Junior Murphy Laws has been a member of the Paoli chapter of the FFA for four years and has spent three of those four years as an officer. However, it was not until this year that he became the FFA President.
“I am the head of the student governing body for the Paoli FFA chapter. I run meetings and correspond with Mr. Scott, Mr. Woolston and other officers to plan events for the year,” said Laws.
Laws originally got involved in FFA after taking an agriculture class at PHS to obtain his Hunters Education card.
“I started to talk to Woolston with the former officer team and realized there were lots of members in my class that could help the chapter. We were considered the new age of officers. I wanted to be a part of something great, and I realized this year I’m living in it now,” said Laws. Since then, Laws has been an active member of FFA. Over the past few years, Laws and the other officers have worked together to create a hydroponics department where almost all vegetables used in the school cafeteria are grown. The FFA members also began to raise pigs for meat and accomplished building a barn.
Laws believes the most important part of his role as president to be encouraging of communication between advisors Cory Scott and Kyle Woolston and the other members.
“Communication is key in an FFA chapter, and the president is a link between the two,” said Laws.
Through FFA, Laws has had the opportunity to visit many different places, but his favorite of them all was his first National FFA Convention he attended.
“I had a blast forming relationships with different people and realizing this organization was much bigger than a little chapter in Paoli. I met new people and even formed better relationships with the people I already knew,” said Laws. “The best part of FFA is all the relationships you form. You can make a friend in one conversation. Everyone is easy to relate to. FFA is a place that you get to meet other people that you never would have thought about meeting or even talking to.”
Story by Rebekah Reeves
