Bio: Johnson, Charlotte – Outstanding FFA Alumni (2022)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Johnson

----Source: TRG (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 16 Nov 2022

When Charlotte Johnson was awarded the national Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporter Achievement Award, she was surprised.

Not only was this a top honor in the FFA -- only three people in the entire country were selected for this year’s award -- but also a testament to all members of the FFA that you don’t have to have generations of legacy with the organization or even an upbringing in the FFA to be able to make a difference.

Johnson was given the Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporter Achievement Award during the 95th National FFA Convention on Oct. 27 in Indianapolis, Ind. Going to receive the award at the national event was a change of pace for the Granton FFA Alumni member, who had gone to convention for years as a chaperone to support the children and the Granton FFA Chapter when they were recognized for their achievements.

“I was surprised,” said Johnson on her reception of the award. “The award was awarded at a dinner at the National Convention in Indianapolis. It is a unique opportunity and I am honored to get the award. I was surprised though, I just do what I do.”

The Outstanding FFA Alumni and Supporter Achievement Award that Johnson received at the national level was the final stage of a process that had begun earlier this year when an application containing Johnson’s achievements with the Granton FFA Alumni won accolades at the state level. That application was then taken to the national level to be judged, with Johnson finding out about the win a few months ago.

“I first found out about it in September, I believe,” she said. “I know that in February at the State FFA Alumni event I got recognized at the state level. The application then moved onto the national level. Someone local had nominated me, they had an application they had to complete. It included a list of things that I do and help with. It went to the state level and there were multiple winners at the state level that were all sent on to the national level.” Johnson’s journey into the FFA was one that wasn’t started at a young age, as she chose not to not join during her own high school years at Loyal High School. It wasn’t until her two children began to get older and express an interest of joining the FFA at Granton that she began to look into the organization and find out if there were ways she could help.

“I have been a part of it since the kids were involved, so I would say since 2010 or 2011 at least,” she said. “I got started on it when the kids were starting to get involved and the advisors got them into it. I thought at first that I had to be in the FFA to be an Alumni and Supporter member, but I found out that you don’t have to be. You can be in the FFA as a supporter. That’s when I started helping out and getting involved.”

Like many things, Johnson’s role started small when she first joined the FFA Alumni as a volunteer and since her start, has only gotten more involved. She has chaperoned a great many events for the Granton FFA, including State and National FFA Conventions, field trips and the annual FFA Lock-in.

She has also helped in some of the FFA’s other activities such as the Angel Tree Project and the Granton Dairy Breakfast, where she is on the committee. She has also held officer positions with the Granton FFA Alumni over the years, taking on each role as it is needed.

“I started out just chaperoning events and helped out where needed,” she said. “I started getting into it more and more. Then I began taking on officer roles.

I started as the secretary for two years, was the vice president for two years and president for two years and have been the past president for the past two years now.

When I first started out with the experience I saw the events that the kids were doing and just got involved. It started out small and as I went it grew from there.”

As she has become more and more involved with the FFA, Johnson said she has really come to know the benefi ts of the FFA, for both kids and adults. For the kids, they are able to grow and learn about new and different things in the world that will help them in the future, while for adults, she said they get to learn and experience things that allow them to connect with the younger generations.

“I learned a lot about the different activities that they could do,” she said. “Helping out the kids and going with them to places gave them an opportunity to experience things, not just in Granton, but elsewhere. You also see the progress with the kids, we learn together with the students. It’s a nice way to be able to relate to the kids.”

It is because of these benefits to both young and old members of the FFA that Johnson said people should consider volunteering some of their time to help out. It doesn’t ever have to be much, she said, but the impact on the children and yourself can be amazing.

“If you want to help students you should consider joining the Alumni and Supporters,” she said. “It’s not just the kids who benefit, the kids get experience, but the adults do as well. We need volunteers to help out and provide as many opportunities as we can for our students.”