By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hard work on the farm and in the classroom pays big dividends.
Nobody knows that better than Hunter Garnett, a Danville High School senior who was elected president of the Alabama FFA Chapter at the organizations’ annual convention at Auburn University June 1-5.
Hunter won out over 11 other district finalists seeking a state office and in so doing became his school’s first state FFA office holder. The process was demanding, requiring
five interviews, a written essay and a stage presentation.
But now that he’s president, Hunter’s challenge may be even more fast-paced and daunting than it would have been had he stayed on the farm and helped his grandfather grow 800 acres of row crops and take care of 80 brood cows and 50,000 broilers.
He will spend most of the summer on the road in Alabama and Mississippi conducting workshops for local chapter and district FFA officers. The office will also require him to spend some time on the road next school year.
In addition to being elected president, Hunters claimed several other honors at the state convention. He won first place in Diversified Row Crop Production, second place in Agricultural Sales and Service and Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, was the top scorer on a Livestock Judging Team that finished second and was a finalist for the State Star Farmer Award.
Hunter recalled that becoming an FFA officer was the last thing on his mind when he enrolled in Sandy Field’s agri-business class as a freshman at Danville High.
Hunter’s farm background stems from early childhood when he stayed with his grandparents, Charles and Suzanne Randolph while his parents, and Chris and Amy Garnett of Massey pursued careers away from the farm. His close ties with the Randolph farm, which is located about a mile and a half west of Danville have continued as a student, after school, on weekends and during summer vacation.