A previous version of this article contained a couple of inaccuracies. The article said, “The 35 candidates, made up of state officers or past state officers, were nominated by the current national officers.” Instead it should have said, “The 35 national officer candidates, made up of past state officers, were nominated by the state associations to represent their states. The nominating committee is selected by national officers.”

Also, the article said, “During their interview process at nationals, the candidates will do a total of three interview rounds, including extemporaneous speeches, facilitation rounds, round robins and media interviews.” It should have said, “The interview process at nationals is a weeklong process with multiple rounds. The first round has two interviews and a stand and deliver. The second round has four additional activities.”

GOSHEN COUNTY – Making a difference in our communities one chapter at a time, the Future Farmers of America (FFA) inspires leadership, personal growth and success. For members like Bree Coxbill, it gives them an opportunity to fulfill their mission to help inspire, support and empower others to become the best version of themselves, too.

Coxbill’s story begins in Goshen County where she grew up on her family’s third-generation farm and ranch near Huntley. She was the youngest of five kids. Following in her siblings’ footprints, Coxbill joined the Southeast FFA chapter as a seventh grader and has continued to be an active member ever since.

In the spring of 2022, Coxbill graduated from Southeast High School. 

 “For me personally, FFA is a home for students to discover their individualized passions, through our culture, education, through hands-on experiences and through science and technology,” Coxbill told the Telegram. “It can also prepare them for their future passions or future journeys.”

Throughout her six years of being a member of FFA, Coxbill has been involved in numerous competitions, including agri-science, livestock judging, creed speaking and conduct of meetings, along with many others. Throughout those years, she has won state and competed at nationals several times.

As a seventh grader, Coxbill said she competed in the agri-science contest. Her project was on artificial insemination. For the project, she explored the difference in conception rate between fresh and frozen semen in Hampshires. The project won state and, as a result, she got to compete at nationals for the first time as a seventh grader.

“[At the end of my freshman year], I got to run for a chapter office for the first time, which was super exciting,” Coxbill said. “My sophomore year, I served as the Supervised Agriculture Experience Program Officer (SAEP officer). That was my first leadership position in the FFA and essentially my duties were to just help students out with establishing their SAE projects.”

The next year she was the co-vice president. Then her senior year she ran for state office.

Coxbill served as a Wyoming State FFA officer from 2022 to 2023. During that time, she had many opportunities to work with the other eight state officers who served with her. 

“Throughout my year, I had pretty cool experiences overall, like between camp, state fair, the conferences and the national convention,” Coxbill said. “I also got to participate in ILSSO, which stands for the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers, that took place in Costa Rica in January of last year.”

Coxbill has earned the highest FFA degree awarded called the American FFA degree. The requirements for this degree include receiving all of the lower-level degrees, a list of FFA experiences, community service hours and culture experiences within the ag industry and one year of college. 

Only about 2% of FFA members receive their American FFA degree. Obtaining this degree is one of the requirements for applying for national office.

Coxbill said her dream to hold a position with the National FFA office originally took root when she was 12-years-old. Her sister had come home from the national convention and had her watch a speech by Andy Paul, the past national FFA president. She was blown away by the connection she felt during that 20-minute speech. 

“I remember thinking as a child, ‘That is something that I really want to do,’” Coxbill recalled. 

The dream then evolved even more in 2018 when she was a sophomore at the Wyoming FFA Leadership Camp. 

“That summer, I was trying to find my voice as a person and decide what kind of leader I wanted to be,” Coxbill explained. “I was at camp sitting on a bench looking towards the mountains and I was just thinking about how I can have a voice like the leaders I had seen.”

At that time, Adrian Schunk, the national eastern region vice president, sat across from her. Coxbill said that over the next 30 minutes, they had a conversation and by the end of the week they had actually built a relationship.

“She believed in me and believed that I could be a great leader and be whoever I wanted to be,” she recalled. “She believed in everyone that she was around, and I remember that feeling of being believed in, supported and empowered. That’s how I want to be as a leader; that’s how I want to make others feel.”

“I believe in cultivating belonging within a community and in yourself, and nurturing that knowledge through stories and just conversations,” she continued. “Also, for helping personal development through seeds of nurturing and growth.”

Coxbill wants to be the same kind of inspiration for other members, teachers and alumni as Schunk was for her.

“Our mission to be elected is more than the mission of a national officer,” Coxbill said. “It’s our mission for life. This is my why and my driven purpose in this life; it’s what sets my soul on fire.”

Coxbill hopes to inspire others in the same way she was.

“I think since Wyoming’s not had a national officer in so long, that many students going through high school can’t imagine themselves in this position, or even as a state officer,” Coxbill said. “So, if it’s me that is called to this position, I hope that I inspire the next person and give hope to students that they can do it, too.”

The 35 national officer candidates, made up of past state officers, were nominated by the state associations to represent their states. The nominating committee is selected by national officers.

Out of those 35 candidates, only six officers will be selected. There will be a president, secretary and four regional vice presidents.

The national officers represent all 52 associations, all 900,000 members across the nation and 9136 chapters.

The interview process at nationals is a weeklong process with multiple rounds. The first round has two interviews and a stand and deliver. The second round has four additional activities.

The candidates for the national office will fly into the 96th National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana on Oct. 27. Advancement will be done on Oct. 31 and then the officers chosen will be announced on Nov. 4. 

The entire convention will be broadcast on RFD TV.

If Coxbill is selected, she will be a voice of what the students want and help drive the organization into the future. After nationals, the six individuals go through a month to two months of training. They will then travel for 300 days over the next year visiting state conventions, conferences and camps. 

Also, if she is selected, Coxbill will be the first officer from Wyoming to be selected as a national officer in the last 20 years. 

Currently, Coxbill is a University of Wyoming (UW) student, majoring in physiology with a minor in psychology. She is on the pre-med track. However, she did take off this semester so she could focus on the process of running for the National FFA office, but she plans on getting back to school soon.

When she is finished with school, Coxbill plans on being a rural mental health physician. 

“What really inspired that dream, [when I was 16], was noticing that in rural communities, especially in our culture and communities, there is such a need for people to be mental health providers for farmers, ranchers and others who live in rural communities,” Coxbill said. “I just want to be that person that can serve and help them and use my agriculture background to connect with them on a deeper level.”

Coxbill said she is also open to being a family doctor as well. At this point, she will just wait and see where life takes her. 

“I think overall, I just want to be a person who can help others on their journey through life as a healer and a provider,” Coxbill said. 

“It’s a dream of mine for my patients not to have to drive in, but instead for me to go work alongside them out in the field or something like that,” she continued. “I know from growing up on a farm that it’s hard for people in that livelihood to get away for the day to go visit a doctor.”

The idea was inspired by a story of another doctor doing a similar thing in North Dakota. Coxbill hopes that not only would she be better able to serve her patients, but they would also be more willing to seek help when they need it.

FFA chapters work hand in hand with their communities and do many community service projects. 

“I find it enjoyable to work with people in my community,” Coxbill explained. “In the future, I hope to get more involved. 

“We had ‘living to serve’ as a part of our motto,” she continued. “Many members love the community service aspect because they get to understand that ‘living to serve’ goes beyond just community service projects, it’s a life thing, too.” 

Coxbill said she still is very passionate about volunteer work. Currently, she is a trained volunteer at Laramie Interfaith, a food bank in Laramie. 

“Growing up in Torrington, Goshen County and the surrounding area, has been a tremendous way to grow up,” Coxbill said. “I’m truly thankful for all the people in our community and my school in the school district for pushing me and making me into the individual I am today. I credit a lot of my teachers for that.”

“I think that Torrington is a phenomenal community that I had the opportunity to grow up in,” she continued. “I feel very thankful and have a lot of gratitude for that.”