FFA finale

Dillon Muhlenkamp started his year of FFA leadership on the stage at Purdue University.

He’ll finish it via a virtual meeting.

Muhlenkamp, a 2019 Jay County High School graduate, will conclude his year as president of Indiana FFA on Thursday at the close of the 91st Indiana FFA State Convention.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has changed his final three months in office, the experience has still been a fulfilling one for the kid from rural Bryant who decided as a JCHS freshman that he’d like to hold state office.

“It’s been a great opportunity to learn more about agriculture and serve the members of Indiana FFA,” Muhlenkamp said this week.

He and his fellow state officers — secretary Caitlyn Lewis of Frontier FFA, north region vice president Morgan Hinz of South Central FFA in Union Mills, south region vice president Nathan Fairchild of South Decatur, treasurer Noah Berning of Heritage FFA, reporter Taylor Roy of Franklin FFA and sentinel Eion Stephens of Tecumseh FFA — would have normally spent the spring months visiting FFA chapter banquets around the state. Instead, they were sent home from the Indiana FFA Leadership Center in Trafalgar in March because of the pandemic.

From a distance, they created the #ForgeThroughTheFire campaign in an effort to engage FFA members across the state. Each officer was assigned a day, with Muhlenkamp sharing “Choring with Dillon” on Wednesdays in which he shared some of his daily activities on the family farm.

They also worked together — first from home and then upon returning to the leadership center as restrictions began to be lifted last month — to plan the now-virtual state convention. It will officially open with the delegate business session via a Zoom meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, followed by a Muhlenkamp-led proficiency session and a foundation session.

Wednesday’s sessions will cover career development and Hoosier Degree, with leadership development and chapter awards set for Thursday.

With events like the in-person chapter fun night and the dance canceled this year, the officers have instead planned a Netflix Watch party for Monday evening and a virtual concert with country artist Tenille Townes to be live-streamed on Facebook on Wednesday evening.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Muhlenkamp. “We’re just really looking forward to continuing that impact on members and having the opportunity to share our message and share our stories.”

While the last few months of his year in office have been different from what other presidents have experienced in years past, the bulk of Muhlenkamp’s term followed the traditional path.

His first official outing as president was his trip to the Jay County Fair, including the Josh Turner concert last summer. He and his fellow officers were also in charge of the FFA Pavilion at the Indiana State Fair in August.

On a day-to-day basis — officers choose to defer their college education to focus on FFA for the year — he worked with his fellow officers to line up details for workshops and conferences, write speeches and plan and make visits to Indiana chapters. It gave him an opportunity to see what programs offer across the state, including at Delphi where there is a tractor restoration class.

“I learned that no matter how many teachers there are or how big the FFA chapter is, the impact of FFA is still there,” Muhlenkamp said. “And it’s really cool to see the different specialties that each chapter has.”

Their December schedule featured “goodwill visits” to say thank you and learn about businesses and industries that are FFA sponsors.

Muhlenkamp had the opportunity to introduce Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb before his remarks at the Indiana Leadership Breakfast, something he especially appreciated because he hopes to run for office someday. Other connections, from the six fellow officers he lived with for most of the year to agriculture industry leaders to director of Indiana State Department of Agriculture Bruce Kettler, that he made were among the highlights of his year.

“He and I are pretty much on a first-name basis now,” he said of Kettler. “Being able to have those connections and those opportunities is really amazing.”

After closing out his year in office next week, Muhlenkamp is looking forward to coming home to Jay County to unwind a little. But not for long.

He’ll be working as an ambassador for Jay County Fair Board at the Jay County Fair in July. And he’ll spend the rest of the summer as an intern in U.S. Sen. Todd Young’s office in Indianapolis.

Then it will be off to Purdue, where he plans to study agriculture education.

“It’s such a cliché thing to say, but the year goes by so fast,” said Muhlenkamp. “I feel like just yesterday I was at Purdue getting elected as president. Now that my year’s almost over, it’s crazy to think that I’m almost done.”