Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
FFA WA Officer Team
Newly elected Washington state FFA officers are, from left, Dan Lyng, Jason Wigen, Julia Spengler, Monica Haugen, Mitch Jamison and Dallas Tyus.
Three area high school seniors have been named Washington state FFA officers for 2015-16.
Elected Saturday night at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman by a panel of judges, Mitch Jamison of Garfield, Jason Wigen of LaCrosse and Monica Haugen of Pullman will be part of a six-member group to travel around the state representing FFA.
The graduating seniors will defer their college plans for one year to take part.
Being chosen as an officer culminates years of high school and junior high FFA competition for the three students.
Jamison, elected as secretary, is an Eagle Scout from a Garfield farm family.
“To get out of your comfort zone,” he said of the opportunity. “In my mind, that’s what the whole organization is about.”
Last weekend in Pullman, the 25 FFA state officer candidates were evaluated in two individual interviews, a team activity, separate written and knowledge tests and a speech in front of a whole session of the state convention at Beasley.
“Never have I done that in front of that many hundreds of people,” said Wigen, the new state reporter.
Jamison gave his speech about the value of preparation, relaying in part how he wasn’t mentally prepared for the weight of the Garfield-Palouse basketball team’s loss one game short of state.
“The way I overcame that was to attempt to be prepared for the future,” he said.
The judges’ top scorer, Julia Spangler of Wenatchee, was named state FFA President. Haugen received the second highest score and was named vice president.
Jamison was third; Treasurer Dallas Tyus of Tonasket, fourth; Wigen, fifth, and Sentinel Dan Lyng of Meridian sixth.
“We all have a title but we all work together,” Jamison said.
The officers’ year will begin soon after graduation, the six of them gathering at the end of June for a “Blast Off” training session in Silverdale, Wash., during the statewide Ag. Teachers’ Conference. Following that, the officers will go to Corvallis, Ore., to meet with state representatives from Alaska, Oregon and Idaho.
Jamison will now defer his acceptance to the University of Idaho, as will Wigen to WSU.
The team will be on the road – together and in teams of two – for 300 days in the coming year.
“I really felt that I didn’t want to run the possibility of wishing I’d done this,” Jamison said. “I figured what’s a year in the grand scheme.”
He was advised in the process by Garfield-Palouse Ag. teacher Mike Patrick, while Wigen was guided by LaCrosse Ag. teacher Lisa Baser.
As part of the year’s schedule, the state officers will go to Louisville in October for the national FFA convention where Jamison will step away to compete with his team that won the state Ag. Mechanics championship this spring, which qualified them to compete at nationals.
Wigen will do the same with the LaCrosse team, which just won state in Marketing Plan last weekend in Pullman.
“It should be a full and exciting year,” Wigen said. “Being in FFA in high school, it’s been a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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