Escalon student wins post in FFA leadership

ESCALON -- Lindsey Anderson got an early taste of agriculture on the hog farm her family used to own.

Over the next year, she will expand her horizons as western region vice president for the National FFA Organization.

Anderson, 20, was elected last week in Indianapolis, where the group formerly known as Future Farmers of America held its annual convention.

"Getting that opportunity on a national level is truly eye-opening and truly humbling," she said Thursday from her Escalon home.

Anderson is one of four regional vice presidents who will help new President Clay Sapp of Florida lead the 557,318-member group, which was founded in 1928.

They will meet with leaders in business, government and education and take part in training programs for FFA members. They also will help set policies for the group.

They expect to travel about 120,000 miles over 300 days, including a January visit to Future Farmers of Japan.

Anderson, an Escalon High School graduate, will take a break from her ag studies at Modesto Junior College during this time.

She is the daughter of Randall and Teresa Anderson.

The officers were elected by the 450 convention delegates. They had been nominated based on five rounds of interviews, a written test and writing exercises.

Jennifer Terpstra, an FFA adviser at Escalon High, said she was not surprised at Anderson's election. "Lindsey is an incredibly talented and intelligent young woman," she said. "I had every confidence in her ability."

Anderson said she hopes to get a university degree in ag science or economics and become an ag teacher, ideally at Modesto Junior College.

College will have to wait a year while she gets first-hand contact with other students around the nation who take part in FFA. She said she has already met members from parts of the country where grain farming dominates.

"If they drive, they see wheat for miles and miles, and in California, we have 400 commodities," she said.

Anderson has served as state vice president, sectional vice president, chapter president and chapter secretary. She noted that her parents met in FFA.

"I knew when I got into high school that I wanted to wear the blue jacket," she said.

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2385.