VIBORG, South Dakota — The South Dakota FFA Association conducted its annual Leadership Retreat June 17-20th at Swan Lake Christian Camp in Viborg, SD. A total of 67 FFA members in grades 8 – 12 attended from across South Dakota with the theme of, “Toy Story: to Leadership and Beyond.”
The retreats centered on a theme of, “Toy Story: to Leadership and Beyond,” focusing on teaching members how to invest in their chapters’ journey and their personal leadership development by experiencing 13 sessions surrounded on components of the National FFA Organization’s Mission Statement, “To provide premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.” FFA members developed and enhanced their leadership skills and self-confidence through interactive learning. The program featured workshops that helped members discover aspects of growing and transforming, deciphering the differences between ego and humility within confidence, valuing diversity in teams, working through resilience and adaptability, and standing on moral courage with loyalty. They will use these new skills and ideas to benefit their local chapters and communities. Retreat attendees also participated in a service-learning project helping the City of Centerville work on beautification projects around town.
The retreats were directed by the 2025-2026 State FFA Officers: President, Tyler Strasser from the Lennox; Vice-President, Josie Nold from Brookings; Secretary, Kate Meyer from Sisseton; Treasurer, Elena Andrews from Beresford, Reporter, Ireland McAreavey from Tri-Valley; Sentinel, Skyler Plucker from the Lennox. Retreat staff also included the SD FFA State Ambassadors: Modesty Heath from Wolsey-Wessington and Wyatt Lesmeister from Belle Fourche.
The retreat was sponsored by South Dakota FFA Foundation Star Partners; CHS Foundation, Bayer, SD Corn Utilization Council, Farmers Mutual of Nebraska, and Twin Cities Region Northland Ford Dealers. General Fund sponsors include: Mitchell Technical College, SoDak Labs Inc., U.S. Army ROTC, and SD Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Retreat t-shirts were sponsored by Hoegemeyer Hybrids, Army ROTC, FarmHouse Fraternity-SDSU, Mitchell Technical College, Kibble Equipment, SoDak Labs Inc., AgroTech USA, South Dakota Farmers Union, Plains Towing, and Brevant Seed.
Scholarships for individuals to attend were provided by advisor tribute scholarships from the Walt Johnson Memorial Endowment and Leonard DeBoer Memorial.
Chapters that are ranked within the top three in the state for the National Chapter Application are awarded a scholarship for a member to attend Leadership Camp through East River Electric Cooperative scholarships.
The South Dakota FFA Association is a statewide organization of 6,536 agricultural education students in 113 chapters in every corner of South Dakota. It is part of the National FFA Organization, a national youth organization of 1,027,273 student members preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture with 9,235 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Our mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Visit www.sdaged.org for more information.
–South Dakota FFA