Supporting Supporters

This past week a handful of FFA members and I had the great opportunity to volunteer at the 11^th Annual Minnesota FFA Foundation golf tournament. At this event we got to interact with some great sponsors and supporters of the FFA organization! As the day went on I got to thinking about different supporters that we have, not only in FFA but also in our personal life. According to the dictionary supporter is someone who approves and encourages someone or something. To me a supporter is a lot more than that, they are a rock that keeps us grounded, someone who helps us be a better person, someone we can always fall back on when we need help, they provide resources to help us accomplish our goals, and most of all they are always there to SUPPORT us.

We all have an array of different supporters in our lives. They might be family members, mentors, friends, teachers, coaches, advisors, or a pastor. Throughout my FFA career I have got to know a great lady who has supported me a lot over the past few months. She had faith in me and told me last year at national convention that she thought I could run for state officer and if I did she would be glad to help. I was always intimidated by Leah so this meant a lot to me. When I was preparing for interviews I asked for her help. The day we got together we learned about each other and she was always there for me, pushing me to do better, and encouraging me through the whole process. Now I am honored to have Leah as a mentor through my year of service.  Leah has been a huge supporter in my life, as well as many others, and will continue to be for years to come.

In my home chapter of Morris we have wonderful support for the FFA program through our community and alumni chapter. The support we receive from our alumni is outstanding; they help us with a large amount of financials, such as our banquet, Ag in the Classroom project, conventions, our barn at the fair, and much more. There is something unique though about their support to our FFA chapter. They support us because we support them. Every year members from the chapter donate a few hours of work that gets auctioned off to local farmers. We then go work for the farmer who bought our hours and he pays the alumni. Every year our alumni have made over $12,000 at this auction and then our chapter and members receive money and support back from the alumni. This is one example of how a group supports us better because we support them.

Another great example of supporting a supporter in our personal lives is friends. Our true friends seem to always be there for us through anything. Why are the always there to lean on? Because we are always there for them, for a good long lasting friendship we are there for our friends when they need us then they return the favor.

Who are some supporters in our lives or chapters? How can we thank them? Take it to the next step, how can we support them? Who do we have in our lives or community that needs support? How can we be a supporter to someone else?

Stationed by the Emblem of Washington

Brady Wulf