Bridgeport (West Virginia) High School FFA Program expands and continues to encourage agricultural advocacy

"We do membership twice a year," Arnold said. "We have a batch in the fall and a batch in the spring. Two years ago, we were right around 100 members, then last year we were at 120."

Arnold estimates the current number of members is between 120 and 130.

The FFA program has several events planned throughout the 2025 school year, he said.

"We will be participating in FFA Day in Charleston on March 3," Arnold said. "The legislature is in partnership with the West Virginia Farm Bureau, and it's really about advocacy for agriculture in West Virginia."

Students will take an active role during the event, with opportunities to observe legislative sessions and schedule meetings with state representatives, he said.

National FFA Week, which runs from Feb. 15-22, is also on the calendar.

"We will be doing our First Responders Breakfast during that week on Friday, Feb. 21," Arnold said.

Another major event for the Bridgeport High School FFA program is the annual Chicken Banquet and Auction, scheduled for Friday, April 4.

Project Rural Education Day, or Project RED, is also making a return this year.

"We have Project RED, which is our annual agriculture day with the local elementary schools and Heritage Christian School, on April 11," Arnold said. "We've been sticking with 10 different stations because that seems to be working."

All of the stations focus on agricultural education, he added.

Lauren Stone, a sophomore at Bridgeport High School and the FFA program’s secretary, said being part of the organization is rewarding.

"It feels really good," she said. "I feel like we try to include everybody, and with the different FFA events, everyone feels like we're one big happy family."

Anna Grajales, the program's vice president, said she was unaware of FFA before entering high school.

"I came into FFA as a sophomore," Grajales said. "Coming out of middle school, I was not aware that FFA was a thing, and I was not aware of agriculture classes at all going in as a freshman."

She credited Arnold and an introductory agriculture class for sparking her interest.

"Since then, I've been able to grow a lot as a member and also along with my team," she said. "When I first started, the first meeting was after school, and it was kind of scary. Everyone started talking as a group."

Now, she recognizes what those students were saying was the FFA Mission Statement, she added.