Back in June, Good Hope’s Owen Torrance was elected to the 2024-25 Illinois FFA State Officer Team. Torrance grew up on a fifth-generation sheep and grain farm which he credits for kickstarting his passion for agriculture and FFA. For Torrance, being a member of FFA has helped him carry on a family legacy.
“I was once referred to as a lifelong FFA member. I’ve been an FFA member for life, because the ag. The classroom was really where I found my home, and I tried to stay there as much as I could,” says Torrance. “My dad was in FFA, my brother was in FFA, so many uncles and cousins and aunts were all in FFA. I just wanted to carry on a family legacy, so I joined on the first day of my ag classes in eighth-grade year, I handed in my $20 dues when we still had to pay dues, and yeah, it was all uphill from there.”
Torrance took on his first leadership role in FFA his sophomore year, serving as his chapter’s reporter and the Section 11 sentinel. He held the rols of chapter and section reporter his junior year and served as both chapter and section president before being elected state Secretary.
Serving as a state officer is another way Torrance is following in his family’s FFA footsteps. His father Corey, served as a state officer in 1988-89.
“I always heard my dad tell stories of when he was a state officer back in the late 80s, and so that really kind of sparked my interest in wanting to be a state officer,” says Torrance. “But then, in 2016, I went to the State Convention to help celebrate my brother, who was being recognized on stage there, and I saw the state officers that year and how they interacted with the crowd; how they energized everybody, how they carried themselves with respect and passion and professionalism. That was kind of the moment, even at 10, almost 11 years old, that that was something that I’d like to do.”
During his year of service, Torrance says his goal is to connect with FFA members throughout the state.
