PCHS FFA students Emma Duncan, Ryan Rackard, Jacob Demastus and Zac Benton enjoy the FFA Convention and sneak in some time for touring Louisville, Ky.

By Nicole Burns for the FCT

You must press on through the hard times.

That was the message that several Phil Campbell High School students brought home with them after a recent trip to the 2015 National Future Farmers of America Convention. Motivational speaker,Dr. Rick Rigsby was a key speaker at the convention in Louisville, Ky. His message of perseverance through extreme circumstances left a lasting impact on the Franklin County students.

“He got up there and he was telling us about his wife dying from breast cancer and how he had to go on,” said PCHS tenth-grader Jacob Demastus.

PCHS Agriscience teacher and FFA sponsor Jonathan King has taken students to the convention for ten years. “He had a lot of good things to say,” said King. “He told his story about all he’s had to go through and endure and still be successful. He was teaching them that it doesn’t matter where you come from, it’s all about what you want to do to become successful.”

The week was packed with events, attractions, and education. PCHS junior Ryan Rackard said, “It was very educational. They had a bunch of colleges down there.”

“It was exciting getting to go places and meet new people,” said Demastus. “There were clubs there from Puerto Rico. There were people from pretty much all 50 states.”

Both Demastus and Rackard said they walked away from the week with a better idea about FFA and its impact on America. “I learned how big FFA actually is,” said Rackard. “There were 54,000 people there. I didn’t expect that many people. I didn’t realize how big it actually is and how much it matters to this country.” Demasus said he realized that farming isn’t easy, “I didn’t know there was so much chemistry involved.”

While students said they thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the convention, they were also able to soak up some of the more popular destinations of the Louisville area. The group visited attractions such as the Louisville Slugger Museum and Churchill Downs. It was an opportunity these two students will certainly be taking advantage of again next year.