From April 3rd to the 6th, Sebastopol FFA took 23 students to the 97th Annual State Leadership Experience Conference! This is a very special event that students have the opportunity to attend each year, but it’s not an easy process. Students will submit a 1 page response about why they feel as if they should be selected to attend this conference, and what leadership skills they will bring back to our chapter, submit a transcript of their grades for the Spring semester, and if they are applying to be a delegate, they will submit another 1 page response explaining what qualities they have to represent their chapter. The 2 delegates selected to vote on behalf of our chapter and represent the North Coast Region are Angelo Escutia and Gracie Ascoop! Being a delegate is extremely special; you have a lot of responsibility representing your chapter, as well as voting on the newly elected State Officers on behalf of your chapter. Congratulations to our 2 delegates this year, and to everyone selected to go to this year’s State Conference:
Ava Anderson, Zoe Anderson, Lauren Brady, Bailey Cassady, Kasie Coupe, Alyx Dobbelmann, Rebecca Ficco, Sienna Ficher, Sheillie Hance, Ian Huffaker, Iyla Kjaer, Gabe Klein, Clare Maloney, Jessu Martinez Diaz, Harlyn Menendez, Ealina Moran, Tanner Moran, Tyler Orlandi, Jack Postel, Ryan Saldana, and Ellie Sardoch.
Day 1 started bright and early at 7:30, before we made it to Sacramento, we had 2 industry tours. Our first one was hosted by (name) at his Almond Farm, students were able to learn about the production of almonds, the growth process, and the transporting process. Thank you to (name) for letting our students learn all you do in your field of work, ask valuable questions, and patiently see different career opportunities in the future. The second industry tour was hosted by (name) at his Almond Producing Factory, where we learned how they de-shell almonds, clean, and send them to another facility to get them packaged and on your table! Thank you to (name) for allowing our students to get a feel of what it’s like to work in the factory, ask genuine questions, and learn about almonds as a whole. Each night, the State Officers will put on a session, or multiple sessions, with 8 in total. Each year, the conference has a different theme; this year it was “Forge.” The meaning behind Forge is different every session, whether that was finding your spark, fueling the flame, or finding your you. Not only did the State Officers leave meaningful words, many guest speakers left their message too. At the first session, the guest speakers were Dr. Rick Rigsby, The State Officer Canadites, Dale Brisby, and Karis Dadson.
Day 2, we had Jesus Martinez Diaz and Shellie Hance complete their Proficiency Interviews, Shellie interviewed for state scholarships, we attended more sessions, watched “You Just Can’t See Them From The Road” by RangleLandTrust, toured the California Department of Food and Agriculture and partied at the Flame Fest! Huge congratulations to Shellie Hance – $5,000 Almond Board of California Scholarship Recipient and Mr Mirassou – North Coast FFA Region Star Counselor! We had Jesus Martinez Diaz serve as a subcommittee chair, Bailey Cassady interviewed for Star Reporter, Mr Mirassou interviewed for Star Counselor, Ms. Sanft and Mr Cortez did the Admin Experience Conference, and our delegates (Gracie and Angelo) attended their committee meetings. Today’s guest speakers were Alma Cooper (Miss USA) and Ben Moore!
Day 3 was full of celebrations as we had some members regroup on the state stage in sessions! Congratulations to, Bailey Cassady: North Coast FFA Region Star Reporter, Jesus Martinez Diaz: 2nd place State Fruit Production, Shellie Hance: State finalist (top 3) Nursery Operations Proficiency Award. Harlyn Mendendez: State Courtesy Corp, and Tyler Orlandi: State Courtesy Corp. Our last guest speaker for the conference was Abigale Jacobson!
Day 4 was our last and final day at the 2025 California FFA State Conference! Bailey Cassady: 2025 State Nominating Committee: Bailey served California FFA in a great capacity, as she worked long days with this committee before and during the conference to score applications and complete interviews with State Officer candidates. A rigorous task, the committee created the final state that was presented to the delegates in the election. Gracie Ascoop and Angelo Escutia served as our chapter’s delegates this year. They attended subcommittee meetings, the NCR caucus, the delegate session, the candidate meet and greet, and voted on behalf of our chapter to elect the new state officers. Thank you to our members for serving with such courage and integrity! We had a great conference, and our attendees are excited to be home and share their experiences with our members. We would also love to share a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Ryan Taylor of the Kelseyville FFA Chapter for being elected as the 2025-2026 State Secretary, North Coast Proud! A last thank you to California FFA and state staff for hosting another remarkable event!
