"FFA Saved my Life"

Drake Boyce Oklahoma State FFA Pres. Campaign Speech 04/28/15
Chad and I would like to congratulate our son Drake Boyce on the amazing year as the Oklahoma FFA Southwest District Vice President. As we watched him throughout the year mature into an excellent state officer we knew he belonged in the Blue and Gold Jacket, the love and the passion that he has for this organization has shown even brighter at the 89th Oklahoma State FFA convention and made us very proud parents, what a fine young man our son has grown into. At the closing of the convention Drake Boyce was announced the 2015-216 State President of the Oklahoma FFA Association. As he tapped the gavel at the podium to close this year’s final session we stood in awe knowing that he has the honor to wear his BLUE and Gold Jacket and serve the organization he dearly loves and cherishes ONE MORE YEAR!We would like thank the Oklahoma FFA Members, Oklahoma FFA state Staff, 2014-2015 State Officer Team, and the 27,000 plus member for entrusting him to lead the greatest youth organization in the state of Oklahoma. We would like to express our deepest appreciation for all our family members and friends that has touched this amazing young Christian mans life and for all of the prayers, support, and congratulations in the past few days. What an amazing leader you have become son, you teach us and lead us each day in so many ways!! GO ALL OUT!! We Love You,Dad, Mom, Dixie, Amber and Ethan.
Posted by Sherry Hillman Smith on Thursday, April 30, 2015

The arena, filled with thousands of junior high and high school students, was quiet aside from the polite applause when Drake Boyce, the then Oklahoma FFA Southwest District vice president, took the stage.

“If this is my last address to the Oklahoma FFA, thank you for the best year of my life, and remember: be a leader,” Boyce said.

It, however, was not Boyce’s last address to FFA members. After the speech, he was elected to serve as the 2015-2016 Oklahoma FFA association president.

According to its website, the National FFA Organization is the world’s largest youth organization. Its purpose is to develop leaders who have a passion for agriculture.

"I never really saw my life centered around agriculture,” Boyce said. “That was until my mother married a man whose life was all about it.”

Boyce’s stepfather, Chad Smith owns a feed and fertilizer store in Cheyenne, Okla. When his mother, Sherry Smith, married Chad, Boyce began working at the Smith Ag Center.

“My stepdad had honestly instilled in me a work-ethic that I didn’t know I had before,” Boyce said.

Later that year, Boyce’s involvement with agriculture continued to expand.

"Second semester of my freshman year [in high school] I enrolled in an Ag class – only because all my friends were in it,” Boyce said. “I wasn’t expecting for my life to change, but it did.”

Aside from gaining knowledge and experiences in the agriculture industry, joining FFA allowed Boyce to be competitive in career development events such as public speaking and mock job interviews.

“We’re extremely proud of Drake,” Boyce’s mother Sherry Smith said. “Since he joined FFA, we’ve seen a tremendous impact in his life."

Despite the many awards and honors he has received, when Boyce talks about the FFA, he mentions very little about his successes. 
Instead, he credits the organization and his agricultural education teacher for impacting his life in ways he said he could not have imagined.

“Before I ever enrolled in agricultural education in high school, I didn’t really have a relationship with the Lord,” Boyce said.

Nathan Torrance, his agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor, became Boyce’s role model.

“He was a great husband, a great father and he truly had a heart for God,” Boyce said. “One day, he invited me to church and the youth group.”

Boyce said Torrance planted a seed in his life, and before his sophomore year of high school he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.

“One of the greatest skills that FFA has taught Drake, as far as life is concerned, was that it brought him into his Christian beliefs,” stepfather Chad Smith said. “We were blessed with a man named Mr. Torrance.”

Ever since, Boyce has been using the FFA to share his testimony. He calls it his mission field.

As the Oklahoma FFA President, Boyce represents and leads over 25,000 FFA members.

 “I don’t know what their story is, where they came from, or what they go home to every night," Boyce said. "I can share some light in their lives.”

Boyce attended his freshman year at Oklahoma State University with hopes of becoming a lawyer. 

Boyce’s passion for sharing his relationship with Christ has recently led him to transfer to Oklahoma Baptist University as a pastoral ministry major. 

His desire is to continue to help others seek the Lord.

As for now, Boyce has nearly six months left to serve as the Oklahoma FFA President in which he will continue to advocate for agriculture and encourage others just the same.

“I see FFA as the thing that saved my life,” Boyce said. “Now, I’m in a position where I can help others just as this organization has helped me.”

"Be a Leader Today"

(Preview at a story to be published later)

The arena, filled with thousands of high school students, was quiet - aside from the polite applause -when Drake Boyce, the then Oklahoma FFA Southwest District Vice President, took the stage. 

In his speech, Boyce challenged the Oklahoma FFA members the same thing his mother challenged him every day.

“From as far back as I can remember, it was always the same thing,” Boyce said. “But it didn’t matter how I felt, the conversation [with my mom] always ended with ‘Be a leader today.’”

“If this is my last address to the Oklahoma FFA, thank you for the best year of my life, and remember: be a leader.”

It, however, was not Boyce’s last address to FFA members. He was elected to serve as the 2015-2016 Oklahoma FFA Association President.

“I never really saw my life centered around agriculture,” Boyce said. “That was until my mother married a man whose life was all about it.”

Boyce’s stepfather, Chad Smith owns a feed and fertilizer store in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. When his mother married Smith, Boyce began working for his stepfather at the Smith Ag Center.

“My stepdad had honestly installed in me a work-ethic that I didn’t know I had before,” Boyce said.

                                                            

Later that year, Boyce’s involvement with agriculture continued to expand.

“Second semester of my freshman year [in high school] I enrolled in an Ag class – only because all my friends were in it,” Boyce said. “I wasn’t expecting for my life to change, but it did.”

(To be continued...)

Dear College Freshman...

I'm about to start my Junior year at college, and that sounds crazy to me. Many of my friends are leaving home to start their college journey, and I couldn't be more happy for them. I also keep thinking about the night before I left for school and all the nerves that kept me up hours past my bedtime.  Following my other posts (Dear High School Senior: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), I decided to write a letter to the nervous wreck I was the night before I left home. 

Dear College Freshman,

You're leaving in just a few hours. You've been repeatedly telling yourself "It's just four years, it's just four years." And you're right. But those four years will fly by. Tomorrow, you'll be moving all your stuff inside a cramped dorm room, and then you'll turn around and move your stuff out of that cramped dorm room. And this process will repeat this every year. So take in every moment that you get these next four years. 

You're worried about your high school friends. Will you still be friends a year from now? Maybe. Maybe not. But you'll meet amazing people this year, and you just have to hope your high school friends have met equally amazing people. And you'll still maintain a few friendships from high school, but you'll lose touch with a lot of them. And that's okay. Because all of you are growing and maturing.

You're thinking about all the activities you did in high school. FFA, choir, band, basketball, softball, Student Council, FCA, etc... will your teachers miss you? Will what you did in high school even matter to the people still left? Did you really leave the "impact" everyone said you did? The only thing I can tell you is that you are not the first person to graduate, and there will always be someone to "take your place" and that's alright. Because you will find new places to be in at college.

You're thinking about your siblings. You're wondering if Mom and Dad will take care of them the way you did. You're wondering if they will really miss you. Your siblings will be just fine. They'll miss you, but they'll learn to become the person they need to be. 

Your parents will be fine, too.  Tell your siblings to take care of them. Call them frequently. They love you more than you know.

You're wondering about yourself. Will you be the same person? Yes and no. I believe that you will never be the same person you were yesterday or else you aren't really growing. But if you hold on to the things you've learned your entire life and maintain your values and morals, you will be the best you that you can be.

These next four years will hold some of the best memories you will have. You'll meet the best of friends. You'll learn so much. You'll gain mentors. You'll become a role model. 

Always, always, remember where you came from. Always, always remember who will be there for you no matter what. Always, always have something worth pursuing. Always, always turn to God. Always, always strive to be your best. 

As I wrote in the beginning: You're leaving in just a few hours. You've been repeatedly telling yourself "It's just four years, it's just four years." And you're right. But those four years will fly by. Tomorrow, you'll be moving all your stuff inside a cramped dorm room, and then you'll turn around and move your stuff out of that cramped dorm room. And you'll repeat this every year. So take in every moment that you get these next four years. 

Love, Me. 

Things Heard at Junior Camp 2015

Spending the week with kids can be quite entertaining. Last year, I took note of things that were said (#ThingsHeardAtJrCamp), and decided to do the same thing this year.

Are you guys diabolical twins?
She was trying to say "biological," but those two boys could also be diabolical.

Who are you taking to prom?
Kid. You are only 9 years old. That's definitely the least of your worries.

I can't believe that's your real hair.
Sometimes I can't believe it's my real hair, either. 

*Girl fell* "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I just tied my own shoes together."
Cool beans.

I feel like I'm sleeping on a concrete slab.
They were actually somewhat wooden slabs; close enough.

I wear shoes with out socks. It's less laundry for mom.
You have great logic, kid.

He put a glow stick around his ear, and a bug flew in.
No comment.

There's no hot water.
My favorite thing to hear in the morning

Why is someone else's underwear on my bed?
I also found food, bibles, socks, leaves, blankets, and all sorts of things on my bed.

Whose shirt is this!? (Repeat 28x)
We finally found the owner. But then she lost it again.

I don't need to take a shower. I took one last week.
Well. I'd appreciate it if you took one.

[The other sponsor] said I can buy two energy drinks.
Well the other sponsor can sit by you on the way home. 

Dear High School Senior.... Part 3

So over a year ago, I wrote two posts called "Dear High School Senior..." (part 1 and part 2). I wrote them as a reflection of my senior year of high school and as encouragement to my high school friends. I've been wanting to write another version this year, but didn't exactly know what else to say. This post has been in the making for about a year, and I really hope that it offers an encouragement to high schoolers and parents right now. 

Dear High School Senior,

So. It's almost over. Crazy, huh? Lately, you've probably been walking the halls at school thinking that you may never see some of these people again. You may never have a bell that dismisses you from class or tell you that you're late. You may never open that bright orange locker as you hurriedly stuff your Chemistry textbook inside hoping that you beat the 7th graders to the lunch line. 

You're either really excited. Or really nervous. Maybe both. It depends on the day. You're constantly getting asked by adults what college you're going to and what career you're pursing. You're constantly being told stories of their college days. Teachers are repeatedly saying "You're not going to be this spoiled in college or at your job" as they let you work on your homework (that was due three days ago) in class. Your parents are getting sentimental. Or they're getting annoying as the ask each day when you'll hear back about one of those scholarships you applied for. The college you're going to or the employer who's hiring you isn't answering all your emails or phone calls. You're getting anxious and scared. 

You only have 5 more weeks. 

Let me ease some of your nerves. College isn't scary. (okay, maybe sometimes). Everyone there is in the exact same boat as you (except for that one kid who commuted to the college his or her senior year and is still living at home). Your parents are a phone call away (occasionally). And no one else knows what he or she is going to really do with his or her life.

Let me encourage you to slow down. Don't worry about spending all your free time with your friends (your family needs you, too). Don't worry about picking the best pictures and song to go in your senior slideshow (nobody remembers them in a year, anyway). "So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today," says Matthew 6:34. Slow down.

You will be okay when next fall comes around. I cannot stress this enough. Your parents have taught you to use your better judgment. So use it. You know if you’re doing something right or doing something wrong. So strive to do it right. You’ve been developing a brain for about 18 or 19 years. It’s there for a reason. Use it for the right reason.

I really don’t know if I have to words to convince you that it’s going to be okay. You’ve been told pretty much all there is to tell. Some things, you just have to figure out on your own, but you’ll have people there that will make sure that you’re being the best you.

They say college is supposed to be the best years of your life. But I really hope not. I hope that my life doesn’t go downhill as soon as I graduate from college. I hope that it continues to get better (even with a few bumps here and there) so that the very moment before I die, I can say that I lived the best life my entire life.

I really don’t know what else to say, except, Google can answer almost anything and everything.

Love,

Me.

The Hands that Produced It

"Dear Lord, thank you for this day of fellowship. Thank you for providing safety to all of us. Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. Bless the hands that prepared it, as well as the hands that produced it. In Your name I pray, Amen.”

In my FFA chapter, prayer was a common occurrence. We prayed before every trip in the ag-truck. We prayed before every meeting and meal. We prayed before every competition and livestock show.

My senior year of high school, I was on a retreat with my fellow chapter officers and ag-ed teacher. The topic of how we pray came into conversation. A few of the officers had recently spent time with another FFA member from a different chapter. Apparently, this chapter always ended their prayer with: “…bless the hands that prepared it, as well as produced it.” It was then challenged that our chapter should begin doing this.

It eventually became such a deal that in every situation, even outside of FFA, people waited for the prayer to end with “as well as produced it”. If someone did not say this, people would make sure that person knew he or she didn’t say it.

Now, two years later, I find myself praying before meals and ending the prayer asking for blessing to the hands that produced to food. No one has ever really questioned it, until one day a family member noticed. She immediately said, “It must’ve been an FFA thing”.

While yes, I did develop this habit through FFA, I was offended that she implied that it was just an FFA thing. I tried explaining that producers are just as important as the chefs, and they, too, need to be prayed for. My family member just sort of laughed it off.

Many people are involved in the process of making meals. Farmers grew and took care of the vegetable, fruit, grain, and meat. There were hands who put their love into preparing the meals for everyone to eat.

Since being at college, I have noticed the lack of knowledge of the agriculture industry people have. The people I know that are farmers and ranchers work significantly hard in making sure their product is taken care of well. They work long hours in tractors or feed trucks. Most of these people also hold other jobs besides farming and ranching.

It is the least anyone can do to ask for blessing to these people who have produced our food.