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Brody Coolidge’s FFA journey all started back during his freshmen year at Wellsboro High School. He simply needed a class to fill his schedule, so he chose Intro to Ag. Brody had grown up in 4-H and working at his grandparent’s farm, so he thought “why not?”

Within the class, he was exposed to all the great and endless opportunities that FFA would provide for him. He became passionate for FFA after his first chapter banquet in April of his freshmen year. Brody’s FFA chapter advisor, Mrs. Melanie Berndtson, has been his biggest influence to guide him throughout his FFA journey. She has helped him and his team win their Forestry CDE at the state level and go on to compete at the national level. She also has spent countless hours with Brody, from preparing speeches to helping him with applications. That was the start of Brody’s FFA journey. Now, he is a state officer for Pennsylvania.

Back in June of 2017, Brody was elected as Pennsylvania FFA’s State Treasurer. He is the first state officer from the Grand Canyon Chapter. Six other FFA members were elected as state officers as well. He travels all across the state, visiting FFA chapters. Brody and the other officers will conduct leadership conferences for Pennsylvania’s 13,000 members. In addition to chapter visits, he gets to take tours of agricultural industries, attend meetings with state-level officials in the department of agriculture and department of education, and represent PA FFA at official functions like Ag Progress Days and the PA Farm Show. Brody will continue to be an advocate for agriculture and FFA by attending the PA FFA Board of Directors meetings and the annual PA Farm Bureau meeting.

In addition, Brody has attended the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis. There, he was a delegate for Pennsylvania. Brody, along with other delegates from around the country and Puerto Rico, helped solve problems pertaining to FFA and revise FFA materials. He served on the Ag Education CDE Committee. Throughout his year, Brody will continue to conduct conferences throughout the year such as ACES (Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success), SLLC (State Legislative Leadership Conference), and PA FFA Activities Week. In conducting conferences, he will lead leadership workshops and sessions and conduct delegate business.

After Brody’s year of service, he will attend Penn State Altoona to major in Agricultural Education. His plan is to become an agriculture teacher. With this, he will get to share his love and passion for FFA with his students. Brody will continue to impact members by helping his students reach their full potential within FFA. In addition, he plans on becoming an FFA alumni member.