WASHINGTON D.C. – As an avid member of the agricultural industry, Scott Sharp, advisor of the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter, was chosen to represent all of Ohio’s Ag-Ed teachers on the federal level at the NACTE National Policy Seminar. This seminar was March 17th to the 20th in the nation’s capital. Sharp invited three A-C FFA graduates – Jillian Bennet, Riley McKeska and Hannah Saum – to attend the trip with him and help in the advocacy process during the conference.
The purpose of this trip is to bring together Career Tech. Educators from all over the country to advocate for workforce development, career technical education, agricultural education and the National FFA Organization.
While on this CTE (Career Technical Education) Advocacy Trip, Sharp and the three graduate members met with Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and JD Vance and Ohio House of Representative Members Troy Balderson, Jim Jordan, Max Miller and Warren Davidson. Through the connections made with these federal officials, career technical and agricultural education will continue to gain more support and recognition for Perkins funding at the federal level. Perkins funding is critical to CTE programs throughout the country and allows CTE students in each state to receive the maximum amount of benefits in their respective program areas.
A-C FFA members on this trip also attended a lecture on food preservation techniques hosted by an Ohio State University Food Science Professor. Increasing agricultural knowledge and awareness is the key to building a successful and stable country in years to come.
Our members worked closely with Dee Smith of Ohio OACTE and Josie Montoney who is the Associate Director of Public Policy at NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture). Both Dee and Josie are former members of the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter and have both excelled in their chosen fields of study, which has also helped our current FFA members tremendously over the years.
The United States and many other parts of the world rely on agriculture for many aspects of daily life. By advocating for agriculture, this industry can look towards the future and respond to the demands of the growing population. Thank you Scott Sharp, Jillian Bennet, Riley McKeska and Hannah Saum for attending the National Policy Seminar and advocating for this industry!
