* Press release from last week…

In a year that saw exponential growth in the youth in agriculture movement, the Illinois State Fair, along with Governor JB Pritzker, announced that the Illinois State FFA Officers will serve as Grand Marshals for the annual Twilight Parade.

Since Governor Pritzker announced in 2022 that every student in the state of Illinois taking an agriculture class would have their FFA dues paid, FFA membership increased from 23,000 to over 41,000 members strong. Additionally, 5,500 students not enrolled in agricultural education courses joined FFA, demonstrating an appreciation of the value of the organization.

* SJ-R last week…

For the record, Thursday did mark Thaddeus Bergschneider’s first time being the grand marshal of a parade, one that left him pinching himself.

“I’m looking at all of the cars and the people who are lined up,” said the 18-year-old President of the Illinois FFA, prior to the start of the Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade, “and I can’t believe I’m a grand marshal of it. It really makes me proud to be a part of Illinois FFA and a part of the industry of agriculture that’s put us here and that’s valued. That says a lot.”

I happened to meet Bergschneider yesterday after I had a pork burger in the Commodities Pavilion ahead of the Alanis Morissette concert. FFA Vice President Riley Kessler was also part of the parade and was at the pavilion as well. They were both very impressive.

And both of those young people were still so excited about the opportunity to lead that parade last week and about the attention it brought the FFA. Whoever thought up this idea deserves major kudos.

I was in 4-H (Iroquois County, Milks Grove Challengers), but not FFA. It just wasn’t my thing, but my daughter was a member and it had a positive impact on her life.

* Press release…

Today Governor JB Pritzker signed HB3814 into law, allowing students attending work-based learning events like 4-H and FFA programs to count program participation towards school attendance. The bill advances the administration’s work to encourage Illinois students to pursue workforce and career development learning while in school. […]

FFA and 4-H programs encourage both urban and rural Illinois students to participate in hands-on projects across agricultural, STEM, and business development sectors. Students who participate in work-based programs have been shown to make healthier and safer choices and give back to their communities long-term, fostering a culture of collaboration and hard work at a young age.

This bill amends the Illinois School Code to allow students who miss traditional classroom days for events in work-based learning programs to have those events counted towards overall school attendance. The student’s parent or legal guardian are to be responsible for obtaining assignments missed while the student was participating in an eligible program.

* Bergschneider and 4-H youth leader Naomi Dolan spoke at today’s press conference and they did a tremendous job.

Bergschneider talked about how FFA members’ official school attendance records needlessly suffer because of the missed days, even though the kids are out there learning and improving themselves.

Dolan said she missed a month of school her senior year with conferences and other events, “but I was still keeping up on my schoolwork. I stayed up very late to work on my assignments because that’s something that 4-H and FFA tells the youth.”

After they spoke, Pritzker quipped “Couple of future governors here.” I recommend watching it.