Pacific Northwest FFA members and their legions of supporters are bursting with pride these days. At the recent national convention in Indianapolis, two of them were selected to be national officers.

Cole Baerlocher of Colfax, Wash., was elected the organization’s new national president, and Josiah Cruikshank of Bend, Ore., was elected western region vice president.

“This has been a dream of mine since the first time I zipped up my FFA jacket as a freshman, so to see a goal like that come to life is an incredible feeling,” Baerlocher told the Capital Press. “It truly is one of the greatest honors to serve over 730,000 FFA members, and I cannot wait to start building connections with them.”

Cruikshank was equally effusive in his reaction to the honor.

“To actually be given this platform, to hopefully live a life of service for the betterment of FFA members, is definitely a privilege,” he told the Capital Press.

Honor and service. These are two words that FFA members talk about a lot. They also talk about learning and doing.

Such notions seem to have dropped from the lexicon of many young people these days. Only a few organizations — FFA among them — have dedicated themselves to helping their members navigate an increasingly confusing and challenging world. They also learn new skills and a work ethic that will equip them to take their place in agriculture — or any other business, for that matter.

During the convention FFA members from the Northwest competed with their counterpart from around the nation, demonstrating those  new skills and knowledge. Others received the American FFA Degree, the gold standard of achievement. The degree shows that recipients have gone above and beyond to be leaders in their chapters. Less than half of one percent of all FFA members receive the American Degree.

Yes, the river of pride runs deep these days among Washington and Oregon FFA members and their supporters.

We, like the many other supporters across the region, add our congratulations to President Cole Baerlocher and Western Region Vice President Josiah Cruikshank. 

It is an unsurpassed honor.

Another NW honor

Another honor was handed out during the national FFA convention that is worthy of note.

Included among the Northwest individuals and businesses who go the extra mile to support the FFA are Brian and Laurie Field of Canby, Ore.

They were presented with the Distinguished Service Citation for their support of FFA. The owners of Harvest Capital Co. have long been supporters of the organization. Both are former state FFA officers.

Brian Field has also served as a member of the National FFA Foundation Sponsors’ Board and Board of Trustees, helping to guide the growth and development of the organization in recent years.

Thanks to supporters like the Fields, FFA  continues to be a success and a benefit to the hundreds of thousands of members nationwide. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.