Ask questions, test models, figure out how to fail forward because that's where like the best solutions are to come from. Those kids, over 1 million members are part of FFA. This is like the most farmer thing ever, and they're passionate about things and they wanna see change and they're gonna change the world. Talk to us about what it takes to pull off a 70,000-person event in downtown Indianapolis. From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between. This is Get IN, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Before we get into it, just a reminder, this episode of Get IN is brought to you by ClusterTruck, Indy's go-to delivery kitchen. If you haven't tried ClusterTruck yet, you are missing out. They have over a hundred menu items. Everything from hand-stretched pizza to tacos, salads, breakfast burritos. And my personal favorite, their Pad Thai add chicken. They've got something for everyone. Plus delivery is always free. Now, here's the best part. If you order right now, by the time this podcast is over, your ClusterTruck order will already be at your door. It's that fast. So whether you're catching a game or just too busy to cook, head to clustertruck.com. Order now and use code INDY at checkout for 20% off orders of $25 or more. Trust me, your stomach's gonna thank you. Reminder, that code is INDY. Now let's get into the episode. Today I'm joined by Christine White and Larry Grider. Now Christine is the chief program officer at National FFA, and she's leading initiatives that empower over 1 million student members nationwide to grow in leadership, personal development, and agricultural expertise. Say that five times fast. Her work ensures the FFA remains relevant in an evolving industry, connecting tradition with education, a former FFA member herself and state officer. All the way from New Jersey. She spent seven years teaching agricultural education and serving as an FFA advisor in Florida and Virginia before moving to Indiana 20 years ago to begin her role at the National FFA organization. Now, Larry Grider is a 10-year National FFA Convention volunteer who's literally helped out in every role from Usher to store worker to career success tour chaperone. Formerly an FFA member in rural Kentucky. He has a great story about where he grew up at. He brings passion, humor, and firsthand knowledge to help thousands of students have a great experience every year right here in Indianapolis at the National Convention, which is coming up just around the corner. Larry, Christine, welcome to get in. Thank you. Thanks. People of Indiana are no strangers to FFA. We, we know one. There are tons of, I, we probably know the number. How many FFA chapters are there across the state of Indiana. I did not look that up. Well, a lot. There's a lot of 'em, but we do know that every fall, I believe it's October, correct? Mm-hmm. Yep. Every October we get to play host to the National FFA Convention right here in Indianapolis. We're over 70,000 members of the National FFA Organization. Come for the national Convention, which is right around the corner, and I'm very, very excited. I'd love to talk with each of you and learn your entry point into FFA, Christine, if you could also share a little bit about when people think of FFA, they think like drive your tractor to school day and just that piece. But what I've learned from, you know, research for this episode and everyth. There's a lot more that goes into it, and it's not just the guys ripping their John Deere tractors to school, every April. Yeah. So I think when you think about FFA, a lot of it is really, it's, it's an organization that's rooted in agriculture. It's about helping young people find careers, in food fiber and fuel for the, for the world. And so really helping them to see their potential and how they can. really expose, and help feed the world. And so when we look at that holistically in ag classes across the country, over 9,000 of them, we have teachers that are helping students find their passion around horticulture, whether it's around, ag mechanics, so figuring out how to fix a small engine or lawnmowers, all those trades skills that we need, for the, for the world. and that's one of the things that you'll see. But what's predominantly important about FFA? It's about. premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. Yeah. And so we do that through the context of agriculture and really help students figure that out. Yeah. Larry, could you share, when, what year was your first year involved with the FFA organization as a member? 1966. 1966. So in 1966, what drew you into the FFA organization? I was born and raised on a farm, row crop and animals. And so, it was kind of a natural, my dad told me that if, if I joined the FFA, he would gimme a pig. Oh, little bribery. Now we're talking. So I raised a pig. Yes, absolutely. And it, it was fun. It was fun. And when you look back from 1966, right, I'm sure, I'm actually 100% positive that the organization has grown and evolved a little bit over the past. Few years, but what do you credit to the FFA organization for your growth and development through those, like formative years when you were growing up on a, like that was one thing. It's like you grew up on a farm. It's like, do you really wanna like your hobby to be a farming organization too? Yeah. Taught me self reliance and, responsibility because I had a living thing. To care for. And, there's, there's an end to that. And so the, the culmination of acquiring, caretaking and then the resolution of that, I didn't show the pig. I just, you know, grew it. And, it was kind of fun. Just fed the family though. Come on now. Yeah. So self-reliance. Were there other like key. Character traits that you picked up during your time in FFA as a member. And then Christina, I'm gonna come to you and talk about some of the personal attributes and growth that you got from the FFA organization. Well, I was, I was a little bit in a bubble 'cause I, I wasn't aware of the entire national reaches of it, but I did read recently people in this upcoming convention can be exposed to like 3,000 careers that are based on agriculture. No way. So, another thing that I do volunteer, I go out to the, to the, track here in the 500, 3,000 fifth graders come to the track. It's called, education Day. People without knowledge, think that, well, if I wanted to have a career in racing, I gotta drive a race car. Well, education Day at the track tells 'em there's many other things you can do, such as what we're doing today is also a part of Yeah. The education and racing. You do not have to drive a race car. Yeah. like you don't have to, you don't have to grow a pig to be involved in agriculture. Yeah. A lot of people think you gotta be a farmer and you gotta move out to rural Indiana and wake up at 4:00 AM to feed the hogs if you want to be a farmer or be involved in agriculture. And then that is not, that's not totally the truth, especially today, there's. There are ag tech companies, there's this, that, and the other thing. Christine, talk to us about your experience within the FFA organization and how that impacted your life so much so that you wanted to continue down that path for the next 20 years. You know, I was a, a member in New Jersey, Woodstown, New Jersey. came from a farm family as well. Fruit and vegetables. See, that's when I think of New Jersey. I don't think of farming. So I came from the garden spot, the garden state in the southern part. so 450 acre fruit and vegetable farm. and so that's where I kind of got my passion. I'm a second generation FFA member, or my fa my father was a member of the organization too. And you know, I kind of, my mom was a teacher and my dad was a farmer. And so as I started doing ag education, I kind of found the love of like, I can combine being a teacher. And agriculture together. And so my trajectory out of high school was an agricultural educator. And so I spent seven years teaching in Florida and Virginia and Pennsylvania and really just, kind of fostering that skills. And then as that opportunity grew, I had an opportunity to come to National FFA and work on leadership curriculum and build things. And so when I think back on my FFA career. The things that I took away as being a member and as a state officer was networking, building relationships, really understanding who I was as a leader and what are the skills that I can bring. To the table and how do I amplify those? and then be able to instill those in others as I worked with them as an educator. And now, as we work to develop opportunities for students to engage at the national level. Yeah. Let, let's talk through what being a member of FFA looks like here in 2025. Right? Yeah. So I think a lot of people. One, they might even confuse four H with FFA and get those two cross of showing your animals versus crop judging and this, that and the other thing, as well as think like. I feel, I feel like a lot of times you'd ask people, what's FFA mean means you drive your tractor to school. Right? Yeah. And like one day a year you get to like to break that out. So take us through some of the different programming and what it would look like if, if you had a freshman listeners out there. If you have a freshman. Yeah. You wanna get them exposed to some different organizations, what that entry point looks like. Yeah. Maybe not even freshman. 'cause I think it's earlier than that. Yeah. But what that point looks like and what someone's career journey through FFA looks like. Yeah, so the biggest point that kind of the differentiator about FFA is agricultural education. So a student needs to enroll in an ag class. So whether that's a horticulture class, whether that's an animal systems class, something, in that field. And so that's their entry point into the organization. And then at that point in time. they raise their hand that they wanna be a member, and then they can find the things that really match for them. And I really like to say that FFA is kind of like the choose your own adventure. There are lots of different opportunities, and students can kind of figure that out. So if I'm a, yeah, what are a few of those? So if I, so if I'm a livestock person, I can find a place for myself. If I am, someone that really just loves to talk, we're finding that we're. Students that are doing communication majors, we're having students that are doing their own podcasts, hey. and that are being able to do those pieces. So when we look at agriculture holistically, everybody has a. Ability to be a part of the organization has an ability to find a connection to ag. They just have to find that part. Just like Larry was talking about, the racetrack. People just think you have to be a driver. People think that if you're gonna be in agriculture, you have to be a farmer. But there's so many support roles to help lift the industry up. And so it's really our job of just trying to help them. And so whether that's coming to national convention and being exposed to all these different companies, whether it's staying at your local entity and figuring out who are those partners in the community that can help us in our chapter, whether it's. Community service or whether we're fundraising so we can come to national convention. It really just gives them, gives students kind of that driving piece. So it looks a little bit different in every community 'cause it matches what the community actually needs. We did an episode with Beck's Hybrids, up in Atlanta, and that's, they are obviously come from a lot of the, their employees come from. farm families and things like that, but they're like accountants and marketing and like other business jobs that are in the agricultural sector serving farmers all across America, but it's not necessarily they wake up every day and you know, hop in the combine or whatever there. Very, very interesting. This is not necessarily an organization just for. People who grew up on farms, but you do have to be taking some sort of agriculture class. Yep. Within, high school, is it, where does the point start? Where, when are you old enough that you could be involved with the FFA organization? Yeah, so from the organization standpoint, we have membership as early as fifth grade. So it just really depends upon if your middle schools are offering it as an opportunity. See a lot of the opportunity to start at that ninth grade level high school. so it really just depends on the community and how they embrace it. But, we're seeing a larger growing number of middle schools. Kind of starting that formative years kind of exploring. And then when they launch into their high school career, they're kind of all feed in and they're really absorbing it and moving forward. Do you guys know, like the history behind FFA, like where, why this started and when this started and, and then it's transitioned to Indianapolis because I don't believe it's always been headquarters here. Yeah, no. So the organization itself we're almost getting ready to celebrate a hundred years. Oh, wow. so it originated in 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri. 33 farm boys got together, and said it would be really cool to have an organization to help those of us who are in agriculture also connect outside of just doing traditional farming. and since that point, we're now over a million members. 1.04 million members that we are kind of working through, different components and that's where it's changed. our national convention was in, Kansas City for a long period of time. My dad's gonna love that one. Yeah, he went to the, he went to National Convention in Kansas City back in the day. He told me some fun stories. And then at that point in time, we moved our convention to Louisville, Kentucky, and we were in Louisville for almost a decade. and then we came here to Indianapolis, which, um. Also wasn't where our headquarters was originally. We were headquartered out of Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of DC 'cause we had connections with the, Department of Education at that point in time. And so, we then moved convention and we moved our headquarters here to Indianapolis and, have been here really ever since. So you are telling me there are 1.04 million members of the FFA organization in all 50 states. And wait, where else? Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. You can't forget those. Yeah, can't forget those. Wow. U.S. territories, 1 million members are part of FFA. That's just like this year. That's like a snapshot. Currently that's a snapshot of the 2024-25 school year. That is amazing. How many members were part of your, like local chapter when, when you were growing up? Larry? Probably had about 30. 30. Yeah. In, in that high school. That's pretty, I mean, just think about that, that you are just one small node on this larger organization that all started from 33 farm boys getting together back in 1928. Yep. Oh my gosh. That's crazy. Yeah. just like, you know what? Farming's lonely. It's hard. Like at least we could have a little couple friends to go through this with us. And today, I mean like almost a hundred years later. It's grown to over 1 million annual members. Is that what you'd say? Yep. Yep. That's wild. Well, one of the big pinnacle events put on you, you talked about how it'd been in Kansas City down to Louisville. Now we're the hosts here in Indianapolis is National Convention. And Larry, that's where your journey with FFA comes back full circle is volunteering there, and we're gonna get to that in a. Second. Sure. But let's talk about what national convention is. Obviously we see it when you drive around the city and you see all the blue corduroy jackets and you're like, huh, the farmers are in town. Yeah. A lot of doors being held open, very polite young kids downtown. You love to see it. Talk to us about what National Convention is and what it means for, these kids in their FFA journey. So it's a year long preparation, but for these young people, it's a time for us to celebrate them. most of those students are coming, to Indianapolis to compete nationally. So whether that's on a project that they've had back home or a competitive event that's taking place here in the city. so it's an opportunity for them to compete and be recognized for their efforts. it's also a time for them to walk through our expo, which is, you know, if you think about the Indianapolis Convention Center, all of those halls are filled with ag companies that are, and colleges and universities that are trying to. Help young people, discover, their future and those pieces, convention's about a time for a lot of our students to leave their hometown for the very first time. There are multiple stories of young people that they get on an escalator for the very first time when they go into the Circle Centre Mall or they hit the airport. And it's just, when you think about that, 'cause I think about the opportunities that I had as a young person, I got to do some of those pieces. But some of these. Individuals. This is the very first time that they're having those, what I would say, real world experiences for themselves. And so it's kind of cool. Well let it be known. Anyone from FFA, any kids watching that are coming here for the first time. Not all airports are like this. We have the best one. Like just let it be. Absolutely. Let it be known. You're just getting treated with the best airport in the country. Yeah, they're not all that way that. So cool. I never thought about that, like writing an escalator like a lot of times. Yeah. Like, I mean, we're from a small town and you know, it's not like you weren't going to Indianapolis every other weekend. It was like, this is a big deal. Yeah. And so how many, obviously chaperones mentor like educators, a lot of people come together. How many members from the like kid perspective are coming to town? So we usually have about 50,000 of our 70,000 that are, young people, that are coming in. And then you have the rest that have to. You wrangle 'em so, so yeah. To Absolutely. In true farming terminology, it's an industry. Yeah. Rec wrangle. Gotta wrangle 'em. Talk to us about what it takes to pull off a 70,000-person event in downtown Indianapolis. National FFA staff is about 114 people. You are dangerously outnumbered on 70,000. Yeah. So when you look at that, it's pulling the community in. It's our volunteers. It's really pulling, constituents, business and industry stepping up. We have a local organizing committee in the city of Indianapolis with Visit Indy, that really step up and that's from everything from public safety to being able to find Career Success Tours so that students are able to engage and find those other different opportunities. so it's really a citywide experience and bringing them into our planning process. And helping us to deliver. I mean, when you look at the landscape that we have, you figure every hotel downtown to the fairgrounds and then in a 50 mile radius is contracted by the organization. about 120 Wait What? Yeah, for hotels. For hotels to house the amount of people that we have. No way. We have, we have people who are staying up at Purdue that will drive into Indianapolis because that's where they. Whatever their bubble or what feels comfortable for them. But we have people that are driving, you know, 45 minutes to an hour to come in for a convention for the day, because of where they've decided to put their housing. That'd be wild. Yeah. I mean, that's just like the impact that you guys have when you're bringing 70,000 people to town. Yeah. Well, one thing that it takes to pull off. A large scale event is volunteers. And Larry, that's where your path ended up crossing back with FFA from your time in Kentucky as part of the organization, how did you get hooked up to volunteer with the FFA and what was appealing about that to you? I'm a member of an organization here in town called the Indianapolis Ambassadors. That's what we're designed to do is is to volunteer for the events that come into town. To help not-for-profit organizations fund their mission. It was just a natural for me to see when the, when 70,000 people come to town, you pay attention. And, one thing that I noticed that people are coming Georgia Street, between the commission center and and the field house. I get these comments all the time from the adults who see these people once a year says they act like they have parrots. That's really a, a profound statement because. A lot of people don't act like they have parents. These people do. Okay, so I'm a, I'm a high school wrestling coach. I always put this in wrestling terms, and it's like the idea of 50,000 high school wrestlers in one place. I'm out. That's not like, I don't wanna do that. Like, no joke. Like we have a team of 30 and like sometimes 30. I'm like, I want to pull out my hair. But like, so kudos to you all for making that happen. Kudos to. So, Larry, what was your first experience when you stepped up to volunteer with, what was the first gig that you got? I was a monitoring the expo, the trade show. Yeah. And got to see, all the different companies that were sponsoring, the convention and got to talk to a few of those people. While I was doing that, I also had my own business at promotional marketing and I could have some in inside conversations with a few of those and made a few connections that way. So, hey, there it is. Doubled up on my time. You know why? Because you learned about networking back in 1966. Come on. That's, you're right. You're right. You got me. Okay, so you were working the and, but then. you just kept coming back. How many dif how many years have you volunteered for FFA? At least till, since 2010. Wow. At least then, and there may have been time, there was a couple of years that the convention changed back to, Louisville and then came back to Indianapolis. I just knew it was an experience that. I enjoy every year. I enjoy seeing those people. I love that you call 'em them people too. It's like you, you're talking about kids, right? Like all the, the like high school kids that come to town that are like being respectful. Well, like I said, they're, they're a little more mature than your average. Teenager, what are some of the different roles? Because I mean, a piece of this, if you're listening out there, like there might be a role for you in regards to volunteering for FFA that isn't necessarily hall monitor. Like what are some of the different, you talked about career success ambassadors, you talked about some of the different roles that you've, you riding a bus to Lafayette, to the agriculture school. Mm-hmm. Take us through some of those opportunities. Sometimes it's just being a greeter at the airport. we need people to welcome our. colleagues or our students once they're coming in. so we have those, we have individuals that, are throughout the convention center just helping direct, and help students to find their way. 'cause obviously it's a big building and they're not sure where they're heading a lot of the time. we do have the Career Success Tours. We also have our National Day of service. So we have volunteers that will ride the bus with students that'll be going to Gleaners or up into, Zionsville with the Maple Farms that's up there, and they are a part of that opportunity to wait. So then you take 50,000 kids out around the community to volunteer? Yeah, so about 4,000 shifts that we have available throughout the community, between 10 to 12 locations that students are giving back. To the city of Indianapolis, helping nonprofits, accelerate their mission, That's awesome. Yeah. So how long is the conference Starts on a Wednesday and we end on a Saturday. So Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. So they're in town for like five days? Yep. Roughly. Yeah. And one of those days is spent in service Yep. To our city. Yep. So it's either to our city or the other piece too is that we've, since we're not able to get everybody out and about in the city, we do a. Service project on our expo floor. And so last year one of our service projects was, making potholders for Meals on Wheels. So as they were delivering the meals at Christmas, they were also being able to give them a little gift. as a part of that, and so was a potholder for warming up their, their meals. This is like the most farmer thing ever, right? It's like we are gonna, we're gonna host them like they're gonna, they're gonna pay money to come to our city, spend their, like, you know, they spend dollars, like whatever. And then as a thank you, they're gonna go out and volunteer in our community. Yeah, like, come on. Does it get much better than that? When When you look at the motto of the organization, one, the last lines is living to serve, and we try to exemplify that no matter where we go. So whether the serving in your community or serving when you're out at a national event, how do we give back and make it better than where we were when we got there? One of the pieces that's also interesting, a lot of the, yeah, you talked about. Kids getting away from home for maybe the first time, like, you know, they have a little bit of freedom for five days. Yeah. What do you see? Like, what does programming look like? Like they come in on Wednesday. And one day is spent in service. But what do the other days look like? Yeah, so they, we use Lucas Oil Stadium for conventions, sessions. So we have our national officers who are giving motivational speeches. We bring in guest speakers that help to motivate and uplift. Are there any of your favorite speakers that they've had a former national officer that, has gone out and just really related to the students and was able to bring a really good home message around how do you just give back? How do you lead? How do you serve? Yeah. and so it was just a really good opportunity for I think messages that, that we don't always hear. 'cause sometimes we always feel like we have to have the. Big name, to be able to deliver that message, but sometimes is you just have that home humble conversation, and make that connection with young people. And so that was a pretty, exciting opportunity, not only for that person, but also then to connect with the students. I, I mean, are we gonna get a, there's a Hoosier that has great conversations Yeah. Around all things farming. I think he might need to be a, a national convention speaker, maybe. Yeah. Just a Jackson thing. You know what I'm talking about? No. The little John Deere boy. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Jackson. He's from northern Indiana. Yeah. He would be the ultimate speaker. Might need to get him as a social influencer. I'm, I'm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna wheel this into existence. Yes. I have. I have no, no say no power or anything. Yeah. But Jackson, you should make some DMs happen and become a, somehow involved in National convention for FFA. Yeah. Because he is like the future president of your organization when Yeah. He's the chief tractor officer at John Deere. I know. Yeah. Have you seen this kid, Larry? I've not, I'm not, he. I don't know. Can't be more than 10 or 10 or 11 years old. I think he's 10, 10-year-old boy. He's from Northern Indiana and he knows everything there is to know about all things Tractor. He is a John Deere expert. He just bought his first combine. I like, they just made a video about him because he's worked with John Deere and like he did a whole promo marketing thing with them where he was their chief tractor officer. He lives like just outside of Fort Wayne, one of the coolest kids. He, it was down at the state fair. He just is. Carries himself with like the swagger of a 70-year-old man. Yeah. And it is incredible. And like his, I could watch his videos all day long. They just like you talk about. Things that give you hope in the next generation and like kids that Jackson keep up the good work man, that would be, that's like one of the ones, yeah. That's great. It's pretty cool. Great. Okay, so I totally commandeered that 'cause I had to talk about Jackson. Yeah. But you have Lucas Oil is where some of the programs you have speakers come in. Yeah. Sessions like that. What else are they doing? So then they're over an ICC at our expo where we have over. 350 different, organizations that come in. Are there any organizations that are at the expo hall that we wouldn't think about? Like obviously you think like, I don't know if John Deere or whoever's there Yeah. But like the big farming brands, but are there other brands that are interested in agriculture that we might not think about? Yeah, so Microsoft is one that is there. And so they will be with us, again this year, but they're, one of our corporate partners and they're helping us to bring AI and technology. Into the classroom through a program called FarmBeats. So think about sensors for moisture and soil and those pieces, and they've created a kit, that we are providing to teachers and students to be able to talk about. How do you know when you need to water your, you can sit in your, you can sit in your recliner and look and see what the data's telling you, and it's like, oh, it's time to water. So I hit the button and it starts to water. So, I mean, I, I need that. Yeah. I, I can't keep anything alive. Yeah. I've had like seven house plants and none of them have come, none of them have come to fruition. Yeah. You, you gotta water 'em. That's a, that's a key post. Well, I, I did that. I had one. Oh my gosh. Over water too. So yeah. And all of a sudden I was like, it's hard to die. And I was like, what's going on? And I looked down at the bottom. It was floating. Yeah, it was floating in its pot and I was like, ah, over water, not good. So I might need to invest in some of these sensors. Yeah. okay. So Microsoft's a big partner. Other technology partners or anything interesting like that? Yep. So we're seeing some other technology partners coming in. We also see a lot of, organizations like trade organizations. So you start to see like the linemen, that are putting like the electrical lines in. They're coming in 'cause they like our. Army, has a huge footprint, in our expo. and they bring all, all the bells and whistles, but they also bring like their veterinarian, segment. 'cause you wouldn't necessarily think about it, but they actually do have those different segments and so they bring that in to kind of let our students see. If you really like animals, you can also come into the army and you can have a connection from that point too. Do they do like the pull-up challenge? They do. They do. Oh, do you know of like how many pull-ups. I don't the top F, like I wanna know what the winning number at the F FFA convention is for pull-ups. I've has to be a lot. I've walked by before and they're like going pretty fast and I'm like. I mean, that was always the kid in like gym class. Like we had the presidential fitness test back in the, and it was like the kid who grew up bailing hay. You'd not wanna catch him on the pull up bar. No. You could never beat him. Yeah. Crazy. okay, so you have, army there. That's really interesting. Yeah. And then throughout the convention center, students are engaging in leadership workshops too. So we do have that as a part of the, and then. We have entertainment, so we have a rodeo that comes in. We'll have a concert again this year. Who's, who's headlining? I'm not at liberty to share. Awesome. Headliner coming. It's insane. You guys will never believe it. Yeah. you have entertainment, you have the rodeo. What else are they doing? Our chapters really just get engaged with the city, and so it's falling over Halloween, so I guarantee that a lot of 'em will be going out to the scream parks and the different pieces. See that you can't get, if you're wanting to do an escape room, they're all booked up during our week because, it's things that you don't normally get to see. the other piece that's really cool is that some of our chapters, they recognize Indianapolis as a food town, and so they will. Take we, I have a story of a, a teacher that they will fundraise to take their students to St. Elmo's, and buy them, you know, a glorious dinner and get them the shrimp cocktail and get everything bells and whistles. And, these young people are like, and then they see the bill afterwards and they're like, oh my gosh, like. From that perspective. 'cause they're like, it's just a steak, you know, we have steak coming off the farm. It's like, whatever. but it's like, it's world famous. It's world famous. And I think the pieces is just exposing them to different culture in that aspect of like a fancy restaurant dressing up, having to use all the silverware that's on the table appropriately. And it's not just going to the burger joint down the street. Yeah. Yeah. Are there any like hotspots that, you know, throughout Indianapolis that the, the members of FFA love. so one of the biggest hotspots is Steak 'n Shake. You were gonna say that. It's, it doesn't matter what time of day, they're around the block. They will stand in line, for milkshakes and burgers.isn't that like, what a wild blending of, of individuals at that steak and shake, you know, at 10:00 PM on, in downtown Indianapolis. And it's, and if you wanna find somebody, you pretty much go there. It's like the, you know, there's times when I'm looking for people and I'm like, I bet you that that's steak and shake. Yeah. So I'll run down there and that's. Next thing you find, just hanging out. City Barbeque is also one of the places that yeah, really welcome something City Barbeque. Okay. Any other spots that are just like, oh, the, the FFA crew loves this? Yeah. I think the other parts is the scream parks is what I see a lot of, just 'cause I've been following some things on the teacher pages on Facebook and they're like, which ones are the good ones? Like, where should we be really going and, and doing these pieces and engaging. So yeah. Did we just create. Circle Centre Mall has been needing some, they're doing some renovations. Yeah. Pop up scream park at Circle City during FFA convention weekend, someone can make a, you could make $50,000 with that idea. You're welcome. Team. We just gave that to you. Yeah. Today's episode of Get IN is brought to you by Cowpokes Work & Western, a local Indiana shop that has built its name on quality clothing and boots that fit your American lifestyle. They carry trusted brands of boots, hats and clothing that work just as well for everyday life as they do for a night out. What I love about Cowpokes is how approachable they make your experience. You can walk in not knowing a thing about a pair of boots or a hat, and the staff will get you fitted with something that looks good and last for me. That's the difference between a one-time purchase and something you keep reaching for over and over. If you're ready to upgrade your boots, your wardrobe, or even just your go-to jacket. Cowpokes is a place that we send people, of all the different places that you volunteered from the convention floor. So riding the bus, doing all things, what's been the most memorable for you and what's been your most memorable experience volunteering with the national FFA organization recently, I, I do the, success tours and, we were talking about places that, people, would not necessarily recognize as being in a career. One of the tours we took a couple years ago was at a, a lab called Universal Flavors, and they create flavors for food. So imagine, you know, you have to know chemistry, biology, you have to know, you know, all your sciences. And, but it's also ag related because who, who doesn't eat? You know, that was also when it was, a connection that perhaps people would not un understand until they experience that. You're talking about a scream park, went to one of those last year. And a reason that it existed is because of the changing, say, the fluid landscape of, acreage of what it requires to be a farmer. If you only have five acres and you're a little bit outside of Indianapolis, you can have a scream park because you're, you're reutilizing land that used to grow corn. Now you're growing screams. Yeah. One of my best go to, um. The Purdue College of Agriculture was very enlightening. we went to the engineering department and saw where they had a John Deere on a power, run to see exactly how much horsepower that it was producing. Went to the economics labs to help teach people. What is your budget for the year? It's not just throwing seeds on the ground, hope to come up and yay, yay. It's, you know, can you survive the year when there is no income? And what, what happens? What are the variables that's gonna control your income and should you have a grain bin? Those are the things that were discussed during that. That's one of the crazy, when you get into the economics of farming, it's wild. So it's like you, you put your seed in the ground and you grow it, right, and then by the time that you're harvesting it. To put it in the grain bins, you gotta buy next year's seed. So then you're out. Two years worth of seed funded and you've sold zero things so far, right? Right. It is, it is a wildly complex business. I, we've had Oh man from, yeah, from Becks, some other different, we had Indiana Dairy on talking through what it takes to build a farm in 2025. And it's hard. It's very, very challenging. And 'cause you have to, you know, think about, you gotta know. About marketing seed and like, or marketing crops and like making money. You're kinda like a commodities trader as well as a farmer, as well as a welder, as well as an electrician, as well as a fabricator, as well as HR or whatever it is. Like you have so many hats to wear. It's crazy. So it is interesting to get that exposure and to see. I think a lot of times too, if a, if a kid has grown up on a family farm, they've seen farming, but they've seen like one school of thought maybe, and like knowing that there are other people across the country that might do stuff a little bit differently and like sharing some of those ideas, just like I'm sure happened with those 33 original founders back in 1928 with when one of them found. Best way to water their crops back in the day, you know, share some ideas and swap some stories. What kind of individuals are you looking for and what kind of opportunities can they help out with? When it comes to the National FFA Convention, we've got lots of different opportunities. our volunteer site is available on our FFA convention sites, so if you just look up FFA convention, you'll see the volunteer site and it lists all the different tasks that are available. So whether that's. Hopping on a career success tour, and you can see all the different tours that we'll be doing and, and kind of pick the one that matches you. Yeah. Whether it's being in the convention center down in the, the heart of where all the kids are and wanting to engage that way. so really there's just a lot of opportunities. volunteer shifts, different days. primary shifts are on, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And then a little bit on Saturday. As we could wrap up, if there was one volunteer spot that you would recommend. That like maybe could make the biggest impact or just, you know, give someone a good perspective of what. A national FFA is, what would you recommend? I would recommend probably a career success tour, kind of jumping on, a bus, kind of having that engagement. But then you get to kind of see agriculture throughout Indiana too. And so you kinda get the, the blessing of both together. Final thing, we're gonna wrap out with town and talking through all things FFA is, farming is hard. This next generation of farmers is. So crucial because the family farm is unfortunately shifting, right? Like there's less family owned farms, there's more corporate owned farm, like it's just getting bigger and bigger and there's more people to feed, there's less food to feed and like all these different things, right? What talk about this, the, the impact that this generation can have on our, the agricultural landscape for the next. Several, several decades and the basis that's being laid through FFA, just like the outlook for the future when it comes to all things agriculture in America. So I think from my perspective is when you look at agriculture and you look at FFA members, I really look at them as, problem solvers. They're the solution makers for the future, through ag education. We'll give them some basic foundational pieces, but they're an inquisitive bunch. And when you look at, um. Gen Z that's coming up and Generation Alpha right behind them. they are really looking at how can we solve the world's problems? How can we go in there and make those pieces? And so I think a lot of what we're doing as an organization is how are we helping students to be innovative, creative. Ask questions, test models, figure out how to fail forward. because that's where, like the best solutions are gonna come from. And that's where we're seeing, individuals who are going into entrepreneurship that they are finding there's a, you know, a problem that we need to solve. They find a, ability to do it, and then they sell it to a corporate partner. to make money, you know, from the season and then they go back to the innovation of something else and being able to do that. So I think that's what we're gonna find that's gonna really feed and fuel, the industry moving forward is young people who are passionate about agriculture and wanting to try to find a. A place to really make a difference. Out of every guest I've ever had on this show that I've, where we've had a conversation about Gen Z or Gen Alpha or whatever, I think that you just gave the greatest compliment, and it might have to deal with the amount of the quality of young people in which you spend time around, but a lot of people do. They are negative, gen X, this or Gen Z, gen Z, sorry, gen Z, this and Gen Z. That, and like the way you just talked about it was like, oh. I have hope. Like, you know, that's, that's very, I'm not saying they don't get off the, they need to get off their de devices and all the other pieces that are, makes that, generation a little bit more questionable. But they really do. I mean, they're passionate about things and they wanna see change and they're gonna change the world. Amen. A term that I really appreciate hearing you say is, is fail forward. We can use that. And anyone who like claims that they have the whole thing figured out or whatever is not, they're not being truthful anyway, but like, if you can teach that like younger to be like. You don't have to know whatever you're gonna do right when you graduate high school or whatever. It's like you're gonna figure it out as long as you're failing forward and you get back up and you keep going, good things are gonna happen. Both of you, as you think about how the organization has shifted since your time in it, Larry, what's your hope for the next 20 years of FFA? If the parents keep growing, the kids the way they are now that attend the the FFA convention. I think we're in a pretty good spot. I think if they take some time away from their devices and, try to stay off social media and, don't let other people make decisions for them and give them their self-worth because they should do that on their own. I'm pretty optimistic there's a place for everybody in agriculture. There's a place for everybody in FFA, and so how do we create that? warm and welcoming environment that they can find their place. when I think back on my high school career and, you know, I didn't fit in with the athletes. I didn't fit in with the, the band kids, but I found my home in agriculture and I turned it into a lifelong career. and so I think that's my hope is, is that. Young people get exposed. They find their niche, and they find a place within the industry of agriculture. I love it. We've come to the end of the show where we have a couple fun segments for you guys. This is gonna be fun because both of you are not originally from Indiana, so you are both Hoosiers by choice. You chose to make this place your home. So this question is brought to you by our friends at J.C. Hart. They're a leader in creating enjoyable living experiences at apartment complexes all across Indiana and beyond. Check them out at homeisjchart.com. My question for you both. Why do you call Indiana home? Well, I swam across the river from Kentucky and, and I don't swim very well, so I never found my way back. Yeah, there it is. I got a job when I was here. I was being recruited while I was staying in Louisville. And, I just really like the environment, the fact that Indianapolis is the center of the state. Most roads radiate from Indianapolis, so you can get to almost anywhere, probably a little left of center politically. but I do think that the, the foresight of the people who are in charge of creating our environment, our social, local and state environment, has done a really good job, making Indianapolis as, vibrant as it is. And as, as accepting as it is. Heck yeah. And so I grew up on the East coast, moved here for work. You're very polite for an east coaster, I will say. Well, thank you. I think it's been kind of what I was gonna, I think Hoosier hospitality has really, rubbed off on me. And so I think that's one of the things that has made it, so enjoyable here. Like it's definitely a, a slower pace. but people are just so kind and so nice and it doesn't matter where you go. you run into individuals that will. You know, are willing to help and, and pitch in and, and those pieces. And so I think that's one of the pieces that I've really found, that I've liked that, you know, I've settled into the Zionsville area. It's very much a close culture. individuals, you know, know everybody, which is a good thing. but I, I think that's just what has really. Besides the job, being here headquartered in Indianapolis, I just have really found community time and time again. We hear about the community that Indianapolis and Indiana has. Hoosier hospitality is a real thing in the vein of Hoosier hospitality. We're about to welcome. I mean, how many of these, so 70,000 people come in for the convention, how many of them are from OUTTA state? the majority are coming in from outta state. Okay. So, yeah. So we're welcoming, you know, let's say 70,000 guests. Yeah. If you are in town for the FFA National Convention, what are the things that you need to do while you're in Indianapolis? Take advantage of the career success tours. Yeah. They give you an opportunity to really immerse yourself into the city. last year we brought new was the. IMPD, they opened up their, Mounted Patrol and so the students got to go behind the scenes to see the stables and all of those pieces. And you would think about an inner-city horses. It doesn't really mix with a city and horses, and, but yet they were able to see those pieces. Yeah, so I think that's the thing that the beauty is, about the city is that agriculture is all throughout. And so I think helping our students to see that you can be in a. Metropolitan area. and there's stuff here for people to do. Yeah. I do wonder like where are they importing that hay from? Yeah. I don't know. You know, like who's got the IMPD hay contract? Yeah. Interesting. Are there other like recommendations when you know these new people are coming that you guys love about the city of Indianapolis that you're like, Hey, I hope you stop by here. We are the racing capital of the world. Maybe you didn't know that, but we, I may have heard that before. And we have the world's largest Children's Museum. that's not made just for children. that's phenomenal place. I, I visit there often. but they just, renovated something like $20 million of the museum at the Indy 500. yes. At the track. It's so cool. It You gotta go. Yeah. You just gotta go. Yeah, I do. That would be a cool, yeah. If while you're in town, check out the IMS Museum is sick. The new one is, is awesome. Are there other, any other favorite last second, like, this is their. Welcome to Indianapolis. You gotta check out. So not that Steak 'n Shakes not great. We love Steak 'n Shake, but if there are other spots in the greater vicinity checkout, I mean, I think when you look at just the way the city is structured, you've got the Eiteljorg Museum, you've got the Indiana State Museum, we have a lot of students that'll go to the zoo. So you got a lot of things that are downtown that are walkable. and so I think that's a really, a good opportunity for, um. Students to see different things, culture culturally wise, but educationally as well. A lot will go like to Old Spaghetti Factory. Oh. And some of those places. 'cause it's just unique where you, even though it's a chain but it's just got a different feel here in the city. It does have an interesting feel to it go those places. I could just imagine how many of them go to Dick's Last Resort right there? Yes. You just get bullied for two hours by their hostess. Like, that's so funny. Alright, I love it. we're excited to welcome. We're excited to welcome the National FFA Convention into town. We have. The same three questions that we ask every guest that comes on the show where we talk about the Hoosier State. The first question, Larry, we're gonna start with you, Larry. What's something the world needs to know about Indiana? That we are very convenient, to be in. And if you want to go somewhere else, it's pretty easy to be somewhere else, I think. 50 miles outside the center of the population of the United States are founders thought enough of the state and transportation that, all roads lead to Indianapolis. So there it is. It's not us getting other places. It's you getting here. That's what we're looking for. I love it. That's really, I do love that. It is interesting, if you think about our original state capital down in Corydon. Mm-hmm. Right? Vincennes was the capital of the territory. Like if that, that would've been a lot more challenging. Imagine living in the northeast part of the state and having to go all the way down to court, like take you five hours to get to the Capitol. It's crazy. I do think that's the layout and they, they must have been very tactical, putting it all together. I think if you're coming here, you're gonna have Hoosier hospitality. And so I really think, that's one of those pieces that regardless of what you're looking for, you're gonna find it here in Indianapolis, in, in Indiana. And so whether you're wanting to see rural lifestyle, you wanna see urban, experiences, you, you can have it all in a very short distance. you can see all sorts of things. So I think the, the city itself is welcoming. and I think that's. Probably Indianapolis itself is probably one of the best kept secrets, in the world because the, the hospitality, the ability, the all roads lead to, it's just a really cool town to be in. I did not pay them for these answers, let it be known. Yeah. One of the things too is, is I believe there are 13 hotels that are connected by an inside walkway. Imagine in January, February. I don't wanna go to a cold climate. You don't have to. Yeah, that's a, and I think more like these new ones are gonna be connected in there too, so it'll be like 50. Some of they have like a crazy stat where it's like three or 4,000 hotel rooms are all connected. Like we are a really good host. I'll pat ourselves on the back for that one. Absolutely. You go Indianapolis. Absolutely. Alright. This is the time where you guys get to shed some light. On a piece of the state that you love that more people need to know about. And it can be a place, it could be a restaurant, it could be a sense of feeling. Whatever it is, it's your opportunity to enlighten us about what Indiana is to you. So can I ask, what is a hidden gem in Indiana? The hometown I'm living in Zionsville, it's a hidden gem in the fact that you've got. It's kind of like the ultimate hallmark city or town where you have the brick streets and you have the experiences and the opportunities. And I think one of the places that I like to spend a little bit of time in the summer is Anne-Marie's Flower Farm. She's, just a little bit outside the city. You can go pick flowers, create a bouquet. Beautiful. And so just get to kind of match that love of just someone is growing something and you're able to kind of go out there and, pick it and then. Head down to the brick streets and, you know, enjoy, you know, an evening on the town. experiencing what Zionsville has to offer. That's a really good one. I haven't heard of, what's it called? It's, Anne-Marie's Flower Farm. It's just a little bit north of Zionsville, but it's just an opportunity to go. You pick flowers. so there's been through the summer months and you can walk away with a beautiful bouquet. I'm gonna need some brownie points from that one. That's a good one. and I will say. Zionsville sometimes is like the forgotten North side suburb. Like some, a lot of people who live like the Carmel, the Westfield, the Fishers, a lot of love Zionsville's over there just doing their own thing in Boone County. Alright, Larry, what is a hidden gem in Indiana Eagle Creek Park, it's an urban park. It's one of the country's largest. It has two golf courses, a reservoir. It has Rick's Boatyard Fantastic. Best place in town to watch the sunset. Yeah, and it's, it has many, many hiking trails. It has a, zoom a, a zipline many times a year. You just, um. You almost have to kick the deer out of the way because they're so popular. And they sometimes call them during, during the, yeah. Before. And that's on the northwest side of town. it's very easy access I ran like 10 miles out there not too long ago. And it was like all different terrain. I had no idea where I was. I felt like I was down in Brown County almost. Well, just, just our state park system has such a variety of state parks, from Dunes. you, you, it's almost like you're. On a seashore. Yeah. You know, it is, it's crazy. And, and the thing that's unique about that, you're, you're sitting on, or you're, you're walking on sand that's 95 degrees and you get into the water. That's 60 degrees. Yeah. That's, that's quite a jolt. State park system is, is very good here. Here in state. Alright, final question of the day. This is where you get to share the love, helps us source new guests or just learn about other people across our state that are doing fantastic things. Larry, we'll start with you and one here who's a Hoosier that we need to keep on our radar. Someone who's doing big things, if she would ever get healthy. I think Caitlin Clark is Amen. I mean, not only doing big things for our city, not only doing big things for our state, doing big things for sports in general, women's sports society, like just sport in general. Exactly. Yeah. Oh my gosh. She is just, I, I don't, I don't know how she's captured lightning in a bottle, but it's incredible and we are hoping that she gets back healthy and can, we can have a full charged into the process. She can, can do easily things on the court that other WNBAA players never saw before. Mm-hmm. And that's, that's a reason. Yeah. Logo threes is part of it. But her, general management of, of, her team, knowing who's, who's going to go where and, and how long it's gonna take them to get to that point so I can get the ball at the right spin, at the right speed, at the right condition. So they can have a layup. I mean, nobody else does that like she does. Yeah. It's like. I don't know, like physics and geometry are just like, exactly. There's a whole project. She's, she's been doing it since she's six years old. That's wild. Yeah. That's one, again, another Hoosier by choice kind of. I mean like somebody's choice, you know, draft choice or what, but she chose to, you know, and now she's here. Kind of like the Iowa, there is a staining invitation. If Caitlin ever wants to come on the show and talk about whose corn's better, Indiana versus Iowa, we'll talk about it. Rounding it out. This is the moment. Who are we sharing the love with? Who's a Hoosier? We need to keep on our radar. Someone who's doing big things, FFA members. So when you look at Indiana FFA, they're their own association. They have members throughout the. The, the state that are doing really big things. And so I think when you look at young people who are passionate about agriculture, willing to serve and give back to the community, we're gonna see stars rise out of that, that are gonna be, you know, the next mayors for their community is gonna be the next big thing. whether it's on a talent stage somewhere, or an opportunity for them to really. Thrive and change the world. So, all my bets are on FFA members and how they, will help improve and change the world, for, for all of us. Incredible. Full stop. That's the end of the episode if we're by invest your money into FFA. Now they're up into the right. Christine, Larry, thank you guys so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing both of your individual journeys through the FFA organization from. Remember in 1966 all the way to volunteering for the last 15 plus years. I think that's incredible and I think that it's people like you that are, ambassadors for our city that just help us attract all of these great events. Christine, thank you so much for your experience helping guide this next gener generation of. Oh man. Future Farmers of America, obviously, but also just individuals that have a passion for agriculture and a passion for solving problems. This was an incredible episode I learned so much. 1928 started with 33 farm boys out on the east coast. Correct? most of 'em were on the East coast that went to Kansas City. An incredible organization that welcomes over 70,000 people to our great city. Annually, for the national convention. I'm excited. It's coming up around the corner. What are the dates on that so we can know? Yeah, so it's October 29th through November 1st. It's gonna be a very great Halloween in Indianapolis for all FFA members. Yeah. I appreciate y'all coming on. Good luck with the convention and we will talk soon. Thank you for listening to this episode of Get IN. If you like what you heard, make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all of my gear recommendations@sweetwater.com. If you want a behind the scenes look at everything we're doing across the state. Make sure you follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being part of what makes the Hoosier State. Great. We'll see you next time here on Get IN.
