David Hollinrake, global head of strategy at Syngenta Seeds, says his company bleeds blue and gold. As a National FFA corporate partner, Syngenta Seeds team members, including Hollinrake, choose to support members because of their positive experiences in the organization.
“So many of us had the benefit of growing up in FFA,” Hollinrake says. “That’s a big deal because we understand the skills FFA provides. We also believe in the FFA vision because we’ve experienced it ourselves.”
Two years ago, Syngenta established an FFA alumni and supporters group. Hollinrake says 250 individuals joined on the first day and pledged to donate both their time and resources.
“We have mentorships, people that volunteer for judging and certainly people who visit local chapters and share their experiences,” he adds. “It all goes back to the fact we’re forever blue and we believe in the power of the FFA.”
Hollinrake also serves as the current chair for the National FFA Foundation Sponsors’ Board. Through this three-year role, he works closely with board members and sponsoring companies to support agricultural education and the National FFA Organization.
“We provide programming support, ideas on curriculum that would be helpful for students as they enter the workforce and sponsor the diversity, equity and inclusion programming,” Hollinrake says. “We want to make sure we’re helping the organization we all love thrive.”
Article edited by FFA New Horizons editor Lauren Quinlan.
