Faith Found at National FFA Convention: FCFI Endorses the 2025–2026 National FFA Officer’s Speeches
Official photo source: National FFA Officers – Official Website
Fellowship of Christian Farmers International gives thanks to God for boldness and faithfulness of the six young men and women who served as the 2025–26 National FFA Officers. In October, at the 99th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, each of them gave a Christian faith-inspired address.
Over their year of service, these six traveled the country and the world addressing FFA members. Again and again, in interviews, in writing and on stage, they named faith in God as the source of their strength and their reason for serving. On a national platform where faith is rarely the headline, they did not hide the light they carry. They spoke of loving God, of every person being made in His image, of blessing, of service and of truth. They did it with humility and grace, and we are proud of them.
You can watch all six retiring addresses on FFA New Horizons.
Lilly Nyland, National Secretary — Holland, Michigan
Lilly Nyland has said plainly what drives her. Asked what motivates her to work hard, she answered, “Faith and my upbringing.” She names Christian music among her favorites, and she lists “advocating for truth” among her core values, alongside intentionality, gratitude, compassion and dedication. Her goal for her year of service was simple: to be a light to every person she met.
Lilly’s heart reaches beyond our borders. Her dream after FFA is agricultural missions work. She wants to use her fluent Spanish to help people in other countries grow their own food, and Guatemala holds a special place for her. She did not grow up in production agriculture; she was headed for nursing until a friend encouraged her to try agricultural animal science. God used that one conversation to set her on a new path. As a ministry that sends Christian farmers to serve around the world, FCFI is deeply encouraged by Lilly’s calling. We are proud that she comes from our home-office state of Michigan.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16
Jael Cruikshank, Western Region Vice President — Bend, Oregon
Jael Cruikshank carried one charge through her year: always love God and love others. She found those words in the advice book that past national officers leave for those who follow them, and she made loving and serving others the priority of her term. It is the Great Commandment, lived out in a blue jacket.
Her retiring address carried the same conviction. Jael urged members not to simply follow their hearts, but to do what is right even when it conflicts with what feels good. In a culture that tells young people to trust their feelings above all, that is a bold and countercultural message, and we applaud her for delivering it.
Jael comes from a family that has given generations to agricultural education. Both of her grandfathers taught agriculture, her parents both served as Oregon FFA state officers, and her older brother Josiah held this same national office in 2021–22. Oregon FFA’s leader described her as having a heart for service.
The Great Commandment/Golden Rule: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind… Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” — Matthew 22:37, 39
Joey Nowotny, Eastern Region Vice President — Laurel, Delaware
Joey Nowotny puts service and faith first among the things that matter most to him. He has spoken honestly about hard seasons in his life. In his lowest moments, his chapter, his officer team and his advisor reminded him that his worth is not measured by performance and that he is made perfectly in God’s image. That truth, that our value comes from our Creator and not from our achievements, is at the heart of the gospel.
Joey’s story is one of an open door. He moved to Delaware from New York as a sixth grader with no agricultural background and went to his first FFA meeting for the free pizza. He went on to become his chapter’s first state officer in 37 years and its first national officer ever. He spent his year passing on to other students the same grace that was shown to him.
A word from Scripture: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” — Genesis 1:27
Trey Myers, National President — Perkins, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University describes Trey Myers’s leadership as a lifelong pursuit rooted in service, community and faith. When he was elected, Trey called the honor “a very, very big blessing.” He immediately turned the attention away from himself: the title, he said, was not about him but about the million FFA members waiting to have a great experience (WWBL). That is servant leadership at the top of the organization.
As his year came to a close, Trey summed up the lesson he wants to carry forward in four words: “Don’t waste your life.” He has spoken about keeping his focus on what truly matters. We pray that this conviction guides him for the rest of his life.
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time.” — Ephesians 5:15–16
Claire Woeppel, Central Region Vice President — Chambers, Nebraska
Claire Woeppel prepared for national office the way she lives: by uplifting her faith and putting love, leadership and listening first. She grew up on her family’s beef operation in the Nebraska Sandhills and followed her grandfather, her father and her older brother into FFA.
Claire set out to make every person she spoke with feel like the most important person in the world in that moment. She wanted every student to know they were heard, seen and valued. Her retiring address spoke of overcoming self-doubt and comparison, a struggle many young people face. That is the kind of love Christ calls us to, offered one conversation at a time.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak.” — James 1:19
T. Wayne Williams, Southern Region Vice President — Woodbury, Tennessee
T. Wayne Williams called his election “a privilege and a blessing.” He received it as a gift to be stewarded, not a prize to be held. He is the first Tennessean in ten years to hold national FFA office, and his full name, Troy Martin Wayne Williams, honors the father, grandfather and great-grandfather who worked his family’s fourth-generation beef farm before him.
In his retiring address, T. Wayne told of the coach and the principal who invested in him, and he called members to servant leadership and a life of service to others. We thank him for pointing a generation of young people toward a life poured out for others, the pattern our Lord Himself set.
“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45
With gratitude from FCFI
To Trey, Lilly, Joey, Jael, T. Wayne and Claire: thank you for your faithfulness to the truth. You served a million members with your whole hearts, and you did not hide the source of your strength. You spoke of loving God, of every person bearing His image, and of lives given in service. Those words will bear fruit in young people across this nation for years to come. The Fellowship of Christian Farmers International is grateful for your witness, and we are praying for each of you as you take your next steps.
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” — 1 Timothy 4:12 (KJV)