2026-2027

Oct 13 2026

The Perfect Recipe

2026-2027, Morgan Nelson

Morgan Nelson

I love to bake. I have spent several moments of my free time in the kitchen crafting something tasty. I think it is a great way to express your creative side and gain a delicious treat.

Growing up, my mom always told me that reading the recipe was the first step when baking, so I would take the time to sit down and read over the recipe before starting. One summer, I was preparing a 4-H foods project for the fair. I decided to make banana poppyseed bread. Before starting, however, I didn’t read the recipe, which resulted in the exact thing my mom had warned against. See, because I didn’t read the recipe, I forgot to put milk and eggs in the bread, which are crucial ingredients. I ended up making a banana poppyseed brick instead of bread.

All ingredients have a purpose while baking. Without eggs and milk, the banana poppyseed bread was hard and super dense.The same goes when talking about leadership. Each person, or ingredient, is an important part of the team or recipe. Whether it’s an officer team, sports team or the people you work with, everyone brings something different to the table. All these attributes help to craft the perfect recipe.

Oct 10 2026

The Power of Preparation

2026-2027, Brayden Henderson

115

Brayden Henderson

When I was ten, my family took a vacation to Colorado, and we decided to hike a mountain trail. None of us were experienced hikers. We figured, what’s the worst that could happen?

On the map, the trail looked easy, and there was even a waterfall at the end. For the first couple of hours, everything went smoothly. I remember noticing every group we passed carried far more gear than we did: backpacks, ponchos, walking sticks. I couldn’t figure out why anyone needed all of that. We were doing just fine.

Then the clouds started to darken. No one had checked the forecast before we left, and the higher we climbed, the colder it got. But we were stubborn. We were going to see that waterfall, even if it rained.

It did. Rain poured down, followed by lightning and thunder, and we had no choice but to turn back. My parents kept telling me we were fine, but I was freezing and soaked, and I watched my family slip and stumble down a trail that had turned to mud. Ten-year-old me knew we were anything but fine.

We all made it home safely, but looking back, the whole mess could have been avoided. Five minutes checking the weather, a few ponchos and an extra layer would have changed everything.

FFA members, life works the same way. Whether it’s a contest, a big shop project or test, an interview or a speech, the people who succeed aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones who prepared when no one was making them.

So before your next big moment, check the forecast. Pack the poncho. The waterfall is worth reaching, and preparation is how you get there.

Oct 05 2026

Not Every Trail Is On The Map

2026-2027, Jordan Tucker

115

Jordan Tucker

This summer, my friend Chloe and I went trail riding together. It was my first weekend-long horseback adventure without my parents. It was slightly scary at first, but Chloe and I were doing it together. For the past six years, I have trail ridden at Big Creek Trail Ride. My parents know 150 miles of trails like the back of their hand. I, however, do not.

One morning, I decided to take Chloe to the jam cabin. I called my mom beforehand to figure out the direction and trail we needed to go on. I had a map, a plan and a destination. What could go wrong?

We set out for the ride in the morning before the heat was unbearable. We rode along the creek for miles, listening to rushing water and leaves blowing through the trees. I followed my map carefully, knowing we needed to stay along the creek until we reached the river.

After crossing the bridge, we couldn’t find the trail that was supposed to take us west. We searched around and thankfully found a trail. The problem was we had no idea if it was the right one.

We continued down the trail, crossing the creek and taking in beautiful views of green trees, clear water and blue skies. Then we came to a fork in the road. The trail split in multiple directions, but I had no idea which way to go because the map didn’t show any of them. We had a choice: turn around and try to find our original route or take a chance on a path that wasn’t on the map. We chose the path we didn’t know. We never made it to the jam cabin. But honestly, I don’t think that mattered. Our ride was filled with laughter, friendship and beautiful scenery.

That ride taught me something that applies to much more than horseback riding. Sometimes, we treat our lives like a map. We plan where we want to go, which opportunities we want to pursue and what we think our future should look like. Having a plan is important, but a map can never show every road you will encounter. Opportunities may come along that were nowhere on your original map. When that happens, don’t be afraid to take the unfamiliar path. Some of the greatest opportunities in FFA are the ones we never planned for. Most of the time, we don’t know exactly where that path will lead, and that’s okay. You don’t have to know exactly where every trail ends to enjoy the ride.

So, when your plans change or an unexpected opportunity comes your way, don’t immediately turn around. Take the trail that wasn’t on your map. You might not end up where you originally planned, but you might just discover the path you didn’t expect was the one you were meant to take.

Oct 02 2026

When the Light Isn’t Right

2026-2027, Madeline O'Brien

115

Madeline O'Brien

758.

That’s how many photos appear when I search “sunset” in my camera roll.

I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t gone out of my way to capture a good sunset. Before I had my license, I would have my parents drive past our subdivision just so I could take a picture of the sun dipping below the fields surrounding my neighborhood. I would get frustrated if the windows were dirty, someone’s head was in the way or the car was moving too fast and my picture came out blurry.

Now that I drive myself, my stops have become much more frequent. I take the long way, turn down random streets and get disappointed when the road curves and the colors disappear from my line of vision.

I love golden hour. Pinks, oranges and yellows streak across the sky, while trees glow with a halo of gold. The way the light brings out the beauty in the most ordinary places never ceases to amaze me. There is a reason it is called golden hour. The right lighting makes almost anything look beautiful. However, as much as I love golden hour, I also wonder: why do we only call an hour beautiful when the lighting is right?

As FFA members, sometimes we focus too much on making every moment look elaborate, ideal or beautiful. We look for our own version of golden hour: the winning speech, the new leadership position or the perfect chapter event. This is because those moments are the ones that photograph the best.

The truth is, though, we all have struggles, we all make mistakes and we all have bad days. Those moments aren’t pretty. They are the moments we choose not to take a picture of because the lighting isn’t quite right, but they are also the moments that help us grow.

We tend to focus on sharing the moments that are the most impressive, but our FFA experience is not measured by highs alone. The growth that happens when no one is watching matters just as much.

Missouri FFA, don’t spend so much time chasing the perfect sunset that you miss the beauty of the moment you are already in. Just because the lighting doesn’t seem right doesn’t mean the moment isn’t beautiful.

Sep 28 2026

Run or Rise

2026-2027, Grant Cottrell

115

Grant Cottrell

During my senior year, I spent countless hours doing homework, studying for tests and preparing for contest season. One night, after working for several hours, I began to get hungry. I got up, walked toward the kitchen and, as usual, grabbed my phone to watch a few reels along the way. While scrolling, I came across a quote from Zig Ziglar that immediately caught my attention: “F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything and Run’ or ‘Face Everything and Rise.’ The choice is yours.” That quote hit me hard because at that point in my life, I had begun questioning whether I could accomplish everything I had committed myself to. I was allowing fear and self-doubt to get in the way of my ability to succeed.

Throughout your FFA journey, you will face challenges that make you question whether you are capable of accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself. Maybe you decide to try a new contest, run for an office in your chapter or simply introduce yourself to someone you have never met at an FFA event in hopes of making a new friend. Each of these experiences can be intimidating. When you begin to doubt yourself, remember that you already made the decision to say “yes” to something new. That simple decision is often the first step toward overcoming the fear standing in your way. You may not know exactly how things will turn out, but having the courage to take that first step can open doors to opportunities you never expected.

Throughout life, I have realized everyone faces fear. We experience fear in our organizations, in the classroom when we receive a grade we are uncertain about, and even in contests after spending countless hours preparing wondering whether we performed well enough. Fear can appear in many different forms, and it will continue to challenge us at different points throughout our lives. So, as you encounter challenges in FFA and throughout your life, remember the words of Mr. Ziglar: F-E-A-R has two meanings—“Forget Everything and Run” or “Face Everything and Rise.” The choice is yours.

Sep 22 2026

Trust The Breakthrough

2026-2027, Kristin Waters

115

Kristin Waters

Stand up, pause, blurry vision, blackness, light-headedness, but then clear again as if it never happened. According to the World Health Organization, anaemia – a condition in which the number of red blood cells within an individual is lower than normal – affects 30% of women 15–49 years of age. Symptoms include cold hands and feet, premature fatigue during exercise, declining endurance and dizziness. This condition affects long-distance runners frequently because it impairs oxygen delivery and ruins endurance performance. In fact, most health experts say it is best for female long-distance runners to have high levels of iron in their blood to perform to their full potential.

From my sophomore to my junior year of high school, I shaved three minutes off my 5k personal best, one minute off my 3200m run, and 30 seconds off my 1600m run. After that breakthrough season, I felt on top of the world. But when the next season came around, my times had started to plateau, and I could tell my training was not working. Most days, I felt that going to practice had no real meaning if I was not improving.

I thought my breakthrough season was officially behind me until my real breakthrough came through advice from a family friend. Several of his successful cross country athletes and all-state runners were having blood work done to determine if iron pills and supplements would help with how hard they could push their training for the upcoming season. Pushing through my fear of needles, I decided it could be a way to discover if this was the answer to my struggling training; the test results showed severely low iron levels in my blood. After starting an iron supplement, I was able to push myself harder at practices and greatly improve my times during my senior year of high school.

In our roles as FFA members, we are constantly challenged to grow, lead and step outside our comfort zones. There will be moments when our hard work seems to plateau and the path forward is unclear. In those moments, it can be easy to become frustrated or question whether we are capable of reaching our goals. Challenges are inevitable, but they should not become the roadblocks to success.

So when you find yourself facing a challenge, remember: a setback is not a stopping point.

Sep 20 2026

Road Barriers

2026-2027, Allie Wagner

115

Allie Wagner

Almost everyone loves to travel, me included. So, when I found myself Indiana-bound for National FFA Convention last October, I couldn’t help but be thrilled for the journey ahead. I sat in the passenger seat next to my ag teacher, picking out songs to listen to, eating an outrageous number of snacks and doing anything that would make time pass more quickly. I was also assigned to be our “navigator” for the way there, so I used the Maps app on my phone to ensure we were headed in the right direction. We passed by big pastures of cattle, freshly harvested crop fields and vast stretches of land. Being the navigator throughout the open road of highway was the easy part, but the city lanes, avenues and stoplights were like comparing a walk in the park to climbing Mount Everest. However, the traffic lanes and congested rush hour streets weren’t even the worst part. It was the massive concrete barriers on each side of the narrow road when road work was being carried out. Of course, the fact that we were driving a wide 12 passenger van didn’t help, but I thought we could plunge into the side of these barriers at any minute, and our trip to National Convention would be ruined. Evidently enough, this fear was completely in my head, but it felt like we would never make it past them. My ag teacher, after I expressed this somewhat trivial nervousness, said “Allie, sometimes you must face the scary things before you can make it to where you are going. You just have to do it.”

Fast forward to that spring, I had to present my first extemporaneous speech ever. It was completely outside of my comfort zone, and I was excited to try something new, but the unbelievable part was that I wasn’t even scared to give my speech. It was the anticipation that came beforehand. I loved the topic I was speaking on, so why was I so nervous? That’s when my ag teacher looked at me and said, “Remember the road barriers?” I immediately quieted my fears and decided that to be able to give my speech, I would have to face the anticipation that came with it.

Sometimes in life, there is something we are working hard to reach, or a very exciting time in our lives that we can’t wait for. Along the way, you will experience your own road barriers, the scary parts, the nervousness and anticipation. In these times, it is important to understand that we can face those fears and thrive throughout the process, because road barriers are necessary for us to embrace our journey.

Sep 13 2026

Your Own Set of Patches

2026-2027, Lindsey Magruder

115

Lindsey Magruder

My senior year of high school, I was told I had been nominated to prepare and give a speech at the graduation ceremony that would be taking place in May. I had no idea what to write about that could include memories of the last four years and the future of all of my fellow classmates. As weeks went on, instead of working on my speech, I decided to make a custom graduation dress full of handsewn patches that represented me and my highschool experience.

On this dress, I sewed “FFA.” I created a patch for NHS and the musical Wizard of Oz I participated in. I sewed a “4.0” patch alongside a pencil and a grad cap, as well as a lyric from my all time favorite artist, Noah Kahan, that says “You’re Gonna Go Far.” This dress encompassed parts of me, my time in high school and memories I will take with me for the rest of my life.

However, I wasn’t the only one with my own set of patches. Maybe physically, but each and every one of my classmates who would be walking the stage had their own set of patches that looked completely different from mine.

Just like my graduation dress, we all have our own set of patches that make us unique. Some of our patches are bright and celebratory of the days we felt on top of the world from winning a speaking competition or being surprised by our score when logging into the judging card. Others are marked with tougher fabric that represents not placing the way we had hoped or not getting the officer position we applied for. Remember these years in the blue jacket are shaping us and the patches we will take with us for the rest of our lives. No one will have the same set of patches that you can bring to the table. Be uniquely yourself, and carry your patches with pride.

Aug 28 2026

Take The Scenic Route

2026-2027, Allyson Burns

115

Sometimes the scenic route isn’t the fastest or easiest path, but it’s often the one that teaches us the most. The unexpected turns, extra miles and moments we never planned for often become the memories we cherish and the experiences that shape us. One bike ride with my cousin Abby reminded me of that lesson in a way I’ll never forget.

One August afternoon, Abby and I decided to ride our bikes to a friend’s house. We assumed it was just a little ways down the road and didn’t think much about it. We grabbed our bikes and took off into the heat of the day, forgetting to pack any water or our phones.

As we rode, we turned down a long, hilly gravel road. We expected our friend’s house to appear at the bottom of the hill, but instead we found ourselves at the highway. We looked around, confused, until we realized we had made a wrong turn and ridden five miles in the wrong direction.

With no other option, we turned around and pedaled back. The hills felt steeper, the August sun felt hotter, and we were definitely wishing we had brought water. Eventually, we found the correct road and finally made it to our friend’s house.

Looking back, that unexpected detour became a story we still tell today. It reminded me that sometimes the most memorable moments happen when things don’t go according to plan.

FFA is a lot like that bike ride. You may have goals for your year, but your path won’t always be a straight line. Maybe a contest doesn’t go your way or an opportunity appears that you never expected. Those moments aren’t setbacks, they’re opportunities to grow.

So this year, I encourage you to take the scenic route. Say yes to new experiences, meet new people and don’t be afraid of unexpected turns. Some of the greatest lessons, friendships and memories come from the paths you never planned to take.

After all, it’s often the scenic route that leads you exactly where you were meant to be.

Aug 26 2026

Honor The Journey

2026-2027, Ellie Samek

115

Ellie Samek

This summer, my family took a road trip to the Smoky Mountains. At one point on our drive, we pulled into a parking lot with a trail that led to the highest point in the mountains. We stepped out of the car and looked across the vast landscape stretching before us. The trees reached toward the sky that was painted in shades of blue and purple. It was one of the most beautiful places I have traveled to.

Then we started our hike. Wildflowers were growing along the edge of the trail and berries dotted the bushes surrounding them. With every step we took up the mountain, the view behind seemed to grow smaller, but we kept climbing. Eventually, we reached the top of Clingmans Dome, 6,643 feet above sea level and the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains. As I looked out from the top of the mountain, I saw absolutely nothing.

After climbing all that way, the view we had been working toward was hidden by the fog and “smoke” of the mountain range. At first, it was disappointing to make it to the highest point and not see anything. Eventually, we began our trek back down the mountain, and the haze slowly lifted. The trees and mountains appeared again. With every step we took, the world around us began to come back to life. The view had never disappeared; we just couldn’t see it.

Standing there, I realized how often I catch myself waiting for the biggest moment, the highest point on the mountain. Our focus can get lost in titles, accomplishments and the desire to stand on the summit. When we focus so much on reaching the top, it becomes easy to overlook the moments along the way. The wildflowers I saw along the trail were just as beautiful as the view from the top. Missouri FFA, don’t wait until you reach the summit to realize how beautiful the journey was. Some of the moments worth remembering most are the ones that we walk right past.