Throughout his FFA career, Andy Klein has been diving into different service activities, agricultural projects and leadership positions. His greatest dive has been serving as the State FFA President, the highest position any Minnesota FFA participant can hold, for the last year. “It was quite an honor to be elected by my peers and serve them,” said Klein. He was elected into the presidency at last year’s state meeting, held in April. From the different candidates running for state office, Klein’s peers saw great leadership potential in him. As president, Klein has had a hectic schedule attending meetings, workshops, and giving presentations throughout the state. To top it off, Klein is a full-time student attending classes at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Klein mentioned that he has different FFA activities about once a week. “As a state officer, I interact with fellow members to encourage, motivate and inspire them in FFA and life as well,” said Klein. State officers also promote the organization’s 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.” Klein has spent much time travelling to different schools in the state. During the visits, Klein encourages teens to enroll in agriculture classes and he presents a recruitment workshop. He says his main duty is to serve as an ambassador for the agriculture industry in Minnesota. “I try to tell the students that there is so much more to the ag industry than growing corn and milking cows,” said Klein. Klein also explains about the different opportunities available within the agricultural industry. “Since ag is a dominating industry in Minnesota, we want to encourage students to explore the 300 different career opportunities available within the state’s industry.” Klein said his favorite part of the position is having the opportunity to meet different students throughout the state, and promoting FFA. “Since FFA has done so much for me, I want other people to have this opportunity and get them interested in FFA.” Upcoming meeting “Dive-in” has been FFA’s theme for the last year. This motto was chosen by Klein and his officer team. Throughout the year, the officers have encouraged members to be more involved in FFA and the different opportunities it provides. Dive-in will also be the theme at this year’s state meeting, scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday, April 27-29. As state president, Klein will preside over the conference. He mentioned that there will be six general sessions where state officers will speak to members. He will also present various state awards and introduce keynote speakers. Opportunities beyond belief FFA has given Klein some phenomenal experiences. This summer, he attended the Na-tional State Presidents Confer-ence in Washington, D.C. As a group, the state presidents met with President George W. Bush. The FFA team explained to President Bush why agriculture is so important to the county. “President Bush told us that he was very proud of what FFA was doing for young people,” said Klein. Klein shared that President Bush spoke to the team for about ten to 15 minutes, and talked about how important service, like FFA, is to our country. In addition to meeting the president, Klein has also attended five national leadership conferences, and held various chapter and region offices. Klein has also been very successful in individual projects. One of the best in the nation FFA members participate in Supervised Agriculture Experi-ences (SAEs) where they raise/ grow, market, and sell agricultural products or services. For his SAE, Klein has been growing pumpkins on two acres of his family farm, located eight miles east of Kimball. Using his SAE in competition, Klein was named best in the region and advanced to state level. At the state level, Klein competed against other region winners. He won second place for proficiency in vegetable production. He also was awarded a state degree for this project, since he raised and maintained $2,000 in his business. Most recently, Klein’s pumpkin growing business won an American degree at the national level. For this award, Klein had to earn and invest $7,500 in his business. He said that this money has really helped him with college finances. Only one-half of one percent of all FFA members receive this degree. Craving more FFA members can be active in the organization until they are 21 years of age or until the fourth national convention after they graduate high school. “I am really not ready to be done in FFA,” said Klein. After the state meeting, Klein will participate in another election process. He is one of three state candidates competing to be Minnesota’s candidate for national office. The three candidates will go through an all-day interview on May 9. If chosen, Klein will represent the state at the national convention this October. The finalist will be chosen by the Minnesota national officer candidate committee. Kimball agriculture instructor and FFA advisor, Shawn Meyer, explained that Minnesota hasn’t had a national officer in more than 20 years. He indicated that this year “our kids have a really great chance.” Whether or not Klein is chosen for the national candidacy, he has learned many important lessons throughout his FFA experience. “I have really learned the definition and reward of service,” said Klein. “You need to live for something larger than yourself.” Andy Klein is the son of Tom and Dode Klein of rural Fair Haven. He is currently studying agricultural education at River Falls. Klein hopes to become an agriculture teacher and an FFA advisor after graduating college.
