State of Indiana sent this bulletin at 02/28/2020 08:22 AM EST
Director Kettler recently released guest commentary content for Hoosier Ag Today in honor of National FFA Week. He comments on FFA Week and the history of the three circle model for ag education.
February is a big month for FFA and all things youth leadership development. It started with a Career and Tech Education gathering at the Statehouse, then Indiana Farm Bureau held FFA Advocacy Day and lastly we wrapped it up with National FFA Week and FFA Page Day at the Indiana Statehouse.
See below updates for each activity. As always, you can follow along on social media at @ISDAgov for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Career and Tech Ed Students recognized by legislators
One highlight of the visit was being recognized by members of the Indiana General Assembly with a House concurrent resolution, authored by State Representative Don Lehe (R-Brookston).
Indiana Farm Bureau in conjunction with the Indiana FFA Association hosted an advocacy day at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. More than 150 FFA students from across the state met with more than 50 state legislators to discuss how legislation could affect their future and the future of agriculture.
FFA students gathered to serve the General Assembly
This week the Indiana FFA Association invited 81 members to be pages for the General Assembly in celebration of National FFA Week. This opportunity allowed students to meet with elected officials and see firsthand how the legislative process operates.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture's Division of Soil Conservation published their annual report this month. This interactive document highlights the staff members and the important conservation work they did in 2019 with landowners and with industry partners.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture announced two promotions within the public affairs division. Katie Nelson will be taking on the role of director of legislative affairs and Regan Holtsclaw will be serving as communications director.
Nelson graduated in December of 2016 from the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in political science. Since 2017, Katie has been the program manager of policy and regulatory affairs at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. In her previous position, Katie served as a liaison between agricultural businesses, state agencies and local units of government. She also focused on the Indiana Land Resources Council and assisted with a variety of legislative work both at the state and federal level. Katie recently graduated from the Agribusiness Council of Indiana’s Emerging Professionals Leadership Program.
In her new role as director of the division, she will be responsible for continually evaluating the legislative and regulatory landscape at all levels of government while positioning the department to support the agricultural industry in each arena. She will also serve as executive director of the Indiana Land Resources Council, which was created to assist state and local decision-makers with land use tools and policies.
Holtsclaw graduated in 2017 from Purdue University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications. Regan has been with the department since 2018 in the role of deputy communications director. In that capacity, she managed the department's social media accounts, oversaw constituent requests and fielded media requests.
As the communications director, Holtsclaw will handle media relations and coordination for the department. She will oversee the communication needs for all five of the ISDA divisions, maintain industry partnerships and create better ways to raise awareness of ISDA and Indiana agriculture as a whole. In addition, she will manage the incoming deputy communications director and the Hoosier Homestead program manager.
