Maine FFA State Reporter/Sentinel and State Vice President, she helped lead the organization through various challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Her leadership skills don’t only shine within the FFA Organization, but in the classroom as well. Upon her recent graduation, McKeen received a degree in agricultural science & agribusiness. When asked about her experience with agriculture both in and out of the classroom, she was quick to speak, stating “Being able to work in agriculture as my career has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. I’m so grateful that I had the experiences I did in FFA that led me here”.
Charting the Course: Maine FFA State Officers Complete New England Checkpoint 1
By: Jillian McLaughlin, Maine FFA State Reporter
During the week of June 25th-30th, the 2025-2026 Maine FFA State Officers travelled to Connecticut to participate in the New England FFA Regional Checkpoint. During this time, the team received detailed instructions and guidance from National FFA facilitators, developed workshops for their upcoming year of service, and began planning for the many events ahead, including the State Officer Summit and the 2026 Maine FFA State Convention.
From left to right: Callie Cullins, State Vice President, Hannah Shaw, State Treasurer, Lane Carmichael, State President, Jillian McLaughlin, State Reporter, and Mia Arcott, State Secretary.
To begin the conference, team members attended workshops designed to improve their communication skills. During these workshops, FFA State Officers practiced different forms of communication, socialized with their fellow, newly-elected, New England State Officers, and established relationships with their facilitators. These workshops continued into day two of the conference, ensuring that each individual had a concrete understanding of not just how to be an effective communicator, but how effective communication is vital to their roles as state officers.
Days three and four of the New England FFA Checkpoint 1 focused on teaching state officers how to apply their communication skills to real-world situations with members. During these two days, the officers worked with National FFA facilitators to develop their workshops to deliver to members throughout their state. The Maine FFA State Officer team utilized this time and guidance to create a workshop, which will be delivered at their chapter officer checkpoint, highlighting how chapter officers can make a positive impact on their members and how to successfully run their home chapters.
To wrap up this conference, Maine FFA State Officers completed a workshop on how to effectively deliver their newly-created workshops. During this time, team members worked together to deliver a group session, as well as had individual presentations to national facilitators.
With their communication skills sharpened, workshops developed, and connections with other state officers stronger than ever, your state officer team is ready to lead Maine FFA beyond the horizon!
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Maine FFA Alumni Helps to Organize State Convention
This year the Maine FFA Association will be hosting the annual State Convention in Orono, Maine.
All active members of the alumni have stepped up to help organize events, collect materials, judge competitions, and complete any other tasks needed to support the state convention.
Our members have been busy getting ready for convention for many months now, and we are excited to be able to share what we have been planning with everyone!
PAST STATE OFFICER SPOTLIGHT
To any aspiring FFA state officers,
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you're nearing the end of your high school career, and with that comes the end of your student FFA career as well. There’s a good chance that this will be one of the most exciting, busy, and hectic parts of your life so far. There will be tough decisions to make: If you’re pursuing higher education, where will you go? Do you want to spend your free time making some extra cash at a part-time job? And as for the rest of your free time, what are you going to do to make sure that your senior year isn’t one to forget? As an experienced FFA member, there may also be the question of whether or not you want to serve as a state officer. If you’re anything like I was at the time, state office probably sounds like a really exciting opportunity, but you may be worried about how it could affect your high school experience. Will you have time for sports and/or clubs? What is your support system going to look like? What exactly will you be getting out of the experience?
First, let’s talk about time. It would be a blatant lie to say that your year of state office won’t be a big time commitment. It definitely will be. There will be workshops and presentations to prepare, meetings to attend, sponsors to thank, and at the end of it all a convention to plan and execute. Don’t panic, however, because the good news is that not all of this responsibility is going to fall on you. You’ll have a truly awesome support network that will consist of your fellow state officers, state officers of neighboring states, your advisor, Maine chapter advisors, Maine FFA Alumni (that’s me!), and the list goes on. These people will be more than willing to help you wherever you may need it most. Your fellow officers and advisor will help shoulder the office workload. Other officers, advisors, and previous members will be available to answer any questions you may have and give opinions. Although there is much to do, the amount of work will never become unbearable. I myself had time to work a part-time job and play both high-school golf and baseball during my office tenure. If you manage your time effectively, I think you’ll find that you’ll have more of it than you realize!
But why become a state officer to begin with? What’s in it for you? The state office position has many benefits including fantastic professional development, networking opportunities, and amazing travel destinations. Leadership trainings, which you’ll participate in with fellow New England state officers, will teach you skills that will not only assist you during your state office year, but also in your chosen profession after you leave office. You’ll learn how to be an influential speaker, how to best connect with audiences and those you work with, and how to develop gripping presentations and workshops - all skills that are heavily sought after in the workforce! You’ll have the opportunity to travel to several exciting destinations such as Washington D.C. for State Officer Summit, Indianapolis for the National FFA Convention, and state events such as the agricultural trades show. With these travel opportunities comes the chance to network with State Representatives and Senators, owners of local businesses and sponsors, and the National FFA board and office team. Not to mention, you’ll make new friends for life in the form of neighboring FFA officers. There’s no shortage of positives to a state office term.
There’s likely a lot on your mind as you plan your senior year, but if you are at all interested I would highly recommend state office for your consideration. As a college student seeking an internship to get a start in my field of computer science, I have benefitted immensely from the skills I learned and opportunities I had during my time as an officer. Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best, and I can’t wait to see you in either the Maine FFA Association or Maine FFA alumni jacket soon.
Sincerely,
Graham Berry
2018-2020 Maine FFA President
