Joe White and his wife, Joy White, are next to a sign for their Centennial Ranch.
The National FFA Organization has been around for nearly 100 years, and in that time, a lot has changed. One thing that has remained constant is that it is an organization that is hard not to love. Just because you graduate and are too old to wear the blue corduroy jacket does not mean FFA ever leaves you. Many people who grow up in FFA later get their kids involved, and those kids fall in love with it as well, allowing the cycle to continue. This generational love can be seen through the White family of Shattuck, Oklahoma, who homesteaded land near Shattuck in 1903. The family has remained in Shattuck since then and has been heavily involved in FFA, though they have experienced ups and downs due to changing FFA policies.
Joe White graduated from Shattuck High School in 1946 and earned his Oklahoma State FFA Degree. At the time, he was involved in FFA, which was still called Future Farmers of America, and that title described him perfectly. As he grew older, he became a farmer and had three daughters. FFA was a very special organization to White, but his daughters were unable to participate. Although the girls showed registered Hereford bulls in many contests, they were not directly involved in FFA. They attended high school during the 1960s and 1970s, with the youngest graduating in 1975, and they were never allowed to join the organization. While FFA became open to women nationally in 1969, the change did not happen automatically across the country. Shattuck schools did not allow women to join FFA until 1978. Prior to that, women participated in FHA, which stood for Future Homemakers of America.
Despite these limitations, White continued to love the organization. In the early 1990s, he was able to watch his grandson develop a passion for FFA as well. However, his two granddaughters, Becky and Jenny Flaherty, never joined FFA because they never saw the point when their mother had not been able to participate. That changed with the next generation. Becky’s daughter, Jadyn Budig, became the first woman in the White family line to join FFA in 2014. Like her uncle and great-grandfather before her, she fell in love with the organization and served as the Shattuck FFA Chaplain during her senior year. Her cousin, Grey Berends, is currently serving as the Shattuck FFA Chaplain.
Many families across the nation share similar stories, all for one simple reason: FFA is an organization like no other. It builds community and unites students from all over the country. FFA members are known for being kind and respectful, and people of all ages want to be around those who make it easy to feel like you belong.
