Contact: Margaret Kovar
![Prominent national motivational speaker Barrett Keene of Ithaca, N.Y., addressed junior and senior high school students during a leadership workshop Tuesday [June 4] as part of the 80th Mississippi FFA Convention at Mississippi State University.](http://photos.msstate.edu/releases/photos/6080.jpg "Prominent national motivational speaker Barrett Keene of Ithaca, N.Y., addressed junior and senior high school students during a leadership workshop Tuesday [June 4] as part of the 80th Mississippi FFA Convention at Mississippi State University.")
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Some 500 public school students from around the state were at Mississippi State University this week for the 80th Mississippi FFA State Convention.
During the three-day program ending Wednesday [June 5], members participated in career development events, a variety of information-sharing sessions and the election of the 2013-14 junior and senior state officers. Numerous awards and recognitions also were presented.
A new feature of this year's gathering was a FFA History Museum that depicted the rich history of the Mississippi chapter through collections of jackets, documents and other memorabilia.
Founded in 1928 in Kansas City, Mo., the National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, was created by students, teachers and agribusiness representatives to help solidify support for agricultural education. Over the decades, it has led in preparing members ages 14-21 for successful careers and lifetimes of informed choices in global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources systems.
Mississippi currently has 106 FFA chapters involving more than 4,000 students.