Granville grad earns National FFA office

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Check out the National FFA Organization web page chances are you’ll recognize a familiar face.

Ken Quick Jr. added another milestone to his personal resume Saturday as the Granville graduate was named National FFA Organization Eastern Region Vice President for 2011-2012.

Quick is shown on the front page of the site with the other five finalists dressed in the ubiquitous blue jacket with the yellow stitching. He is the first New York FFA member to reach national office in 15 years, state FFA officials said Monday.

Quick was one of 42 former FFA state level representatives competing for the title of National President and one of six finalists including the president named to an office. Competing over the course of several days at the 84th national convention held in Indianapolis, Ind. the winners were announced live Saturday night on the RFD television channel.

“We are so excited and proud,” Ken’s mother Granville special education chairperson Diane Quick said Sunday.

“Our Granville chapter is ecstatic! We have been working toward this ever since we took Kenny to his first state convention. When Kenny saw that state election, he said ‘I want this.’ And I said let’s make a plan,” FFA advisor Terry Wheeler said Tuesday. 

“We lost our first election for district president, but came back strong and won the NYS FFA President position two years ago. When Kenny became eligible for national office this year, he went into training; first to win the New York nomination and then to succeed at the National Convention. Kenny’s commitment to his goals and to the FFA are an inspiration, not only to the Granville students, but now to an entire nation – this is absolutely crazy,” Wheeler said.

More than 53,000 people attended the convention which is the third largest behind only the two major party Democrat and Republican conventions.

The competition was expected to be quite intense, comprised of hours of writing essays, giving speeches and being interviewed.

Joining Quick on the officer’s slate were as president Ryan W. Best from New Mexico; national secretary Jason Troendle of Minnesota; Alicia Hodnick of Wisconsin as central region vice president; Cain Thurmond of Georgia as southern region vice president and Seth Pratt of Ohio as western vice president.

“My job is to serve as a representative and an advocate for FFA, agriculture and agricultural education. Throughout my FFA career, I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by advisors, coaches, peers and even junior high members who have helped develop me into the man I am today – a true product of every FFA program, partner and experience I have ever had,” Quick said.   

For the next year Quick and the other five members of the FFA officer team will be the “face and spirit of FFA.”

They are expected to travel more than 100,000 miles across the country engaging leaders in business, government and education to lead a host of person growth and leadership training seminars for FFA members. The team is also tasked with setting policy which will shape the future of the national organization. 

Quick was the first Granville student to reach state office, when in 2009 he was named to the top spot in FFA in New York State.

While a ninth-grader Quick was one of the students joining advisor Terry Wheeler involved in bringing FFA back to Granville, after the program died out decades before. Quick is in his freshman year at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

Find the National FFA Organization website at: https://www.ffa.org/About/NationalFFA/Pages/NationalOfficers.aspx#