Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
At the annual State FFA convention this summer, Pocahontas County High School graduate and former FFA chapter president Kindra Carr, of Bartow, was elected southeastern region Vice President.
Carr went through a rigorous process which included an application and several interviews before she was elected.
“We did an extemporaneous interview and that was very, very tricky,” Carr said. “Our topic was, ‘with money not as an issue, how has your SAE [Supervised Agricultural Experience] affected you or will affect you in future years.’ I said, for me, it’s taught me a lot of things and it’s also got me to talk to new people, and spread FFA to everybody.”
Another requirement had to do with a project where she made visual aids and gave a presentation as if she were talking about FFA to an eighth grade class.
“I did that before, because, with Mr. [Erwin] Berry, we went to the eighth grade at Marlinton,” Carr said. “Then we had the orientation at the high school. I’m like ‘I’ve got this in the bag.’ That was the best thing I think I did.”
While Carr was the only candidate for the southeastern VP position, Berry explained that office was not handed to her. If a candidate is not prepared or ready for the position in the judges’ eye, they will find an alternate route for filling the position.
“They have done one of two things in the past,” Berry said. “They have found other people. Sometimes they have taken somebody from another region, and then sometimes they just don’t have someone. Instead, they say, ‘we’re going to have the president or the secretary cover that region this year.’
“I will tell you this,” he added, “they were very, very impressed with her [Kindra’s] interview and her sincerity.”
After the election, Carr was put to work immediately along with the other officers.
“We had to be on Courtesy Core and it takes care of everything – mainly doors,” she said. “You don’t let anyone in or out for the competitions. Nobody’s allowed to come in or out during their presentation. We also had to escort the competitor to the stage.”
Now that she is officially an officer, Carr will join the other eight West Virginia officers at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, for training to prepare for the 2015-2016 school year.
“We’ll go for training August second through the sixth and that’s going to be super cool,” Carr said. “I love being with my team. I feel like we’re going to be a great team this year.”
The West Virginia team will train with teams from other states in the eastern region.
Once the school year begins and the officers scatter to their selected colleges, they will remain in contact and have meetings throughout the year, in preparation for the Fall Leadership Conference and the State Summer Convention.
In just a couple weeks, Carr will begin her freshman year at Potomac State College. After two years at PSC, she plans to transfer to West Virginia University where she will pursue a degree in agriculture education.