More than 80 students received their very own FFA jackets Tuesday morning from the Delaware Farm Bureau as the 93rd Delaware FFA State Convention began with excitement.
Each year, DEFB gives the embroidered corduroy jackets to deserving FFA members through its annual Blue Jacket Bonanza as a way to encourage students to continue their agricultural journeys. Students must apply for the jackets and demonstrate heart for community service and the FFA organization.
Former FFA state officer and current DEFB President Bill Powers spoke to students during the Blue Jacket Bonanza presentation. Like him, he added, a lot of his fellow DEFB board members are also FFA alumni and feel a connection to the students through this program. Powers expressed the pride he felt when he received his first FFA jacket. “I wore it all the time. I eventually wore it out,” he told the students during the convention.
“Our board started providing jackets a few years ago wanting to get them to the kids,” he said. “It was a great feeling standing there, seeing all those blue jackets. It's a good organization.”
William Penn High School FFA President MaKayla Counts shared her experience with the iconic blue jacket during the presentation, as well. She said her jacket gave her a sense of unity and pride as she progressed through the organization, becoming William Penn FFA’s first African-American female president.
“It’s hard to put into words how I felt when I opened my very own jacket. Happy, surreal, excited for the new opportunities that were ahead of me. As a first generation FFA member, I felt accomplished. I had earned a jacket that would open doors for me in areas that I felt passionate about. I became a part of a community of peers that shared similar interests as me. I broke barriers for myself, my culture, my community, and it all came from having a blue jacket of my very own,” she said. “I will never forget meeting Delaware’s first African American woman representative, Lisa Blunt Rochester. She wanted to speak to a student, me, about Penn Farm and the food program we had to offer at school. As soon as she saw me, I will never forget the words she said to me: ‘And I see that we have an FFA member here.’ Her reaction showed me that this jacket brings recognition to FFA and what it represents.” The Delaware FFA Association can be found online at www.delawareffa.org. The Delaware Farm Bureau can be found online at www.defb.org.
The following students received jackets from DEFB’s 2023 Blue Jacket Bonanza:
Caesar Rodney High School
Mackenzie Cusick
Charles Wissman
Hayden Otto
Maggie Brentari-Reinhardt
Temperance Haupt
Christian McMahon
Rachel Woodzell
Camren Scaffedi
Kerah Dill
Alyssa Wigley
Kenedy Barrett
Brooklyn Campbell
William Penn High School
Elizabeth Grubbs
Elizabeth Toner
Jenna Buchanan
Joanna Gomez-Rosas
Joselyn Carrasco-Hernandez
Leah Zimmerman
Sanaa McDonald
MOT Charter High School
Kayla Kaspin
Bhini Arora
Paige Ramone
Grace Nardo
Shruti Kuncharam
Tatiana Fair
Odessa High School
Cierra Smith
Meka Galbraith
Camrynn Chambers
Olivia Orndorff
Kallie Marcum
Smyrna High School
Madison Lomax
Gillian Shane
Nicholas Campbell
Nathaniel Webber
Riley Horsey
Alyssa Attix
Brooklynne Keiser
Alexis Mancuso
Adison Weisenbereger
Colton Johnson
Rylee Mancuso
Jaylen Ryan
Desiree Taylor
Ava Gregory
Jameson King
Brooke Willis
Delmar High School
Cadence Davidson
George Nichols
Christiana High School
Vincent Saltenberger
Kayla Parks
Lake Forest High School
Montana Golden
Kylie Hammond
Ava Gallo
Gabriella Razzano
Mason Hay
Milford High School
Madison Stahl
Lucy Chorman
George Simpson
Bailey Masten
Woodbridge High School
Kalli Chelton
Jace Goff
Kylie Pusey
Madilyn Wynn
Brayan Perez
Seaford High School
Marlie Janvier
Natalie Carter
Luke Metzner
Appoquinimink High School
Alana Janiszewski
Jackson Luszcz
Drew Satterfield
Shauna Judd
Sussex Central High School
Tori Jones
Melisa Velasquez-Zunun
Lucas Arriaga
Lily Allen
Kaira Jackson
Dillon Green
Camber Walker
Bryan Mendoza Perez
Andrew Orth
Middletown High School
Wyatt Yolton
McKean High School
Crystal Rivera
Natalie Cook
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