MORRISVILLE, NY — A Morrisville State College alumna is the first female member from New York to be elected as a national FFA officer.
Ashley Willits, a 2016 agricultural business graduate, was elected Eastern Region vice president for the National FFA Organization by delegates at the 89th annual National FFA Convention and Expo held recently in Indianapolis, Ind.
Currently a junior at Tarleton State University in Texas, Willits will serve a one-year term as Eastern Region vice president, which expires in 2017.
While at Morrisville, Willits was active in the Morrisville Collegiate FFA, helping to organize agricultural events including Ag Day, a campus-wide celebration of agriculture. She was also active in Dairy Club and Morrisville Fresh, a venture managed by agricultural business students with products they develop.
As a national officer, Willits will spend the next year traveling nationally and internationally interacting with business and industry leaders, FFA members and teachers, corporate sponsors, government and education officials, state FFA leaders and the general public.
As a member of The National Officer Team, she will lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members throughout the country and help set policies that will guide the future of FFA and promote agricultural literacy.
Willits has been involved in FFA most of her life. Her brother, Ryan, a 2014 graduate of MSC’s agricultural business program, was a New York FFA national officer candidate and also served as treasurer of the state organization. Their parents, Jennifer and Melvin Phelps of Copenhagen, are FFA educators.
Willits served as the 2013-2014 president of the New York State FFA Association and as chapter reporter and secretary and the District 6 president on the 2012-2013 State Officer Team. She was a state finalist in 2012 and 2013 in the Prepared Speaking and Job Interview Career Development Event (CDE) and a national finalist in 2010 for the FFA Creed Speaking CDE. She was also a member of the National Poultry Judging Team in 2011 and was the recipient of the 2014 Empire State Potato Growers Association Scholarship.
Serving as state FFA president during her senior year at Lowville in 2013-14, Willits was one of 75 people nationwide selected to participate in a trip to South Africa organized through the International Leadership Seminar for state officers. She is a 2014 graduate of Lowville Academy and Central School.
The Morrisville Chapter of the NY Collegiate FFA participates in numerous campus events including Ag Day and Mustang Weekend, and also reaches out to the community providing tours to elementary students along with conducting food and toy drives. Members also attend various conferences and help at regional, state and national FFA events.
Morrisville State College’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2017 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2017 Best Colleges rankings.