Marysville FFA Members Brush Up on Leadership Skills at State Capitol
Written By: Marysville FFA Reporter Leighann Shanklin & Vice President Taci Welch
Marysville FFA members Taci Welch, Leighann Shanklin, Kelsey Bosold, Emily Rostofer and CJ Organ, along with advisor Ashley Thompson attended the Ohio Legislative Leadership Conference the Ohio State House, a leadership event hosted by the Ohio FFA Association. While there they learned how they can help to advocate for agriculture and practiced making persuasive arguments, much the same as elected leaders must do when presenting legislation. All FFA members in attendance then had lunch with members of The Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, including our very own Dorothy Pelanda.
At this conference these individuals came to better understand the role that a lobbyist plays in providing discussion which helps with making decisions on different issues in legislation. Members tried their hand at lobbying for a cause in a leadership workshop presented by the legislators themselves. Members were assigned a role as a “lobbyist” or “representative”. The “lobbyists” would debate specific topics, ultimately doing their best to convince their “representatives” to vote in their favor. “Representatives” then had to consider their constituents wishes and vote on the issues. For the workshop, members that served as “representatives” were divided up amongst 12 mock districts. Legislation either passed or failed pending the vote of these 12 districts.
Members then had the opportunity to eat lunch with their own representative, Dorothy Pelanda, who then invited them to observe the next business session. Students were excited to get to be present in the very room in which the Ohio House of Representatives makes decisions for our state!
The Ohio Legislative Leadership Conference not only encouraged and educated FFA Members how to communicate politically and propose reasonings on the spot, but it also gave the Marysville FFA and various other FFA Chapters a better insight on what the legislators do on an everyday basis. Marysville FFA thanks the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend this leadership conference.