• Article Photo. Ali Lutz, Zoey McClintock, Raine Wheeler, Levi Lutz, Ciara Dods, Abby McKenna, Madeline Pingenot, (Not Pictured: Cole Birker)
    Ali Lutz, Zoey McClintock, Raine Wheeler, Levi Lutz, Ciara Dods, Abby McKenna, Madeline Pingenot, (Not Pictured: Cole Birker)


By Co-Reporter, Raine Wheeler


On Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026, the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter Officer team joined 154 members from 25 chapters at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo to learn more about how to “Lead Forward” at the Northeast District Chapter Officer Leadership Training. The day of learning started with workshops that were held by both past and present district and state officers. Speakers trained officers on the varying aspects that come with holding a chapter office paired with being an advocate for the agricultural industry. A few of the lessons that were taught were on the importance of leadership in your local community, maintaining professionalism as an officer, and how to “up” your chapter events to bring creativity into your community. Furthermore, The Vinton-Shellsburg officers even got the opportunity to hear from their very own chapter president, and the Northeast South-West Vice-President, Ciara Dods as well as past president, and Northeast District Vice-President, Andrew Pingenot! Following the workshops, the officer team split into their respective officer roles and got to learn about their duties and responsibilities from the leaders that carry out the same tasks at the district and state levels. These sessions were catered towards properly fulfilling positions to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in local chapters.

Zoey McClintock is the chapter’s secretary. In her role, she focuses on keeping records of meeting minutes and staying in contact with sponsors to thank them for their contributions to chapter growth. When asked about what she was most satisfied about from the conference, she shared that: “The thing I enjoyed most about COLT was getting to learn from district and state officers, knowing that they have a lot of experience in leadership roles and have excelled in what they do." Moreover, Zoey talked about her own thoughts from her experience attending the conference. “I believe that being able to learn from some of the best will help make our chapter officers the best we can be.”

All officers had a splendid day spent learning about elevating their positions. Thank you to Hawkeye Community College for hosting the event and the Iowa FFA District and State Officers for leading sessions.