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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Thaddeus Bergschneider on | ||||||
| 4 | being named president of the National FFA Organization at the | ||||||
| 5 | 97th National FFA Convention & Expo, which was held in | ||||||
| 6 | Indianapolis, Indiana from October 23 to October 26, 2024; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, The National FFA Organization, a school-based | ||||||
| 8 | youth leadership development organization formerly known as | ||||||
| 9 | the Future Farmers of America (FFA), consists of more than one | ||||||
| 10 | million student members from 9,163 local FFA chapters located | ||||||
| 11 | across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin | ||||||
| 12 | Islands; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Thaddeus Bergschneider, the former state | ||||||
| 14 | president of the Illinois FFA, was among 37 candidates from | ||||||
| 15 | different state FFA associations who vied for six spots on the | ||||||
| 16 | 2024-25 National FFA Officer Team; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Thaddeus Bergschneider, while raised on a farm, | ||||||
| 18 | did not originally plan to join FFA due to his interests | ||||||
| 19 | differing from those of his elder brother, Luke, and his | ||||||
| 20 | father; rather, his FFA journey came about through his father, | ||||||
| 21 | a former FFA member who explained to him that there was a path | ||||||
| 22 | and place for everyone in the organization, and through his | ||||||
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| 1 | agriculture teachers, Kaitlyn Kane and Brent Nelson, who | ||||||
| 2 | played integral roles in shaping his passions throughout high | ||||||
| 3 | school; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Thaddeus Bergschneider and his fellow members of | ||||||
| 5 | the 2024-25 National FFA Officer Team, Secretary Luke Jennings | ||||||
| 6 | of Ohio, Central Region Vice President Mary Schrieber of | ||||||
| 7 | Wisconsin, Eastern Region Vice President Caroline Groth of | ||||||
| 8 | Kentucky, Western Region Vice President Abigale Jacobsen of | ||||||
| 9 | California, and Southern Region Vice President Jack | ||||||
| 10 | Lingenfelter of Georgia, will lead the national student | ||||||
| 11 | organization for the next year; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Throughout their year of service to the National | ||||||
| 13 | FFA Organization, Thaddeus Bergschneider and his fellow | ||||||
| 14 | officers will interact with a number of entities and | ||||||
| 15 | individuals, including business and industry leaders, | ||||||
| 16 | thousands of FFA members and teachers, corporate partners, | ||||||
| 17 | government and education officials, state FFA leaders, the | ||||||
| 18 | general public, and more, in order to guide the future of FFA | ||||||
| 19 | and its next generation of leaders; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Thaddeus Bergschneider, who is currently pursuing | ||||||
| 21 | a Bachelor of Science in Finance in Agribusiness at the | ||||||
| 22 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has communicated his | ||||||
| 23 | desire to serve as a national officer unafraid of expressing | ||||||
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| 1 | his vulnerabilities to members in order to unite them in their | ||||||
| 2 | shared struggles; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 4 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 5 | we congratulate Thaddeus Bergschneider on being named | ||||||
| 6 | president of the National FFA Organization at the 97th | ||||||
| 7 | National FFA Convention & Expo, and we wish him continued | ||||||
| 8 | success in his endeavors; and be it further | ||||||
| 9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | presented to Thaddeus Bergschneider as an expression of our | ||||||
| 11 | esteem and respect. | ||||||