Even before donning their corduroy jackets, many FFA members were building a love for agriculture by carpet farming with their favorite toy tractors. John Deere has a legacy of inspiring young people to pursue a job in agriculture. For Benjamin Zelle, it was part of the appeal of working for the global machinery company. Zelle was recently elected as the company’s FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapter president and manages its National FFA Week activities.
“The biggest thing for corporate alumni chapters is to simply start,” Zelle says. “It doesn’t have to be a full week of hourly events. Our FFA Week participation started at our John Deere facilities by asking local chapters to come in, wear their blue jackets and hand out flyers to promote FFA Week. We teamed them up with John Deere FFA Alumni and Supporters members at various facilities, and together they would talk about the history of FFA and their local chapter, and we promoted our FFA Alumni and Supporters chapter.”
Since their first FFA Week activities, John Deere members have spread their support to include their time, talent and treasure. Their philosophy is that no matter where you are in your career, you can likely give your time and your talent. Once a year — during Give FFA Day — they ask for monetary donations. This past year, nearly 300 John Deere employees donated during Give FFA Day, and it is estimated these donations accounted for nearly 10% of all giving during the 2022 FFA Week.
Learn more about how to celebrate FFA Week at FFA.org/National-FFA-Week.
