In 2020, Dayne Bradley became the first Central Wyoming College alumnus to be selected for a National Future Farmers of America Officer candidacy by the Wyoming FFA Association. The announcement of his nomination came on June 11 and for Bradley, this nomination follows many years of service.
“I first zipped up my FFA jacket as a freshman at Riverton High School,” he said. “Since then, FFA has been an opportunity for me to grow in ways I could never imagine.”
While in FFA, Bradley’s Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) included market hogs, equine entrepreneurship and equine placement. He also competed in the agricultural sales Career Development Event (CDE), where he learned to build relationships and product sales techniques. Bradley said this experience proved invaluable.
Being able to serve the Wyoming FFA was something I will never forget. I met some amazing people, had some life-changing experiences, and I could not be more thankful for it.” Dayne Bradley
After high school, Bradley became the 2018-2019 Wyoming State Parliamentarian. Now, he hopes to continue this service at the national level. To accomplish this, he will take part in an interview process with the 9-member nominating committee during the week of October 25.
Wyoming FFA State Advisor Stacy Broda said this will be no small undertaking for Bradley, who received the only nomination the state association was allotted this year.
“The process to become a national officer requires a tremendous amount of education and effort,” Broda said. “It’s highly competitive and asks a lot of these students.”
Bradley is fully aware of the strenuous process he is about to face.
“The interview process to be elected as a National FFA Officer is unlike any other,” he said. “The process consists of six rounds that are designed to evaluate skills that national officers use daily throughout their year of service.”
In spite of the rigor, Bradley said he is excited for the election process to begin.
“I am very eager for the coming months,” he said. “Lots of studying, lots of practice interviews, lots of fun.”
While the national convention is typically hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana, this year’s event will be online due to COVID-19. As a result, Bradley will participate in the traditional interviews, tests and other leadership exercises remotely.
If elected, Bradley will serve on a team of six officers for the next year. In this capacity, he will conduct leadership workshops, deliver motivational speeches, serve as an ambassador for the organization and develop partnerships with agriculture businesses and industry leaders. Serving as a national officer also requires a lot of travel.
“Those six take a year off of school so they can serve the 760,113 FFA members around the country,” Bradley said. “Each national officer travels over 100,000 miles over 300 or more days of the year.”
If elected, Bradley intends to use this position to have a positive impact on FFA members around the country.
“Self-belief is one of our most powerful tools,” he said. “I want to motivate others to always do better, never quit and most importantly believe in themselves.”
Though pandemic restrictions may result in the role looking different than that of previous officers, Broda believes the state’s nominee is up to the task.
“We in Wyoming have no doubt that his love of FFA and heart for serving others will make him a tremendous asset to the National FFA,” she said.
Since graduating last spring, Bradley has gone on to study mechanical engineering at the University of Wyoming. He still attributes much of his success to Central Wyoming College.
“I learned so much at CWC, all of which I continue to apply to all the things I do in life, school and FFA,” he said.
