By: Jake Dowell, 2021-2022 State Reporter
Last month, California FFA held Regional Officers Leadership Conference (ROLC) in-person in Santa Ynez, California. ROLC was attended by almost every regional officer from each of the six regions of California FFA. Officers learned about California agriculture and how to create inclusive environments at their regional events, while developing individual strengths.
Workshops were given by the current 2021-22 State Officer team, the 2020-21 Past State Officer team, and Cal Poly’s Dr. Erin Gorter and Dr. Ann De Lay, who informed students how to effectively advocate for agriculture. Ms. Erica Flores gave a keynote on the journey that we all take as members, which perfectly aligned with this year’s state officer team theme “Embrance the Adventure.” “Embrace the Adventure” means making this conference a truly special event and learning how to embrace our time together and include everyone.
The half-week conference was rounded out with multiple tours of Santa Maria-area agriculture businesses like Driscoll’s berries, Plantel Nurseries and Bonipak Packing. The tours were amazing. All attendees truly enjoyed them, especially when getting to try the sweet samples.
We are extremely proud of the hard work put in from the regional officers, and the strives that they took to improve. It was nothing short of inspiring. We can’t wait for next year!
