CHINA GROVE — The South Rowan Future Farmers of America (FFA) Alumni Chapter, chartered in May 1975, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday with 200 members and guests attending. The celebration event was hosted by Concordia Lutheran Church. 

Joshua Bledsoe, the North Carolina State FFA adviser and the guest speaker for the evening said, “The FFA, founded in 1928, has one million members nationally and 600 agriculture teachers and 48,000 students in North Carolina. There is the legacy of the blue corduroy jackets and how FFA had to change to be relevant, but let’s never take our organization for granted. Tonight starts the next 50 years, at a time when 254 careers rely on agriculture.”

FFA alumni members nationally number 750,000 in 2000 plus chapters. North Carolina ranks fifth nationally in FFA members behind Texas, California, Georgia and Florida. North Carolina has 87 FFA alumni and support chapters with 9,119 members. 

Long-time educator and South Rowan alumni advisor Bruce Miller was a 1966 graduate of South Rowan Senior High School. He took agriculture classes under the late RC Hampton and John Allison, then graduated from NCSU in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in Ag Ed, a commission in the U.S. Army and eventually a master of education at NCSU. He moved back to Rowan and taught one year at East Rowan High School before completing Infantry training at Fort Benning during the summer of 1973. Miller moved to South Rowan High in 1973 where he stayed until retirement in August 1999. 

Miller told attendees, “We chartered the FFA Alumni in May of 1975. The purpose then as now was to support Ag Ed/FFA and the teachers/advisers. Tonight’s gathering is to acknowledge the 50 years of service by the FFA Alumni in support of the FFA.” 

Then with an eye toward the future, Miller later shared his thoughts on the history and future of the FFA. He said, “In the earlier years of vocational agriculture/FFA, most teaching positions were filled by WWII veterans who left the farm for military service and then attended college on the GI bill. Since that time and especially today, agriculture teachers have been difficult to recruit because of all the responsibilities beyond the classroom. This is why I believe a strong community support group like our FFA Alumni can help recruit future teachers. NC FFA has grown exponentially since I retired.”

In the last 25 years, N.C. ag ed enrollment has gone from 37,000 to nearly 84,000 students. The number of ag ed teachers has increased from 380 to 616. Miller said, “More programs would be added if qualified teachers were available. South Rowan FFA Alumni set up a scholarship program at NCSU to help recruit future agricultural leaders from our local FFA chapter. So far 13 scholarships have been awarded but more funds are available for use.”

Miller noted that South Rowan has produced 27 agriculture teachers since 1965. He said, “We have produced 16 state FFA officers including five state presidents. Five are currently teaching in high school. Our FFA Alumni involvement has played a role in all of this.”

FFA Chapter President in 1975 and Alumni charter member, Neal Wilkinson said, “This event was the vision of Mr. Miller, my adviser and the adviser who had the vision of chartering the Alumni Chapter in 1975. This event was not just to celebrate the last 50 years but to draw attention to the true purpose of the Alumni Chapter. As alumni members, we have always had the objective of supporting the students and teaching staff at South Rowan FFA, whether that support is monetary, cranking ice cream, being a guest speaker at a chapter meeting or just being a sounding board. The alumni members all have individual strengths and expertise they bring to the group, but the main objective is to support the students and the ag teachers as best we can. Saturday night was validation of the hard work of the FFA members, the teaching staff and the alumni working together with the common goal of growth and success for the students. I think the statistics shared Saturday night were evidence of 50 years of commitment.”

Planning committee Vice President Henry Goodnight attended as one of three generations of Alumni Life Members in his family. His father Lee graduated in 1955 and was an alumni charter member in 1975. Henry graduated in 1975 and his son, Dallas, graduated in 2013. Both Henry and Dallas joined the alumni chapter soon after their graduations. Henry said, “It was good to see everything come together after months of planning. I did not realize until everyone started coming in how much this was really a reunion of the last 50 years as much as it was a celebration. We had a mix of people there from infants to 95 years old, and several families there with three generations represented. I left with a good feeling of the past and the promise of this organization continuing into the future.” 

The 50th year celebration planning committee included Miller, Wilkinson, Henry Goodnight, Chad Crainshaw, David Overcash, Carrie Hoffner Barnhardt and Holly Deal Rummage. 

Alumni adviser Bruce Miller’s words echoed a positive future, calling South Rowan alumni a solid foundation of agriculture, leadership, citizenship and service. The South Rowan FFA Alumni Chapter currently has 120 life members and total membership of 270.