HOUSE MEMORIAL 14

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Harlan Vincent and Gail Armstrong and Art De La Cruz

and Cathrynn N. Brown and Randall T. Pettigrew

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

PROCLAIMING FEBRUARY 5, 2025 "FFA DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

 

     WHEREAS, FFA, formerly future farmers of America, has been a premier youth leadership organization in New Mexico for more than eighty years; and

     WHEREAS, started by thirty-three Virginia farm boys in 1928, the national FFA organization now has more than one million members in all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; and

     WHEREAS, the FFA mission centers on three goals: premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education; and

     WHEREAS, the FFA is an intra-curricular organization that accomplishes its mission by focusing on its three-circle model of FFA, classroom and supervised agriculture experiences; and

     WHEREAS, FFA sponsors chapters in rural and urban areas throughout the state; and

     WHEREAS, today, the New Mexico FFA association has more than five thousand two hundred youths between twelve and twenty-one years of age participating in FFA youth development programs in ninety-three chapters statewide; and

     WHEREAS, FFA youth development programs are diverse and help participants to acquire important life skills, such as leadership, responsible citizenship, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, conflict resolution and communication skills, that directly contribute to the successful transition of young people into productive adults; and

     WHEREAS, students enrolled in agriculture education today learn a variety of skills, including career readiness, agriculture mechanics, floral design, animal science, ecology and the environment and agriculture business, demonstrating that FFA is no longer about "cows, sows and plows" but teaches vital skills that will be useful in any career; and

     WHEREAS, FFA participants report having more confidence and positive self-identity, greater control in their lives and a better ability to make decisions independently; and

     WHEREAS, FFA participants also report that they set goals and take responsibility for their actions, they take pride in many things and their lives have purpose and meaning; and

     WHEREAS, beginning on February 15, 2025, FFA members across the country will celebrate national FFA week, and in New Mexico, members across the state will celebrate and highlight their time in FFA; and

     WHEREAS, the accomplished young men and women of FFA are outstanding examples of hard work and dedication;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that in recognition of the contribution of the FFA to the state and in celebration of the achievements of the young men and women of FFA, February 5, 2025 be proclaimed "FFA Day" in the house of representatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico FFA organization.

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