This former FFA state and national officer gives back to the organization in a unique way.
With his father working as an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, Corey Rosenbusch says he was “basically born into FFA.” From a young age, he’s had an appreciation and passion for the organization.
“My earliest memories include trips to FFA conferences, camps and competitions with my father, and I went to my first state FFA convention when I was in third grade,” says Rosenbusch, who was a member of the Glen Rose FFA in Glen Rose, Texas, that was led by his father, Gary Rosenbusch, for several years. “I can also remember my dad working with his FFA members to prepare them for upcoming Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Events, and I’d join in. FFA has always been a big part of my life.”
Rosenbusch’s FFA journey, which included serving as the 1995-96 Texas FFA Association president and 1996-97 National FFA president, has continued into adulthood. He helped launch a National FFA Alumni Association near his home in Washington, D.C., where he works as the president and CEO of the Global Cold Chain Alliance, a group of trade associations for companies transporting and storing refrigerated food. He also became an FFA planned-gift donor.
His decision to offer a planned gift (a contribution arranged in the present and allocated at a future date) came about after he was invited to join the National FFA Foundation’s Individual Giving Council that promotes the advancement of FFA and agricultural education through identification, cultivation and solicitation of individual major gifts.
“When I was approached to join the council about nine years ago, I was in my mid-30s, I had young children and I hadn’t accumulated much wealth, so I didn’t think I could make a significant financial contribution to FFA, but I was wrong,” Rosenbusch says. “Thankfully, the Individual Giving Council helped me find a way to give back to this organization that has enhanced my life in countless ways and helped shape me both personally and professionally.”
Inspired by the council, Rosenbusch began estate planning and decided to include a financial contribution to FFA in his will – a commitment that will ensure his legacy in the organization lives on even after he’s passed away.
“Along with wanting to make sure my wife and daughters would be taken care of once I’m gone, I also wanted to contribute to FFA, so I made the organization one of the beneficiaries of my life insurance policy,” he says. “This planned gift will be used however FFA sees fit, and it makes me feel good to know it will help an organization that I truly believe in and that means so much to me.”
