The 99th National Future Farmers of America (FFA) was held on October 21-24 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana with over 70,000 FFA members, advisors, and guests in attendance.

Attending were Derek Shields, FFA Advisor at Weston High School, and Elsie Flynn, who came home with a coveted Gold Emblem for placing in the top 8 nationally in the FFA Creed Speaking Leadership Development Event (LDE).

LDEs are competitive public-speaking, communication, and decision-making events designed to help FFA members build leadership skills, confidence, and real-world capabilities. The Creed Speaking LDE is where Junior members recite the official FFA Creed from memory and answer questions about its meaning. To earn the ability to compete at nationals, students go through progressive elimination rounds starting at the district (or chapter/area) level and at state conventions.

“Thousands upon thousands of students learn the FFA Creed every year with the intention of being the best and never have the opportunity to compete at the highest levels. Elsie can no longer say that. She has now been to the biggest stage, and represented herself, her chapter, and me to the highest,” said Shields. “Elsie has been a part of a lot of firsts for me as an FFA Advisor. Watching that shy, timid student bloom into the huge personality Elsie is now has been awesome to be a part of. Most people will never comprehend how hard she has worked for the last 12 months to get to this point. She has made me proud to be one of the people who have seen all the hard work she has put in. When you see her, be sure to congratulate her on her hard work.”