NATIONAL FFA VICE PRESIDENT TO SPEAK AT
PRESENTATION OF FLOWERS CEREMONY
COLUMBIA, SC…National FFA Vice President Stuart Joy of Artesia, New Mexico, will be the featured speaker at the South Carolina Agricultural Educators and FFA-sponsored Plant Presentation Ceremony at the State Capitol on Wednesday, April 19, according to John W. Parris, state director of public affairs with the SC FFA organization.
Joy is a former state president of the New Mexico FFA Association and is on leave from Lubbock Christian University where he is majoring in Engineering. His career plans include owning an irrigation equipment and supply business and operating the family farm. As a high school student, Joy’s FFA enterprises included cotton, sheep and forage production.
Government officials expected to attend the ceremony include State Treasurer Grady Patterson, a member of the Budget and Control Board and an FFA alumnus; State Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers; State Senator Larry Grooms, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee; State Representative William D. Witherspoon, Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and an FFA alumnus; George Dorn, State Administrator of the Budget and Control Board’s Division of General Services and an FFA alumnus; Dennis Haigler, Horticulturalist with the Division of General Services, and a number of others.
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The Presentation of Flowers for the State House grounds is a cooperative project of South Carolina’s Agricultural Educators and FFA members. The plants are grown by FFA members as a part of their hands-on-training in Horticulture, Greenhouse Management and Landscape Technology courses offered by agricultural education departments in secondary schools throughout the state. This is the fifth consecutive year the ceremony has been held. The plants will be on display on the north steps of the State House beginning at 10 AM.
Manning High School FFA members will serve as the Color Guard for the Presentation of Colors and another member will sing the National Anthem at the event.
Members of the State Agricultural Educators Association Executive Committee are Steve McCannon, president, B.J. Skelton Career Center, Easley; Roger Estridge, president-elect, Andrew Jackson High School, Kershaw; W. Pat Earle, past president, McBee High School, McBee; Barry Hawkins, secretary-treasurer, Edisto High School, Cordova; Abbie Piotrowski, vice president, B.J. Skelton Career Center, Easley; Tom Willingham, vice president, Blythewood High School, Blythewood; Al Gray, vice president, Hartsville High School, Hartsville; M. Pat Black, vice president, Branchville High School, Branchville; Melanie Birchmore, associate vice president, Laurens District 55 High School, Laurens; Derrick Cooper, associate vice president, Gilbert High School, Gilbert; Joan Alexander, associate vice president, Florence Career Center, Florence; and Virgil Nichols, associate vice president, Hunter-Tyler-Kinard High School, Neeses.
The State FFA Officer team includes Stephen Tyner, president, McBee; Emily Waggoner, secretary, Pendleton; Jacob Powers, vice president, Lexington; Michael Burdette, vice president, Calhoun Falls; Shane Grice, vice president, Warrenville; and Jason Gore, vice president, Loris.
The mission of the FFA is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.