From Student to FFA Leader: Sami DeLey on Ag, Teaching & Building Future Leaders in Rushville

In this episode of The Hoel Truth Podcast, Bob sits down with Sami DeLey—FFA advisor and Ag teacher at Rushville Consolidated High School—to talk about leadership, legacy, and her path from student to educator.

Sami shares her journey from FFA student to classroom educator, the importance of resilience, and how her students are learning real-world leadership through events like Rushville’s first-ever tractor pull.

You’ll hear honest stories about failure, career pivots, and what it really takes to build the next generation of community-minded leaders.

If you’ve ever been impacted by a teacher—or wanted to become one—this episode will hit home.

Transcript

Sami, what was the biggest learning experience that you had in FFA and, how did that help you with your future?

I will say, when I was in high school, a typical senior thought I was big stuff. And so, you know, thought I was going to kill this speech and rolled around and, you know, didn't do as well as I thought I was going to do. So that was probably my biggest learning experience.

Welcome to this edition of the Hoel Truth Podcast today, our special guest is Sami DeLey. She is one of the local FFA chapter advisors. So I'll give you a minute to just introduce yourself real quick.

All right. My name is Sami DeLey. My students know me as Miss DeLey. I am in my second year of teaching agricultural education and with that, I am also the FFA advisor at Rushville Consolidated High School.

So, you technically, how how is that working now? Mr. Orme retired, then I know, I believe it's Miss Wagner. Wagner. Sorry. I'm sorry if I butchered that, but she took a job the same time he was retiring, and. Yeah. So. Yeah. So, last year, Mr. Orme actually reached out to me. I knew him because he was my district FFA advisor.

When I was in high school. Not from Rushville originally, but graduated from Shenandoah. So one of my friends threw my name out there. He got in contact with me. I was set up to take take his position. Can't replace him, obviously. Legend. And, Miss Wagner left shortly before school started. Which took a great opportunity with Indiana FFA.

But kind of like, left things a little uncertain because we had just added a third teacher to the program as well. So Carly Yager was going to go between the middle school and high school. I was the only one full time at the high school. And we did that for all of first semester. And then we Carly Yager moved over to the high school with me, and Jessica Roberts was hired as the middle school teacher.

So now we are seventh grade through 12th grade and we are a three teacher program. So how many classes can the junior high kids take then? One. Yeah. So they take one one semester class when they're in seventh grade, and then they're able to take a full year of Ag their eighth grade year. Okay. So what does that look like?

Because it's been a few years since I've been there. You know, there was no junior high FFA, no Ag classes. So what kind of opportunities the junior high kids have now? Yeah. So we are still navigating how to intertwine, you know, sometimes it's difficult to have seventh grade students with our seniors. And so we're kind of trying to figure out, what events are, you know, appropriate for them to come to.

We have so our conference coming up, which is, leadership conference at the Indiana FFA Leadership Center that we're opening up to middle schoolers, I believe a few of them are going to be able to go to National FFA convention with us at the end of October. Just little things here and there. You know, we did our chapter kickoff at Mahoning Valley.

They were able to come there. Everybody had a great time. So yeah, still trying to navigate that, but trying to give them as many opportunities as we can. So how many kiddos do you have? From seven to 12th grade. And the rest of the chapter, we have about 150 FFA members. So that is, that is awesome because I remember when 40 or 50 or 60 was a lot.

So, so go ahead and, I can't believe I'm like somebody from saying it, but I know my podcast. How the hell Rushville would hire that. No. I'm joking. Just, you

know, kind of tell your FFA story because me and my wife, we were just chatting, a couple hours ago because I knew this podcast was coming up and just I was talking about some of my FFA stories, you know, so kind of tell us kind of how you got into teaching Ag because, like, what a lot of people don't understand and like Mr. Orme, like, I love that guy to pieces.

Respect him. Just I mean, that guy, I talk a lot about legacy around here and, like, what do you want your legacy. But that guy's legacy is in. I mean, his legacy is inside this building, this company. Like, if it wasn't for some of the stuff he did while I was in high school, like, this company may not exist.

So, like, and I'm just one person and he had but thousands, if not 10,000 kids that he affected their life. So I guess tell your FFA story. Yeah.

So I started, doing FFA when I was in eighth grade. So it was offered at Shenandoah. I got approached by one of the teachers like, hey, you should really take the class.

I didn't want to take any of the other electives, so I decided to give it a shot. Loved it. I really grew in, parliamentary procedure. A lot of the speaking contests. Just really kind of grew into who I was meant to be. People. I know it sounds cheesy, but people. Yes. And so did FFA all through high school, held chapter offices, held district offices.

And then I actually applied to Ball State University. I wanted to be a broadcast journalist. But I decided that I wanted to run for Indiana FFA state office. And so I did that, and I was selected to run in, 2018, 2019. I was, state president. So great experience, great year. Learned a lot about myself, about leadership, and also got to be in the classroom a lot.

So then instead of I deferred my year from Ball State because we have to take a gap year. I decided to reapply to Purdue University because I couldn't give up the agriculture side of things. Applied it, got accepted. I started ag communication as my major.

Thought maybe I wanted to be a teacher. So I switched to ag education for about a year. Then I realized that I didn't want to be a teacher, so I switched back to ag communication. Graduated with my Bachelor of Science from the college bag, and, my first job post-grad was not in communication. It was not in education. It was in ag sales.

So I worked for Corteva Agri-Science on the pioneer seed side, and their associate territory manager program. So they kind of send you wherever your first year is kind of a training year to teach you, how to sell, how to manage people that sell. And so they shipped me up to Sartell, Minnesota, which is around Saint Cloud area.

It's a little north of the cities. And so I did that for a year. Struggled. Obviously at first it's hard to move away. It's hard post-grad. Ended up enjoying it. Okay, but realized that sales might not be for me. And I was it was about that time when Mr. Orme reached out to me and I talked to my managers there, and they were super supportive of the, you know, transition into education that I was thinking about.

Let me travel home to interview and kind of see if it was the right fit. I told Mr. Orme that that I would only do it if it felt right. Right. Because I make a lot less money now than I did during that job. But I do feel a lot more fulfilled doing this job. So, yeah, that's kind of how I got into FFA.

So one thing that I talk a lot about, and I hire people every day and I deal with people, and like

I did livestock judging when I was in FFA. And what a lot of people don't understand is I had to judge livestock, but then I had to stand in front of somebody and tell them the reason why I judge them the way I did, why I put which one I thought was the best first, and why I put which one.

I thought the worst was last. Little did I know. I mean, I started this when I was in third grade. Little did I know I was speaking to the guy who owned the freaking livestock, or the cattle or the pigs, you know? So like, but you know, how many people like you see it in your in your world, but there's still so many people that can't even, like, look you in the eye and speak to you.

And then they walk in here for an interview or they send a text message like, they they can't, I can't call you like, it's like, Holy cow. Like, you know, this sounds minor, but I make my kids order their own food. And when I got to eat their six, eight and ten and my six year old's the baby, everybody spoke for her for the first three and a half years of her life.

So sometimes you can't totally understand her. And like somebody said the other day, like, oh my gosh, your kid's like, I couldn't believe. Like the lady at the at Culver's is what it was. We pretty much should own Culver's. We don't. But we're there all the time. But like, just to build that speaking skill set, you know, is so lost.

So, you know, that's to me, that's what a lot of people don't understand. Like to do that kind of stuff. It's just I mean, it it truly helps them absolutely everywhere. Like, I mean yeah, yeah, I would say I teach the freshman.

Okay. At Rushville and, you know, we're still towards the beginning of the year and I remember last year I taught my group of freshmen and like to see where they started to where they ended, you know, giving presentations in front of the classroom, having a good PowerPoint, not reading off their PowerPoint the entire time.

Those are skills that they need to know, but they haven't been taught or they haven't practiced. A lot of kids are scared to stand up and talk in front of the class. You know, we're doing parliamentary procedure in our in our, principles class right now. I do a small unit in there right before parley season, and some of the kids are scared to stand up in debate.

But once they do it, you know, they get more comfortable. There's there's a fun motion on the board that they're like, oh, yeah, I want to talk about this one. And so it's really cool to see the kids like get into it and really step outside of their comfort zone. So so I want to circle back to something that you said earlier when you said you wanted to make sure it felt right.

So how did you know that coming back to teach at Rushville felt right for you? Because, I mean, like I just said, the impact that Mr. Orme has had on me and so many lives like, you know, I hate to say this, but there's some teachers that just do it for the paycheck. I know you're not one of them. You know, we say mail it in, but like the teachers like Mr. Orme, that could never be paid what he's worth.

Like there's not enough money out there for the amount of hours that you guys put in. You know, not just in the school day, but the after hours, the weekends. Like, I look back running a business and know the know the things that my kids and wife do without some sometimes with them, not me being around. Holy cow.

Like that's another level when it comes to being a teacher. Yeah. All right. And a FFA advisor, I would say, you know, I was

I was leaving a really good paying job, and one that, you know, all the bells and whistles, you know, the company truck, the paying for your wifi, all of that stuff.

All the stuff. And I'm glad I realized young that it's not about the stuff, and it's not about the money. Sometimes it's about being happy in your personal life and, so much more happier now. I get, like I said, get paid a lot less, but, I know that I'm making an impact on these kids, whether I realize it or not.

You know, even kids from last year that I don't have this year will come in and, you know, be like, mister, I miss you. And that, you know, that means something. I also, you know, coming from Shenandoah, Rushville was our biggest rival. I knew they had a solid program when it came to FFA. And that's my wheelhouse.

You know, I never taught before. I would hope that I would like it, and I really do. But I love the extra stuff. You know, the practices can be long, and, you know, the after school stuff is painful sometimes, for sure. But I know that these kids are raised in, you know, farm based community. And there's just some really good kids that walk through those doors at the AG building, and so, like, that's what sold it for me is, you know,

I met some of the kids before I even interviewed or the day I interviewed, and it just it just felt like it was where I needed to be.

So, yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, because like I say, that's to me, the older I get, the more I appreciate people and their profession that they enjoy. Like, a lot of us around here work with a nurse practitioner that she nerds out on, like what she knows blood work and that kind of stuff. And, like, to the average person, it's like, oh my God.

She may be obsessed. However, like, there's this, there's - as a country, we've seemed to lose, like, doing stuff with excellence just I mean, I've got a banking issue between right now that I'm trying to deal with between my bank, QuickBooks and the bank the money went to and the bank that the money went to. They're like, we can't do anything.

It's like, how is our money floating in your digital database? Whatever they you can't do anything about, you know what I mean? So it's like like it it's it's cool to be around. Like I said, no matter if it's, you know, I enjoy the transformation of a home when we get to do work on, like, I didn't grow up thinking I was going to be a roofer.

No idea. I'm not a riff. I'm a business owner, you know, and some people may try to use that against me sometimes, you know. Well, you're not a roofer. Well, you're right, you know, you don't really want a roofer running a roofing company, but that's just my opinion. So, like,

at the end of the day, it's, you know, Adam behind the mic right now or behind the camera, I guess technically, we're behind the mic.

He enjoys, like, the videos. He geeks out on the tech stuff, you know, like, that's his wheelhouse. You know? So to me, the older I get, the more I appreciate that. So, other advisor, Miss Yager, now, she is a local homegrown kid. Correct. And she you guys started practically at the same time? Yes. Okay. Yeah. Exact same time.

Okay. So how was that transition? Yeah. From the two seasoned ag teachers to two brand new ones that are young. And so,

Carly, she had one year of teaching experience under her belt. She taught up north and had an opportunity to come home with a new position open, opening up. And so she took it. And Carly and I knew of each other before we started teaching.

But we really didn't know each other. And so that was we talk about it now and laugh about it, but like, it was nerve wracking for both of us, you know, both being the same age, basically, being two teachers running a successful ag program, you know, big shoes to fill, a lot to live up to. I would say like first semester, our first year, we were a train wreck, like just point blank period.

And to be honest, like, it sucked. It sucked being the one to come in after two legends and and I would tell Mr. Orme that too. And he knows that. But I will say he's done a really good job transitioning us. You know, he still has a part time role at the high school and only speaks highly about the two of us in the program.

So that made it easier. But yeah, I would say, you know, it was hard. But now this year just feels like we've got our feet under us so much better. You know, we've been through a year. We know when things need to be done now. Whereas like last year we were just figuring out as we went, and that's all we could do is do our best.

And, you know, we're still doing that, but we're a little better at it this year. Yeah. I mean, it's it's I mean, I learn stuff every day in business, like, you know, and you make mistakes and, you know, I always say, you know, we, I, I don't really say fail. I say we learn, like, so, like.

Yeah, there may have been a deadline that you missed. However, like, as long as you learn from it, you know, kind of push forward. So did you grow up with an ag background at all? No. Okay. I didn't so, see, that's the one thing that I think a lot of, you know, everybody thinks FFA is Future Farmers of America.

I'll let you go ahead and correct that here in a second. But like, that's what a lot of people don't understand is like it's more of a leadership organization, you know. And there's nothing wrong with the AG background. There's nothing wrong with them. Values, in my opinion, because I we're losing them as a country. And I was talking to a vendor that I work with, and they live out in the East Coast and he's like, oh yeah.

He's like, you know, I'd love to bring my kids out. And we've got 26 acres and 20 some cows. And you know, we have a farm compared to them compared to they think we have a big farm, you know, for what they're used to. But like, just talking about how we need more kids raised with these values or at a minimum, or around the farm or at a minimum with these values.

Yeah. So yeah, I did not grow up on a farm and I'll make sure that I, you know, let my kids know that because they're, they'll say, you know, I'm not a farmer. I don't have cows or whatever. And I'm like, that doesn't matter. And kind of tell them my story a little bit. And they're like, they ask me, you know, how do I get into teaching this then?

And like, it goes back to passion. I became passionate about FFA a long time ago, and now I get to teach kids, which is awesome. I would say the, the main thing that FFA taught me is resilience, and I have had to practice that a lot over the years, especially in the last couple. And so just, you know, some kids don't want to try and, you know, I always say they'll be like, I can't do this.

Like, can't never did nothing. That's usually what I say. That's very incorrect grammar, but that's always what I say to them. And so I just think, you know, getting that leadership experience, getting them talking in front of people, even getting them to like, meet people that are from an act background and, you know, get involved in, supervised agriculture experience.

You know, I didn't come from an egg background, had a home in community development, SAE, So like there's ways around it and there's ways that you can impact the community. It's not about clout. What is it? Cows, sows, and plows anymore? You know, it's about leadership. It's about, you know, you know, being a good speaker, but also at the end of the day, being a good person.

Right? Right. Well, and, you know, and I'm gonna you're gonna have to help me on some of these because it's been a few years, but like, a couple of years ago, the FFA center called and was like, hey, we need new gutters. We researched you guys. We know the owner was in FFA. Okay, so we go out there and my sales rep calls me my sales reps are all straight commission, so they make a sale.

They make money, they don't make a sale. They don't make money. And Chris is newer working for me. First kid on the way. So he quit a a I don't want to say salary job, but hourly job to come and sell for me. And like, the third day walks in my office, he's like, hey, Lexi's pregnant.

And I'm like. And like, if you ever met Chris, like, he just tells you his whole story instantly. Like, there's no there's no shield up, you know? And, I, I did what, what what did you just say? And as, like, what do you think is like, let's go, you know, and I was like, well, I'm going to be honest with you, but like, this will make or break you.

And now he's my sales manager. That was three and a half years ago. So, you know, pretty cool story there. But, you know, it's just he calls me up, he's like, hey, they need guidance. He goes, they don't have the budget for it. So he's like, tell me, as cheap as we can sell this, don't pay me commission.

So I was like, okay, so I said, send the guy's phone number over to me. And he's like, I caught him. I was like, so where are we at? Here he goes, we're at to get an estimate. We're going to decide which buildings we think are the worst. We're going to ask you for an estimate, and then we're going to collect the money, fundraise the money, and then we're going to come back and do it.

I was like, all right, don't worry about it. Send me over the collar. Will take care of it. He's like, what's that mean? I was like, send me over what color you want? We'll take care of it. So I call it a gutter sub of mine. And I said, hey, Ray, I want you to go help me.

I said, I'll pay you and your laborers help. I said, we're I'm buying all the material. I'm using my trailer, my machine. I said, we're going to do this job is a get back. And he's okay. He didn't even bill me, didn't even charge me for him and his labor time, you know, and the entire company, marketing, tech, sales, production, like, we all went out there, and I even took my kids out of school that day.

I was like, this is more important to see, like. And there was a couple of state FFA officers, Mary Jones, the one that comes up, like, still stays in touch, like, my girls still talk about Mary. Like, you know, so, like, just to just to be around that, you know. But. So we had some shirts made with Hoel Roofing and Indiana FFA together, and the motto is, what is the FFA motto?

Because now I'm not a butcher. It was, I should know it because I just had to have my kit and my kids just do it. Learning to do.

Doing to learn. Earning to live. Living to serve right is the FFA motto. Yeah. So living to serve like, you know, you you see all that stuff as a, as a teenager and you don't you don't really think much of it, you know. But now that I own a business, I have a family like living to serve like.

And my, my son still wears that shirt around the house like, all the time. So like that, the stuff that the FFA actually stands for. And, you know, I've even, we actually did a roof on a house in Speedway during national convention, and there was a group of kids staying there, and the guy that we were doing the job for was like, I've never been around a more polite group of kids.

He's like, I can't. He's like, I can't believe he goes. I stopped and I think he said he stopped and checked in while they were gone, like the second day. And he's like, I couldn't believe how he's like, I expected the house to be a freaking mess. And he's like, you know. So I've heard other people say when they're up in Indy -Is National convention still in Indy? Yep. Okay. I was like, wait a second, I may be far enough removed from it. I make it sound like an idiot, but where

people say it's the nicest group of kids, you know, most polite, most respectful kids, you know? And what is there 30, 40,000 kids that that go. Yeah, yeah, it's like 60,000. Okay.

60 something like that. So I mean, 60,000 kids high school kids in downtown Indy, you know. So what, what are you guys excited about? What's what's new?

Well, we just hosted our first Rushville FFA tractor pull. Yeah, last weekend, two week. And I can't even time is non-existent. But, huge success. We had about 115 entries, for the pull. Sled ended up breaking, like, at the end of our last class. So like around 90 people pulled that day, which is awesome.

We did free will donations, you know, free admission. Sold some food there. And we just got a lot of really, really nice feedback, on that. So that was a new event that we've never done before. And, kind of brings in a different crowd, in that like, the boys were the ones that were in charge of, organizing the event, which I'm sure they learned a lot.

I know they learned a lot because, you know, I when they first came to me and Miss Yager and said, we want to do this tractor pull. And I said, have you thought about this? Have you thought about this, this, this sign ups. Who's doing it? No, we haven't thought about that. Well, think about that and come back to me.

And you know, we'll let you know if we can pull this off. And they by golly, they did. And they it was super successful. So, and people had a really good time. So, that was awesome. National convention is coming up, which is always exciting. Addie Horn is competing in national creed speaking, so she is our one that is competing this year.

That's coming up. Parleys coming up, which I'm excited about. We've got a livestock skeleton team. We've got crops, entomology and forestry. You know, we do all the contests. I feel like if we can find a coach to coach. So. Yeah, there's just just a lot of things that are, you know, we're looking forward to a lot of things.

Do you have a soils judging team? Yes we do. Awesome. Soils judging. This year, Rushville has the district nine president, Kate Newman, and we also have the section three director, Gentry Wallace. So that's exciting. We've got students from Rushville holding leadership positions and doing a really good job. So, the section section director, that is a high school that's still a high school position or so.

So what how is that different from the district? Yeah. So there's 12 districts in Indiana. We're in district nine. So, Kate's the district nine president, and then district seven, eight and nine are a section. So there's four sections. And so they'll be in charge of, the section parliamentary procedure contest. And then sometimes they choose to do like, another event last year I think it fell through.

But she's going to see if we can do something fun. They call it Southern Region Bash. So do a fun activity for, sections three and four. And then this year, two Gentry's been really diving into facilitation. So in classroom, she's actually out today of school facilitating at different schools and district seven.

And so she's been in the classroom at different schools, you know, basically preaching about agriculture and FFA and doing fun activities to get them excited about it.

She's a sharp kid. We did it. We did an interview with her. So actually, Elly, that works for us. She used to work for her dad. Okay. So, she was working for him before she came over here, so, Yeah. No, she's she's a good kid. That that that doesn't surprise me. So what? What was hilarious was when you brought up that the tractor pull.

So the boys kind of had it. So what? What percentage of boys is in FFA compared to girls? Now? I couldn't tell you the exact percent, but I want to say it's probably around like 7030. Yeah, 70 girls male. Yep. 30 male. Yep. I could be way off. But I feel like that's about it's about what we have at Rushville.

And I know that's across the board too with FFA across the nation. So and I get it, girls are more mature, you know. So like I mean, because if you look at the leadership team, like I mean back when I was in FFA, it was still 50/50 with the leadership team, you know, boys, girls, male, female. And then, you know, now it's kind of I always look I'm like, oh, hey, they got a boy on there, you know?

So but you know, it's but it's, it's cool to see the boys, like, get excited about something because I think, I think I think we can agree when boys are in high school, like, you've got to give them something they're excited about. And a tractor pull is going to get them excited. A lot of other stuff is not going to get much, you know?

So, but it's just the pushing them to do that. Because like you said, like they learn a lot on what are they going to do about missions? What are they going to do about advertising? You know, like, yeah, I know they thought, like with a sale where there's money, there's a rent and we go rent. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So no, that's Yeah. That's that, that's pretty cool because it's funny to see a non farm advisor like be okay with the tractor pull, you know. Yeah I mean that's the first tractor pull that I've ever been to right. So I learned you know I learned throughout it. There were a couple things that, you know, you just learn to roll with the punches and not get too stressed out about things.

I naturally just get stressed really easily. And, you know, it's just like, once it's over, it's like, oh, that wasn't that bad, you know? But yeah, those kids, like, the boys, like, completely exceeded my expectations with the event. So I'm super proud of them. Yep. So what, was that? Is that going back to the general fund for the FFA?

What's that? Yep. So the money that we raised will go back to the general fund, and then we use that, to pay for kids to have opportunities. One thing about Rushville, is we allow, the kids to participate in a lot of activities for free or for a very reduced price. You know, they pay for their membership, which is $25, and that helps cover their registration or their dues for, you know, district, state, national and then pays for their T-shirt.

And then this year, Farm Bureau sponsored a portion of the FFA jackets. So if students got their FFA jackets, they only had to pay $20 instead of 65, 70 bucks. Awesome. So like I said, we, you know, we sent gentry and Kate to a conference for free. And then I know you said that you would sponsor the students going to soar.

So it's it's kind of just like I'm also learning who to reach out to. And, I've kind of got my foot in the door with some people in Rushville. And I've just tried to make the connections that I need to make to make sure that I'm giving those kids the opportunities that they deserve. And. Yeah, yeah.

Because, I mean, what a lot of people don't know is the nice facility that we have in Trafalgar at the Indiana FFA center, I think. So it's it's what it's called like. Yep. Because like I've talked to other FFA people from other states and you know, like I think Indiana is only one of a very few that have the officer team, like because, I mean, you they commit to a year of living there and living for the Indiana FFA.

There's no jobs, there's no going to college part time, you know. Yeah, yeah. And like and and just think of like that's like going to get a master's degree probably in some kind of leadership with the amount of like you have to go to different schools. You had to talk. You had to I mean like, yeah, especially when it's FFA week and you kids are running, you know, flat.

Right. So I mean, that's to me that's cool to see. Like that. That's what a lot of people don't understand. It's like anybody can come to me and talk about FFA like they've been part of it. You know, it's like, okay, well, like if I ever get the opportunity to hire an FFA state officer, like it's I know they're like, I think you guys are like, you got to drink Kool-Aid.

That you'll go to Purdue and that kind of stuff. You know, I think I, I've kind of pulled me a little bit, you know, most of my teammates are going to Purdue. I revisited campus and I was like, okay, so it I understand it happens for a reason. I'll be here. And I didn't like start in it, which is so crazy to think about that the way my, you know, path through FFA has gone like led me to where I'm at and the connections that I've made.

Well, and like what a lot of people, you know, I mean, I get it. I see the natural progression of going to Purdue study and I do come back and literally serve to what has done so much for you. You know, that crew or that, that off to team we got pretty close with when we did that job or we did that give back that day.

You know, I know one of the boys went to Kentucky for welding, and so they kind of spread they honestly spread out more than a lot of them, I think, because I've noticed sometimes they all go to Purdue, you know? So, yeah, it's just like I said, like I just I've said that like, that's the kind of people that I want to hire, you know, so people that know how to communicate, you know, like you said, like a lot of people don't understand is the amount of speaking engagements and stuff that the opportunity is, you know, with the FFA.

So what is what is your probably I used to ask this question like what was your biggest failure? But like while in FFA, like what was your biggest learning? I won't I won't call it a failure. But what was your biggest learning experience in the FFA while I was in FFA as a member? Yeah. Okay. It's probably it's probably pretty.

It's probably still pretty, open wound from last year. So we won't ask that as advisor. You know, everything. I would say, while I was in FFA, I had the year, the year prior, it was my senior year. So my junior year, I won district for public speaking. I got third state for public speaking.

And so my senior year, it was just like, I'm bringing home the hardware this year. And so I'm competing in a couple contests, at the district level, at district contests. And public speaking is one of them. And I really did not spend the time that I should have memorizing my speech. And I'm a procrastinator at heart.

And so I was just like, you know what? I'll be fine. You know, kept pushing it back. And then finally when I got to it, it seemed to have been too late. Thought I had it in the bag. I walked into the contest room and I think I got three paragraphs into my speech, and then I just, like, completely blanked.

Like I could not remember what was next. And so I, like, reset the entire third paragraph that I had said before and then I, like I literally just told the judges that, like, I forgot my speech and they were like, okay. And I really wanted to walk out of the room like I really wanted to just walk out, but I stood there in my discomfort and, you know, still shook their hands.

When I walked out. I think I placed, like, dead last at district. And so that was a, you know, a wake up call just to be like, you know, I'm not all that and a bag of chips because I, you know, I school you think you are. And that was just very humbling and, you know, taught me that I needed to, to put the work in if I wanted to see the results.

So and that's what I did when I prepped for state office after that. So that was probably my biggest, you know, learning experience. Yeah. I was hoping to say I was hoping you were going to say I was second place and Rushville won. Nope. Nope, not not that year, actually. One of my best friends is from Rushville.

That's kind of how I got this job. So I'm Hannah. Hannah McGee, Hannah Fussner. Yep, yep. Now she got married. Hannah Rayl. So, yeah. So she's the one who reached out to me about it. And it's what I tell kids, too. It's all about, like, who? You know, sometimes in networking, you know, I would have never got the job post-grad if I wouldn't have met the people in FFA that I met where I would never had landed this job if I didn't make those connections and relationships, you know, growing up so well.

And the other thing that I think it's really hard for kids to understand is like how you treat somebody, how you come into a job interview, how you leave that job when you work for somebody, like people talk, you know, like you said earlier, resilience, like there's so many people I don't like this job. So they bounce over here for a dollar more an hour than they bounce over here.

Well then next thing you know, you look up, it's like, okay, nobody wants to hire that person. Because like, I had a good buddy. Love the kid to death. I watched him bounce around and he goes, why don't you hire me? I said, because I had to be looking for your replacement the day I hired you. He's like, what do you mean?

I was like, I've seen you do this. You need to go get in the truck and drive a truck because that's what you want to do. Finally, he called me one day. He's like, hey, I bought a truck among the job. A truck. He's probably been doing that for three years now. Like that's what he was meant to do.

Like, and that's I guess that's one thing like, you know, it's pretty cool to hear that. Corteva pioneer told you, like, supported you because, like, we've all had to be in a spot where we've been supportive on something like that. Like my sales manager that trained me in this business where he trained me at one company, I went to another company.

He liked me well enough. If he's watching this, I had him sit down there, do a podcast that he came over and was my manager at the second company. But then when it was time for me to go start my own, like, he supported me, and he sends a lot of business our way because he knows the kind of person that I am.

And, like, that's what I guess that's one thing I just wish kids could really understand. Like what you do now and how you act, especially with social media and freaking videos and everybody's got a phone in their hand. I mean, thank God, when I was a kid, I mean, the video quality, it just it wasn't it wasn't like it is today, you know?

So, as we wrap up, you know, I just want to continue to say thank you for what the investment that you girls are putting back in the FFA because like it, it's huge. Like, and there's so many kids that you're impacting. And I know you're young and I know, you know, you're trying to figure out life.

Hell, I'm almost 40 and I'm still trying to figure out life. So don't feel bad, you know? But like, I think I text you and Miss Yager, like, early on, like, hey, just want to reach out. I'm here. I'll support you guys, like, the rest of your life, the biggest fan, like, you know, or the FFA in general, like, you know.

Yes, Rushville's near and dear to my heart, you know, but like that, that's what legacy, you know, is, is about, and you're impacting kids already that, you know, one of them is going to be crazy enough to start a company and the hometown that nobody said, you know, you can't do that, you know, so thank you for your time.

If you want to leave us with any inspiring words, I'll let you wrap it up. I would just say, I love my job, here in Rushville. I don't know if I could have said it first semester last year, but this year I'm really finding my groove and the people in this community are just unmatched, which is awesome.

And I would just say to always stay resilient because you never know what's on the horizon.