Items in this listserv:

HOT TOPICS - MUST KNOW:

• HOT, HOT, HOT - FFA CENTER CLOSED On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the Illinois FFA Center will be closed for an office FFA archiving day - we are digging through treasures of the past and preparing to celebrate 100 years.  

• TOASTY - 2025 Illinois FFA Selection Committee

The Illinois FFA Selection Committee is an amazing opportunity for FFA members and friends of the FFA, click here to check out an awesome video about being on the Selection Committee.  The State FFA Officer Selection Committee application is due March 15, 2025.  If you have students who are interested in being on the 2025 Selection Committee click here to apply.   Click here for a flyer to show your students so they can learn more about the selection committee.

• MILD - Section President Candidate Orientation and Mandatory Survey - Listserv sent on 12/10/2024 - In the role of being a Section President on the state officer team, there are many responsibilities and an extensive summer schedule, to set our future Section Presidents up for success and make them aware of those responsibilities, expectations and time commitments we are having a Section President Candidate Orientation Webinar on Thursday, March 20, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.

• LUKE Warm - National Chapter Award - DUE April 1, 2025, and MUST be SUBMITTED, need a REMINDER on how to submit?  Click Here.  Great news, the January State Scoop podcast special guest is Trent Taber, Cambridge FFA provides insight and advice on the National Chapter Award.  It’s COMING SOON!

****NEW Information****

1.  2025 GROWMAKR Foundation Scholarship

2. Illinois Farm Bureau Top President Award Applications

3. February FFA Board Reports

4. Illinois FFA WLC Conference Registration Opens at Noon

5. Illinois FFA Alumni & Supporters Camp Scholarship App

6. Ed Curry Illinois FFA Leadership Camp Memorial Scholarship

1. 2025 GROWMAKR Foundation Scholarship

The 2025 GROWMARK Foundation Scholarship application is now OPEN! Applications must be submitted by April 11, 2025, @ 11:59 PM CT. To access the application, click HERE.  

2.  Illinois Farm Bureau Top President Award Applications

Applications are now open for the Top 10 FFA Section Presidents and FFA Chapter President awards. This is a great opportunity for these Presidents to showcase their hard work and accomplishments from the 2024-2025 school year. Please encourage your Presidents to apply for these awards! For more information on each award, please view the attachments.

FFA Section and Chapter President Application

Top 10 Section President Award

• Deadline: March 10, 2025

Chapter President Award

• Deadline: April 11, 2025

Please reach out to youth@ilfb.org with any questions.

3.  February FFA Board Report - CLICK HERE

• Parliamentary Procedure Update:

1. With updates to the contest last year, an additional update was added to the contest rules for this year’s District and State events. Please see the following update to the State Parliamentary Procedure Rules: 

16. When a motion is withdrawn, the withdrawn motion and any debates/motions applied to it still receive points for this contest.

4.    Illinois FFA WLC Conference Registration Opens at Noon

The Illinois FFA WLC Trip will be from Sunday, June 22, through Saturday, June 28, 2025.  National FFA has reduced the conference by one day.  The trip cost is $2,000; you can pay for the trip in two installments of $1,000, due by April 15, 2025, and the remaining $1,000 by May 1, 2025.  For the IL FFA Alumni and Supporters Alumni Scholarship Winners, you must pay $900 by April 15, 2025.  The cost of the IL FFA WLC Trip includes flights to and from DC (everyone will be flying out of St. Louis through Southwest Airlines), the registration fee for WLC to National FFA, as well as activities once they arrive in DC, including bus transportation, metro pass, site seeing admissions, an evening dinner cruise, three t-shirts, and additional overnight lodging for two nights. Registration will close on April 15, 2025.  For more information, please go to www.ilaged.org, IL FFA WLC Trip, which includes the required WLC Health Profile and Signature Form instructions and links.  

5.  Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters Camp Scholarship Application

The Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters Camp Scholarship Application and Letter of Recommendation is due on Friday, March 7, 2025.  Your FFA Chapter needs an active Alumni to apply for this scholarship. Please only have one student complete this application.   2nd Bonus Section:  The Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters have added a second bonus question to the rubric worth 5 points if anyone in your FFA or Alumni Chapter has attended the Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters Annual Meeting in the last 5 years.  The original bonus question has been changed to being worth 10 points.  Once the application is submitted, the FFA Advisor will receive an email in which they must reply with a letter of recommendation about the student who applied for the scholarship.  If you have any questions, please contact pdavis@illinoisffa.org.

6.  Ed Curry Illinois FFA Leadership Camp Memorial Scholarship

Ed Curry was a long-time ag teacher and FFA advisor from Section 1 whose passion was to find the best in everyone.  He lived to make every moment count and to instill in his students that they were valued and they could make a difference.  His passion for camp was infectious.  

HE LOVED CAMP!  Every part of it.  He always loved a good challenge to try to have someone attend who was unsure about stepping outside of their comfort zone.  Mr. Curry was an FFA advisor, who taught with kindness, compassion, and inclusion. He volunteered his time as a staff member of the Illinois FFA Leadership Camp every year, beginning in 2006.  Camp was a place where Mr. Curry was able to become a trusted mentor, advisor, and friend to many more students than he had in his chapter or section. He was always willing to lend an ear to listen or give advice and direction to anyone who sought him out.  He was a great friend to not only the FFA members attending camp but also to the other camp staff and the FFA Center staff, as well. Mr. Curry used his time at camp to impact as many members as he could.

To honor his work and life, camp scholarship(s) in the amount of $215.00 will be awarded to attend the Illinois FFA State Leadership Camp in Monticello.     

Please click here to complete the Ed Curry Memorial Camp Scholarship.  Applications are due by April 15, 2025. Once a student completes the application the FFA Advisor must complete and submit a letter of recommendation stating why you think your student should be a recipient of the Ed Curry Memorial Camp Scholarship via email to intern@illinoisffa.org by April 15, 2025, for their FFA member who submits an application for the Ed Curry Memorial Camp Scholarship.  

Applicants and teachers will be notified in May. 

**** PREVIOUS Information Shared - WORTH Sharing Again****

• PREVIOUS LISTSERVS - CLICK HERE to view - 2024 - 2025 School Year

• CLICK HERE to view - the 2023 - 2024 School Year Previous Listservs

• 2024-25 State CDE/LDE Calendar - Added New Event - 2-10-25

• All Conference Event Information, Flyers, Required Forms, Registration Information (Spring Middle School Conference)

• 2025 State FFA Convention Wyndham Hotel Room Block Link (PAL Full)

*Please NOTE that clicking Dates & Deadlines will take you to the www.ilaged.org calendar.  

• February 10-12, 2025 - American FFA Degree Interviews, IL FFA Center, Springfield, IL

• February 13, 2025 - Spring PAS Conference, Heartland Community College, Normal, IL

• February 15, 2025 - State Meats & Evaluation CDE Early Bird Registration ENDS

• February 15, 2025 - State Vet Science CDE Early Bird Registration ENDS

• February 15, 2025 - State Meats & Vet Science CDE Special Accommodations Form DUE

• February 15, 2025 - State Ag Ed CDE Lesson Plans DUE

• February 16-23, 2025 - National FFA Week

• February 18, 2025 - FFA Center CLOSED - FFA Archiving and Organizing Day

• March 1, 2025 - Alumni Rosters & Dues DUE

• March 1, 2025 - Sam Taylor Scholarship Applications DUE

• March 1, 2025 - State Officer Applications DUE

• March 1-2, 2025 - Products Expo, IL State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL

• March 6, 2025 - District Proficiencies

• March 7, 2025 - IL FFA Alumni Camp Scholarship Applications & Letter of Recommendations DUE

• March 7, 2025 - Women Changing the Face of Agriculture, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

• March 17, 2025 - Spring Middle School Conference, Sauk Valley College Registration ENDS

• March 19, 2025 -   Spring Middle School Conference, Rend Lake College Registration ENDS

• March 21, 2025 -  Spring Middle School Conference, Lincoln Land Community College Registration ENDS

• March 21, 2025 - State Dairy Cattle CDE Mandatory Registration ENDS

• March 21, 2025 - Special Accommodations Form for State Dairy Cattle CDE DUE

• March 22, 2025 - State Awards Day, Mt. Zion High School, Mt. Zion, IL

• March 29, 2025 - State Food Science CDE Mandatory Registration ENDS

• March 31, 2025-Spring Middle School Conference, Sauk Valley College, Dixon, IL

• April 1, 2025 - National Chapter Applications DUE

• April 1, 2025 - Eldon Witt Scholarship Applications DUE

• April 1, 2025 - Honorary State FFA Degree Applications DUE

• April 2, 2025 - Spring Middle School Conference, Rend Lake, Ina, IL

• April 4, 2025 - State Dairy Cattle CDE, Livingston County Fairgrounds, 18142 4H Park Rd, Pontiac, IL

• April 4, 2025 - Spring Middle School Conference, LLCC, Springfield, IL

• April 9, 2025 - Invitational Marketing Plan Materials DUE