Adam Torres and Kylie Temple, FFA Member.
Subscribe: iTunes / Spotify
Apply to be a guest on our podcast here
Show Notes:
Listen to coverage from the 96th Texas FFA State Convention in Houston, Texas. In this episode, Adam Torres interviewed Kylie Temple, FFA Member. Explore Kylie’s experience as an FFA member.
Watch Full Interview:
About Kylie Temple
Kylie Temple was raised in Hermiston, OR and her roots run deep in Eastern Oregon. Her granddad, Mack Temple, raised her dad and his three older brothers growing dryland wheat and ranching cattle between Hermiston and Pendleton. The four brothers all found passions outside of farming, but that didn’t stop Kylie’s love for agriculture. After working the summer after freshman year at Walchli Farms selling watermelon and produce, Kylie started raising market steers for the Umatilla County fair. Because of the FFA and the tight agricultural community, Kylie’s love for agriculture propelled her to excel in high school, winning a multitude of competitions within the FFA such as State Food Science, State Prepared Public Speaking, and State Job Interview. She also placed fourth nationally in the Employment Skills event. In 2022, Kylie served as an Umatilla County Fair Princess where she was first introduced to the Pendleton Cattle Barons Weekend. She quickly found the culture at Pendleton Cattle Barons is second to none when it comes to preserving the western way of life. From the Western Art exhibits to the work ethic demonstrated during the stock dog demos and ranch rodeo, nothing tops the environment at Pendleton Cattle Barons Weekend. In March of 2023, Kylie was elected to serve as the Oregon FFA State Vice President where she spent a year traveling Oregon advocating for agriculture and leadership. Now Kylie is planning to attend Kansas State University in the fall to study Agribusiness and Global Food Systems Leadership so she can help lighten the heavy load of today’s agriculturalists.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and I’m coming to you today from the Texas FFA convention in Houston, Texas. And my guest is Kylie Temple. Kylie, first off, you’re coming in from Oregon. Welcome. Thank you. You made it. It was a trek, but we’re here.
I’m super excited. So tell me a little bit more about why you come out to Texas, the Texas FFA convention today, right? Well, one Texas FFA is just astounding from the number of members to all opportunities provided. It’s a pleasure to be from Oregon and being serving as an Oregon FFA officer, but also being able to serve Texas FFA during convention.
So very well known, very beloved in the FFA world. Yeah. How’d you, how did you personally get involved with FFA in general? Like, how did that start for you in Oregon? So it kind of started with middle school, me thinking I’m going to be some public speaker. Middle school. Yeah. Well I did my, and then I was like eighth grade, Kylie, I’m going to join FFA.
I’m going to do public speaking. It’s going to be great. All this professional development. my freshman year. I totally bombed that speech. Oh, bombed it. It was horrendous. I still have PTSD from it. I’m getting it right now. I’m like, I am never public speaking ever again. Here we are. Right. But I found other opportunities.
I had some really great advisors at high school during my time in high school. And they’re like, well, what if you try this? I’m like, okay. So eventually I just kept saying yes to things and said, yes. Okay. I’ll try this competition. I’ll try this. And eventually all those yeses started for me to raise cattle.
And I lived in town, my grandparents and my dad was raised on a ranch, but I didn’t really have any connection, but here I am raising cattle. And Fell in love with the ag industry and it really felt like a family and community. And so I decided to stick it out through FFA and see where I could lead me.
On my senior year, I decided to run for state office for Oregon FFA. And we were elected and had a year of service. Here I am. Yeah. Yeah. What, what do you think the Texas FFA has done to prepare you like for the next phases of your life? Right. Oh, and I’m sorry, the Oregon FFA. I was like Texas FFA is awesome too.
FFA, FFA in general. FFA in general. I think it really shows that the agriculture industry is more than an industry. It’s a community. And we support each other. Yeah. And there’s a lot of obstacles that this industry has to face. A lot of things that we’re overcoming and it’s never the same challenge over and over.
It’s always changing, always adapting, but as agriculturalists, we have to progress. And so FFA has really taught me the art of adapting and using your voice to support something that you love and overcoming challenges no matter what they are. Yeah. Right. So you mentioned running for office. Right. You mentioned like, talk a little bit more about just your involvement, especially for those that are watching this that maybe don’t know how that kind of works because it’s, it’s very, it’s very structured.
I mean, there’s, talk a little bit about that. So Oregon is. Different from Texas and my running for state office and my FFA experiences, every state association’s a little bit different. And so on the Oregon side, running for office for state office, we do a series of interviews extemporaneous speaking, and we do a stakeholder engagement interview, which is how we.
Interact with community members a member scenario of how we would interact with members in a certain situation. And then if we make top 10, top 10 candidates, we do a two minute speech in front of our whole delegate body. And unlike other states, we know our slate. So from president to Sentinel and the four at large.
And, but that slate can be totally moved. Hmm. by the delegate body. So we do our two minute speeches and the delegates vote from president all the way down to Sentinel and of who they want, who they want their candidates to be. So it’s very student oriented. Student voices are really shown. And yeah, that’s our election process.
Yeah. And yeah. Before that, it’s a whole career within high school and for some middle school chapters of their involvement. Yeah. So one of the questions I like to get in these interviews is for the individuals, like talking to the, and for coming from you, it’s different than me. So talking to like the potential other businesses.
Sponsors, like people that haven’t been to convention and get involved. Like when I first came here, just so you know Aaron Alejandro, the executive director for the Texas FFA, he’s like, Adam, just come. And I’m like, well, what am I, what do you want me to do? Come to a convention? It’s like, I don’t know what this is.
I don’t know anything about agriculture. I don’t know about this. He’s like, it’s not, that’s not what it’s about. It’s about leadership. It’s about seeing these amazing members in the future. Of our country, our future, our future leaders, and he’s like, just come and I’m like, so I came and now, you know, I’m three years in now and I’m already planning the booth for next year and doing more interviews and what we’re going to do to make this bigger and bigger.
And so that more people around the world hear about what’s going on in the FFA that are even. outside of, I won’t say this insular community, but if you didn’t, if they didn’t have FFA in where you grew up, like myself in Michigan, then you’re like, what? This exists? How did this? I didn’t even know. So I want to get, I want to break through.
So other people hear it. So getting back to the question to the businesses, the potential sponsors, why do you feel they should be here? Everyone who can be here should be here because. One conversation with some of these students some of these students don’t come from ag backgrounds, but one conversation, you can tell how passionate they are about their communities that they are going to be the next generation of leaders that in all sectors of industries, not just agriculture, but businesses, sciences communications.
One, it’s great employer great opportunities for employers to find their future employees build connections and my favorite part about events like this is you’re going to leave inspired. Oh yeah. These students hearing their stories, knowing them, you’re gonna be like, Oh my gosh, I have hope. I’m excited for the future.
And if you need a refresh, if you need to, if you need to see the light at the end of the tunnel, come to an FFA event. Because it’s like a reset button and you’ll be able to find that new spark and passion. You do not know this Kylie, but that’s exactly why I come and I tell my team. So when they’re editing it, that’s like that, this wasn’t a setup.
Like Kylie does not know this. I met Kylie, like, 10 minutes ago. Okay. Like that’s exactly what I tell people. I said, that’s how I like get refreshed every year. Like there’s a lot of conferences that I have to go to and I have to cover. No offense if you’re watching this and like, I love all my, I love everybody.
I cover love it all. But there’s the ones that I go to just because I want to, and I don’t have to. Do, and this is the one that I go to because I just want to, like, I want to connect with the members. I want to see what they’re up to. I want to see the trends and I want to just like, sometimes the media, you hear all these things going on and you’re like, ah, then you come here and it’s like, no, people are still people.
Like there’s still solid individuals that are, you know, moving forward in that care and that are, you know, you can pick anybody out of this entire crowd over 10, 000 people and you’re going to get a straight answer. Somebody’s going to look you directly. Yes, sir. Yes, ma’am. I mean, it’s just. Etiquette, like all these other things that are taught through the process.
It’s not by accident. No, it’s not by accident. Like the blue and gold, the jacket, like all of that. It matters. Yeah. A hundred percent. And I think that’s Texas is awesome. I love Texas hospitality. But you’ll see that nationwide nationwide. I’ve been told that like, this is the only one that I’ve been to, but I’ve been told in the, Oh, here we, Oh, here we go.
You know, I do have it. I do have to work, right? Kylie. Like, okay, Adam on the road. What next convention, state convention. Come on, all of a sudden you’re like, let me plan out your tour. I will do a whole summer. I’m not running for any
new position. Media guy. Okay. Thank you. Running for campaigning. Oh, I can’t take it. Well, Kylie, last question for you. Okay. What is your favorite part of the convention? What’s your favorite? Just one. Doesn’t have to be a moment apart. Like what, what do you like? Like, what’s your favorite part? You’re going to watch this 10 years down the line.
You’re going to, you’re going to look back at this interview in 10 years and be like, I want to give you that time machine. What’s your favorite part? You can be silent for a moment. Think about it. If you want. You know, this is going to sound sappy, but just the people, the people, you know, we can have, we can have the lights, we can have the big stage, we can have the dance parties, but it would not be the same if it weren’t the people and just creating these relationships that are going to last a lifetime.
And through FFA, now we have connections in Texas, Oklahoma, you know, Utah, all across the nation, there’s this community. And so I think I have to pick one part of convention. It’s just, it’s like your reunion of this community and family. And to be able to witness that someone, part of your FFA family win an award and they have this.
Huge smile on their face or that freshman who’s, this is their very first convention and you’re just watching their eyes of awe as they see that first opening ceremony. It’s just a feeling of pride and that can’t be replaced. It’s amazing. I love it. Well, Kylie, I know you got a lot to do today and I’m, I’ve been holding you back and you got a bunch to do, but Thank you for coming on this show.
I really enjoyed this time together and to the audience as always. Thank you for tuning in. I hope you really enjoyed this. If you haven’t done it yet, hit that subscribe or follow button, because we have many more interviews coming up for you. This is a daily show each and every day. We’re bringing you new content new inspiration for your walk and your journey in life as well.
And until the next time, don’t forget, hit that subscribe.