(Atlantic, IA – by FFA Reporter Maddy Anderson) – Each year the Southwest FFA District and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Greenhand Fire Up Conferences for FFA members in the Southwest District. Atlantic High School welcomed 375 FFA members from 29 FFA chapters from all over the Southwest District on Wednesday October 9th.

While at Atlantic High School on Wednesday, district and state officers lead four interactive workshops for first year high school FFA members, also known as Greenhands, for the annual Greenhand Fire Up Conference. The workshops facilitated were leadership focused with an emphasis on the experiences that occur in the lives of beginning high school students.

Iowa FFA President, Collin Bauer, stated, “Greenhand Fire Up provides a chance for first-year high school members to get a sneak peek of the opportunities that FFA holds, and is a conference for members to meet and interact with state and district officers.”

This year 11 Atlantic FFA members participated in Greenhand Fire Up Camp. Rylan Martin said, “I had a great time at Greenhand Fire Up Camp. It was a good experience and I had a lot of fun meeting new people.“ Clara Kennedy said, “I had a lot of fun and I think that every 8th and 9th grade FFA member should go to this conference.”

left to right
Front row
Chloe Sonntag, Jovie Richter, Dylin Ball, Jackstin Lucas, Zack Boes
Back Row
Paislee Klever, Clara Kennedy, Rylan Martin, Ciara Tasto, Mia Kloewer, Kourtney Ross

The officers prepared and facilitated workshops of: authenticity, balancing priorities, communication, and FFA opportunities – in order to provide the first-year FFA members with skills they would use both within and outside of FFA. The goal was to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of through high school and beyond.

Greenhand Fire Up is made possible with support from the Iowa FFA Foundation.