Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, leadership development and insights from subject matter experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come true. Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro.
Speaker 2:Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast, we want to, as number one, start off by saying thank you. Thank you for taking time to join us. I mean, we appreciate a platform like this where we can bring on guests that share their insights, their experiences, their expertise, in hopes that we, we pour into people. Like I always say, if agriculture has taught me anything, it's taught me this. If you want to know what the future is growing, well, how do you grow it? Well, you got to have the right information.
Speaker 2:You got to have the right seeds, and that's what this podcast is all about. It's bringing on people that can pour into us and make us better, make our communities better, our organizations, our families, and today is no different. I have known this young lady for a very long time and I was so excited when she changed roles and I said, hey, listen, you got to come be a guest on the podcast, and she graciously accepted. So, ladies and gentlemen, it's an honor to introduce you to Melissa Rosenbush Spicer. You're going to learn more about Melissa here in a second, but, melissa, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much, Aaron, for allowing me to be on here. This is quite an honor and a privilege, and I am super excited to talk to you today about definitely UNI's probably favorite topic to discuss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we share a lot and, again, I've known her and her family for a long time. I'm excited about this opportunity to share. Okay, every guest we start off the show the same way with the same question. And I'm just curious, melissa, today, what are you grateful for today?
Speaker 3:That's a great question and I think it all comes down to one person, and it's the Lord and Savior above, because without Him I wouldn't have been able to wake up today and take a breath and be able to tackle all the things that are in front of me without him and his guiding light. He provides everything we need from health and family, friends and career paths and just every day enjoying what he provides for us. So that's an easy one for me, wow.
Speaker 2:Okay, we can stop there. That's all we needed. So that was great, because it's so true and I share, by the way, with the young people and with teachers. You know, one of my fun things I like to do with the kids is ask them name the most famous people they can name. And they will name entertainers, and they'll name movie stars and sports figures and business people. And then I said, great, now name me just one, that's all. I want One Name, one that wakes up every day and makes their own heartbeat. And I said you've got to have faith.
Speaker 2:You've got to have faith, and faith provides us the opportunity to serve a purpose, and that's kind of what brought us together, because you've had a life's purpose and I think I've had a life's purpose, and it becomes a passion of what we do and why we do it, and I'm hopeful that that's maybe today. That's what people will take out of this interview are some of the very paths that we've walked, experiences that we've had and things that we'd like to share.
Speaker 3:So I agree wholeheartedly.
Speaker 2:Thank you for that, because I agree with you completely. So let's start off and kind of give us a little path. You did not just fall into that seat that you're in right now, so I know that there was a journey that brought you to where you are at this stage in your career, the stage in life. Walk us through that. Tell us what it was like, where you grew up, how you chose the profession that you chose. Take us through that journey.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I think I was very blessed. There's a lot of people out there that kind of probably have similar stories as mine because there's a lot of ag teacher kids out there and I was one of them. My family from the beginning of time. I can remember wearing blue and gold little toboggans with FFA emblems on them when I was two years old, but I have been surrounded by the FFA program. My uncle's an ag teacher, my dad was an ag teacher and I was able to go K through 12 in our little town where my parents grew up and my dad was my ag teacher and put me through everything that I could be involved in with FFA. And then I decided my junior year. I knew I wanted to go to Tarleton State University and I knew I wanted to do something in agriculture.
Speaker 3:I thought I wanted to be an ag teacher but, I, wasn't really sure I had been an area president, had been very involved in the officer and leadership roles and I enjoyed working with people. So I followed that path and I'm going to be honest. At one time I thought, oh, I'm going to transfer to A&M and be a vet by my sophomore year. Well, the sophomore year came and I was like you know what? I think I'm supposed to be here for a reason and we started the classes with education and started learning about all the things in agriculture. And my path just kept rolling and God just kept putting me in the right places where I needed to be.
Speaker 3:I graduated, I applied for one job and I said, ok, if I don't get that one, I'm going to stay here and work on my master's. I didn't get it. I laugh about that all the time. I won't say where it's at, but joke about that all the time. But he come back to me later and he said I really messed up not hiring you. I said you know what? The good Lord had a path and where it ended up was a couple months later, in the middle of the year, my high school principal called me back and said there was an opening with my dad back in Florence, and so I went back home.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:And that's where I stayed for 29 years. So not only was it my K through 12 school, but it's also where I taught my entire you know ag career and for 15 years of that I got to teach with my dad and I think that those were some gifts that I could never give up and what a great mentor he was to me. You know his friends were ag teachers. My family was, you know, devout and, you know, going to believe 100 percent in what the program produces, and I am a product of that program and I know, just like you are, aaron, that we, you know, living proof of what an ag education and FFA program can, you know, produce and put out there. So, after kind of going through the realm of 29 years and I loved it 100 percent it was the best career ag teaching.
Speaker 3:I will forever be a champion of ag teachers. That, what they do and the way that they change lives and impact and inspire students there's nothing like it. And they work hard and they are passionate and they believe. And I will, like I said, I will, champion them for the day I die, till I have my last breath. I will bleed blue and gold. I will believe that this is the best thing on earth.
Speaker 3:And it just kind of happened that I crossed paths with Pete Hexter a couple years back and we had kind of crossed paths with Bloom for Good and we were very successful with a campaign that he put out and he just said, man, you've got something special there. And I'm really thinking I would like to grab some of that energy you have. And we started a you know, a real, you know a partnership and relationship there as I finished out my career and was ready to jump on board. And I tell you what it's been great, because guess what I get to do? I still get to help ag teachers and support FFA programs and still be involved in this industry that I love so very much. And so I again. God has blessed me just unbelievably and I'm just thankful every day for that.
Speaker 2:What a story. By the way, let me ask you real quick how big is Florence? What class school is that?
Speaker 3:It's a 3A school.
Speaker 2:So for listeners that are not from Texas, they might not understand how big is a 3A school In the high school we had around 350 students In the entire school district.
Speaker 3:it was about a little over a thousand.
Speaker 2:It was about a little over a thousand. The reason I want to share that is because, you know, a lot of times people think well, you know, to get the best of something you've got to be in the largest cities or the more metropolis type suburban areas. And I will tell you that the Florence program was an outstanding program in the state of Texas. They were very innovative in some of their approaches to some of their industry connections.
Speaker 2:You know I can tell you as an old meats judger, as a guy who grew up, I mean, the top job at Boys Ranch where I grew up, the top job I mean you could not do it until you were a senior was to work in the meats lab and to work on the slaughter and the kill floor of the slaughterhouse. And I'll never forget working my way up to that top job and then going to Texas Tech University. That was my job. I worked in the meats lab, I worked with the Texas Tech program and then I went to work for one of the local grocery stores and when I see what Florence had accomplished it was very inspiring because it was innovative. So I just want to throw that out that. You know, big schools are great. They do have a lot of opportunity, but don't think that there's not some really good imaginative people out there in the smaller schools that are doing just incredible things, and where Melissa came from is an example of that.
Speaker 3:And I think it's a great point that you made, because even as small as a school district we are and people are always shocked by this there's actually five ag teachers there, and so we have a middle school program and then four at the high school. But I think what a lot of people don't realize, like oh well, that's just an ag class. When they don't realize half of what. I taught in the day was communications and radio and video.
Speaker 3:And we were, we were allowing to satisfy other components in the curriculum in our school and requirements for graduation that were not necessarily under the AFNR umbrella.
Speaker 3:And I think a lot of people don't realize that because those ag teachers are so passionate and creative and they understand the world that kids are learning some from those hands-on things that they do that they might not just from just a general ed teacher and nothing against general ed teachers but again, ag teachers they're my heroes, they always have been and what they can provide students.
Speaker 3:And you know, whether you learn floral and it's a fine arts career, or you know I'm learning speech and I'm getting all the time that the FFA program is what allows us to reach out. It's so complex and if you will open up those doors as an ag teacher and let those students feel, there's something for all of them to be involved in. You know, and I think that was the thing we tried to do, is make sure we were touching every student that sat in a seat in that building, whether it's a science fair because they really like science, which they wouldn't have thought that's ag related or even they're in the national band because they love music and that's something. But they were an FFA member, so that's something we've really worked hard at and I'm proud of that. To be comprehensive of the program so here's something that you know.
Speaker 2:You're starting a dialogue here that I would not have taken us down, but I'm glad you're going down this path. You know, when we think of the scope of you know, melissa referenced AFNR Agriculture, food and Natural Resources our agriculture, food, natural resources when she referenced that, yes, that is a high school course, but the applications of what goes on there really are the basics of education that could go all the way down to the elementary level Exactly.
Speaker 2:I mean, I know of FFA chapters in Texas.
Speaker 2:We've got a chapter that is on NASA and they use longhorn cattle to teach dominant and recessive gene traits and they bring in the pre-AP eighth graders from the Houston ISD.
Speaker 2:I know programs that are helping the kids connect with their pigs and with their sheep and goats and with their cattle and they teach the little kids about how much does a scoop weigh and with their cattle and they teach the little kids about how much does a scoop weigh? How much is a half a gallon? Hey, we got to fix this over here. I need you to weld me a 90 degree angle. And they say, well, I don't know what 90 degrees is, well, just weld me a T. Oh, that's 90 degrees. And so to your point. Agriculture programs have the capacity to help kids comprehend things that in a textbook they may be harder to understand, but in application they become easier to understand and that whole learning to do, doing to learn, and then when you accompany that with a teacher that's enthused about that learning opportunity, then I think that's a reason why, statistically we know statistically, not because we say so we know that our kids are outperforming their peers.
Speaker 2:We know that students in ag, science education and FFA are outperforming, and I think it's a lot of what Melissa's saying. I think it's a lot of the fact that, yes, these are agricultural courses, but we're offering something that creates so much more, which I'm a big you're in business. I'm a big believer in return on investment and, as a taxpayer, I want ROI and when I see what y'all do with our ag kids and our FFA kids, I think it's some of the best return on investment for tax dollars in the state and I just think it's all the things that you just said. So that's why I wanted to brag that I appreciate you bringing it up.
Speaker 2:So one of the things I like to talk about when we're talking to kids and I'm talking to teachers, as I always tell them practice R2A2. And everybody always asks me what's R2A2? Sounds like a Star Wars character. R2a2 is recognize, relate, assimilate and apply. Recognize what somebody says, relate to it, like you and I are talking, what goes on in Florence may not be the same as what goes on in downtown Dallas, so you got to kind of relate to it, but then you take it in, you assimilate it and then you've got to apply it. That's what this podcast is about. It's about bringing guests on and already just letting you know. Already you have talked about family faith, being flexible, being committed to your goals. Be on the lookout for opportunities. All of those, in my opinion, are great seeds of greatness. So I hope people that are listening heard every one of those, because those really are outstanding.
Speaker 2:So when we think about agriculture and we think about food, you were in the classroom and now you're out of the classroom, but you're kind of in the classroom. Do you think there's opportunities out there in agriculture? Do you see if I'm a kid sitting in Houston, dallas, austin, san Antonio right now, or maybe somebody's watching this. We've got people that call me from New York that love this podcast. If I'm sitting in a classroom in one of these other states, is there an opportunity in agriculture and FFA? Can it promote me into something along a career? What would you tell me is an opportunity?
Speaker 3:Anything, anything they want to do. And I used to tell kids that on the first day of school since we're everybody's going back to school now and they be in here and they're freshmen and they're like, you know, I don't even know why I'm in here. I'm not an ag kid. That's what they would always tell me and I was like, really, so how are you're not an ag kid? How did you get to school today, you know? And what did we eat for breakfast? And you put on clothes. We touch agriculture through. We wouldn't be alive without it. And so for you to say, and I would tell them, you tell me something you want to do, and I'm going to correlate it with an ag career, you know, like, well, I want to be a nurse or I want to be a doctor. I said, well, great, because in our meat science class you're going to learn about the anatomy. The bones and muscles of an animal are the same as they are in a human. You know, you're going to learn all of that, your basics and your background. I have a lot of students that would come back and then say, hey, I got as a grad assistant, I got on a work project to do a research, because I showed rabbits and chick and I was on the poultry judging team. But she's a doctor and because of her resume, because of that experience, she was able to. You know she got put on that job and you know those are the things that they don't realize and you know we think about all the time.
Speaker 3:I use the example. You know a doctor who has to make a split second decision when you're in the ER. Well, when you're judging of anything, you've got to do that in a small amount and you've got to tell me why. I don't want to hear, I don't know. You know, I want to know why you are backing up. If I'm on a gurney in the ER and they're fixing to have to do surgery. I want you to be confident, I want you to have a decision and I want you to be able to back it up. Well, that skill set that we learn in all of our career development events are going to help you with anything, and so really, I will not allow them to tell me that they're not an ag kid anymore and that without it you know you've heard the t-shirt you know without it we'd be hungry and naked and all of the things that we would be. But agriculture touches every single person's life one way or another and there's so many opportunities for us to do. I know that when you were talking about reaching down into the elementary, I'm going to add in real quick I used to do an ag science day with elementary students and we would communicate with the teachers of the elementary in their science curriculum and it was called ag science day because I started to think.
Speaker 3:I said, if our high school students are getting those hands-on opportunities and experiences where they're learning those, we're, you know, we are basically supporting history, we're supporting English, we're supporting math because they're actually doing those in the ag education classroom. How can we do that in elementary? So we started, you know, about 15 years ago, doing Ag Science Day, working with Texas Farm Bureau and our county Farm Bureau to sponsor that. It was so successful because the kids they rotated it with a different topic. So in let's use third grade they had to do a, the life cycle of an animal. So we use poultry science.
Speaker 3:Or maybe in fifth grade I had the teachers there said man, we are not doing good on the star test. They don't understand soil particle size, perfect, let's do soil science and we would bring it in and they would touch it and they make that and they were taught by the high school FFA students and talk about mentorship for that. And then when they got in high school I would say, hey, do you remember Ag Science Day? And they did, and that give back, you know, and that community outreach, it was just a blessing altogether. Programs like that that we can do, where we can reach elementary students, embed into other curriculums, it's a win because, like we just said, it touches everything and you can see I'm a fan.
Speaker 2:Hey, listen everything that you just said, everything. If you want to know what the future is growing to ag science teachers, if you want to know what the future is growing to ag science teachers, if you want to know what your future classroom looks like, do exactly what Melissa just said. There is no one cooler in that elementary school than the high school kids. And if they show up in official dress, what is this? And next thing you know they're showing up with animals or they're showing up with experimental or plants. That is what fascinates them. So, to your point, you're growing your classroom and business is about numbers and numbers. So if you're growing your classroom, that's a good thing and the administration would like that. So keep growing your numbers Makes a lot of sense. One of the things that you said there that I thought was just a takeaway Wayne Gretzky, a famous hockey player. They asked him one time what makes you such a great hockey player and he said most players skate to where the puck is. I skate to where the puck is going.
Speaker 2:And if we think about that, we know that the world population is growing. Right now we're experiencing it right here in Texas a lot of growth, a lot of urban sprawl, taking up of natural resources. I got news for you we're going to have more people in this world in the next 30 years and we're not going to have more land to grow, more food, more water to take care of our growing, of our food supply to your point. It's going to take a lot of brilliant minds and we're going to have to have people that say I may not understand livestock production, but I understand engineering or linguistics or marketing to help get this commodity to the people that need it. If they don't, they're going to die. So I think there is tremendous opportunity. I think it's sad that when they polled Americans, a lot of Americans don't know what agriculture is, but everybody knows what food is and I love what you said. From the time we get up in the morning, we got a roof over our head. Ag commodity that's a product If we eat.
Speaker 3:Breathe in oxygen that was produced by trees and plants.
Speaker 2:Everything that, like you said, that we touch has something to do with agriculture. Let's talk leadership for a second. Let's talk leadership for a second. You've taught for a while. You've trained a lot of teams, you've offered a lot of advice. Give me your top three leadership traits. If you could tell somebody to be an effective leader, what would they be?
Speaker 3:I think the number one would be an effective communicator. You've got to be able to communicate with people and always tell the kids read the room, because sometimes they don't, and unfortunately today our students don't do that as well, because they are glued to something that thinks for them a lot of time, whether it's a computer or a phone or whatever it may be, and so communication is definitely my number one.
Speaker 3:The other one I'm going to say is work ethic. Work ethic is no leader should be outworked by their other people, you know, by the people below them. It should always be a team effort, and I want to work alongside the leader and they should be giving that as an example. And so if, if you don't understand how to work, or you put your best foot forward or you have pride in the work you're producing, uh, you always want to leave things. My daddy used to always say you leave things better than you got them, and I think that's something with the work ethic as well. And then the third one I actually have four, so dependability, which might fall with that work ethic. If you your word means something if you say you're going to do it, then you need to make sure that that you do. You know there's nothing more, and that integrity or character is, you know, part of that as well. And then with that I would roll in compassion.
Speaker 3:I think people have to be compassionate because everybody walks in different footsteps. We're all trying to do the same thing, but their paths are different, and so just be, you know, compassionate, to understand that people you know may be having a rough time or hard time, and that's where that servant heart comes from. That we talk about a lot is, with community service, the living to serve. I could dissect the entire FFA motto for you because it fits every single thing we're doing, but I do believe that that's something that we try to teach our kids. You know that that is something that you want. To be a productive citizen, you want to make sure that you're giving back and that compassion and understanding, living to serve.
Speaker 2:That was really good, by the way. That's real good. No doubt a good leader is an effective communicator, both in the written word and the spoken word. And the other thing is I like that you said this, by the way but don't lose your voice. Don't let technology become your voice. It can help you amplify your voice, but be discerning. I love that you said be discerning and don't be afraid of technology, but don't let it replace, because it's not going to replace your work ethic, it's not going to replace your integrity. I love to ask the kids. A lot of times I ask them. I said tell me about your business. And they always look at me and say, mr Alejandro, I don't have a business. I said, yeah, you are, you're it. I said what time?
Speaker 1:do you open in?
Speaker 2:the morning. What?
Speaker 1:kind of customer service.
Speaker 2:Do you deliver? Are you responsive? Do you do what you say you're going to do? I mean, we are our business. That's why everybody knows I go by the handle of your brand, because that's who we are.
Speaker 2:And to your point, I think those are great examples. Work that could. Dependability, compassion, empathy, vulnerability, all of those are signs of great leaders. So I hope people picked up on those, because that's gold right there, gold All right. So now let's talk about a little bit about Bloom. So it's really interesting.
Speaker 2:I love meeting people, by the way, and I'm always fascinated to learn about people, to learn about their backgrounds. And I remember, before COVID, I had an opportunity to meet this gentleman and he was telling me all about Bloom. His name was Pete Hexter and I just liked Pete Hexter, and I liked it because he was very accomplished in his career. But he was looking at what was next and it's like Tom Ziegler and Zig Ziegler say we're all going to leave a legacy. We're either going to leave that legacy by design or by default. Legacy by design or by default.
Speaker 2:And I just remember Pete telling me Aaron, I'm looking to do something that's going to make the world better, and I love it. When people have that FFA aha moment and I remember when Pete had that moment at the convention, both national and state convention when Pete had that moment at the convention, both national and state convention, he's like, OK, this is, I know we've got to support this. And so he's made several pivots in the company for the very purpose of wanting to support and why do you think it is that Pete's so committed to that? Why do you know him? Now? You work with him, what y'all do so focused on helping young people.
Speaker 3:Well, I do believe you know they changed the name from Bloom to Bloom for Good, because I do believe you nailed that that Pete is looking to leave a legacy of good and that goes right back to that servant heart which you know being a leader and wanting to give back, and he understands completely that, just like you said, we've got to grow our future in the youth, in all of our youth leadership programs. I mean, that is our mission. Bloom is about supporting youth in agriculture and other leadership programs, because if we don't lift them up and we don't help them and you know, I think a lot of times even my experience as an ag teacher a student will tell me later well, if you hadn't told me that I was going to be good at that, I wouldn't have done that. I'm like oh my gosh, you were so talented, you know, did you not see that? And I've said no. If you hadn't told me to be on this team, if you had not told me to write that speech.
Speaker 3:If you had not told me to run for this office, I would have done it because I didn't know I could or that I had the ability, and so I think a lot of times they are so fragile in the age that we're talking about. These youth are the future and again I say that, aaron, you and I are living proof of what an FFA program can build and grow. I mean, when I was a sophomore, I was so shy, I did not want to talk. I know this is unbelievable, people don't believe this. But my daddy said, nope, you're going to district leadership camp and he sent me away and I'm like, no, I won't know anybody, you can't do that to me. Came back and my mom says you haven't shut up since.
Speaker 3:So it was really that pivotal thing where it opens it up and then you talk about aha moments. Even as students we have that and that's so cool to watch when it switches and you realize about the premier leadership, the personal growth and leading you to career success. And I truly believe that Pete saw that and he wanted to be a part of it and he picked the best organization and I just I'm so happy to be on the journey with him and the entire Bloom team to help and serve, because I do. I have a servant heart and so it was. It was a no brainer for me at the time of retirement, when I had to get out of the classroom, that this was exactly what I wanted to do at the time of retirement when I had to get out of the classroom.
Speaker 2:That this was exactly what I wanted to do. That's the reason why I wanted to mention that, because I can tell you from the seat that I sit in. It was fun, and has been fun, to watch where Bloom was, to watch their connection with my colleagues across the United States, to see what role you're playing now and its next steps, if you will. But at the end of the day, I love it that it's not just about it is a business.
Speaker 2:Businesses are not. Like I tell my colleagues, businesses are not a fountain of funds for nonprofits. Businesses are in business to make money. But as a result of their success there comes a lot of philanthropy, and I like it when I see that they say, hey, listen, we want to support because businesses could put their money in a lot of places. And so I'm always thrilled People that know me know I say this when I write proposals and we've been very successful.
Speaker 2:I'm very proud of what we've been able to accomplish. When we write proposals, there's two questions that I ask myself so what and according to who? It's real easy for us to go around and say we're the greatest youth organization in America, but we may have a stakeholder that their son or daughter was exceptional in sports or band or UIL, or speech and debate or Eagle Scout. So it's very arrogant for us to say that. But when I can say, well, according to Ford Motor Company, according to McCoy's, according to Justin Boots, according to Bloom, our kids are pretty good. So there's my so what and my according to who.
Speaker 2:So when we have stakeholders that believe in us, it makes our efforts more rewarding. So I just want to say thank you, thank you to you, thank you to Pete, and again, it's all about the leadership. We could sit and talk all day about all this. The good thing is, we both agree that we want a better Texas, we want a better United States and we believe that Ag, food and Natural Resources and the FFA could be a great portal to get those great leaders out there in business, in agriculture, in classrooms, and thank you for sharing that with us and joining us today. Before we leave, everybody gets a fun question.
Speaker 2:Okay before we leave, everybody gets a fun question, okay.
Speaker 3:So melissa rosenbush basher, tell me what is the best concert you've ever been to, oh, wow, okay. Well, I just went to one recently that was pretty fantastic. Um, it was Zach Topp, because my son that was his his graduation president from high school was that? That's what he said. He's such an old soul. I couldn't afford George Strait tickets to see Zach Topp, but I did sneak into the Astrodome in high school with my best friend and we did get to peek through the fence there and get to see George Strait ride around on his horse. So that was pretty good too. But I would say those are my top two for sure.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's good. That's really good. Yeah, no, it's a fun question to ask and it's amazing the spectrum of artists and entertainers and stories that have come out of this podcast, everything from Metallica to Pitbull to, obviously.
Speaker 3:King George.
Speaker 2:Even the greatest showman. I mean, it's been fascinating to hear people, but I just think it's a reminder that we're all the same. We all like a good movie, a good book, a good song, and those are just things that we have in common. So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3:Tom, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:All right folks. Well, thank you for stopping by for another edition of the Growing Our Future podcast. This is just another reason I loved Melissa coming on, for several reasons. Melissa really is an example of why I love my job. People ask me that all the time. They said you really like your job. I said I do. I said I get to work with some incredible educators, I get to work with young people that want to serve, and then I work with some incredible sponsors who have a heart for the future, and Melissa just kind of embodies all of that. So thank you all for stopping by. Until we meet again, go out and do something great for somebody. You'll feel better about it, you'll make things better and grow the future. Plant the seeds you heard today. Plant them, take care of them, harvest them and then share them. Thanks for stopping by. We'll see you next time on the Growing Our Future podcast.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast. This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen agricultural science education so students can develop their potential for personal growth, career success and leadership in a global marketplace. Learn more at mytexasffaorg.