A Leader 15 Years in the Making
by Tracy Smith

Fifteen years ago, 6-year-old Travis Jett ran after his dad, trying to keep up while feeding cattle in Slapout, Okla. He had no idea the next 15 years would prepare him for a future as a national FFA president.

 

The beginning

Jett's experience in the FFA started at an early age; however, it was not completely his decision.

"Actually, he didn't have a lot of choice in the matter," said Jett's dad, Alan Jett. "There were two things I required of my children: one, that they gave speeches; two, that they joined the FFA."

Jett said it took him some time to get excited about the FFA.

"I wasn't really fired up about it until state convention my eighth-grade year," Jett said. "After that, the FFA was cool. That convention lit the fire in me. Josh Brecheen's retiring address changed my life."

After the 1999 convention, Jett got involved in every aspect of the FFA he possibly could. He showed cattle, participated in prepared and extemporaneous public speaking contests, and developed a supervised agricultural experience program in beef entrepreneurship and placement.

"I have had many other wonderful memories throughout my FFA career," Jett said. "One of the highlights was placing second in the state extemporaneous contest my junior year. I'll also never forget stock shows and spending hours upon hours in the Houston airport on the way home from national convention."

Jett credits his agricultural education instructor, Brad Ashpaugh, for encouraging him to take advantage of opportunities in the FFA and for challenging him to grow as a person.

"I always knew Travis was going to be very successful in the FFA," Ashpaugh said. "As an eighth grader, Travis took the lead of our junior parliamentary procedure team. From that point on, he was very active and successful."

 

State office

Jett said his years as a Laverne FFA member exposed him to the power of service to others. As a result, he decided to run for a state FFA office.

Jett served as the 2003-04 Oklahoma FFA Northwest District Vice President and the 2004-05 Oklahoma FFA President. Kent Boggs, state FFA executive secretary, recognized a development in Jett's leadership skills during those two years.

"The thing I noticed about Travis between his vice president and state president years was that he developed a leadership style," Boggs said. "It was really cool to see it develop and how he'd relate to his team."

Kelly Barnes, state president during Jett's first year of office, said he knew Jett would continue to do great things because of the maturity he showed while in office.

"If you needed to get something done, you could always ask Travis," Barnes said. "He was always professional in everything he did.

"Travis matured and became more focused during his first year. When people get elected as state officers, they know they are successful. The great ones want to be significant. Travis wanted to be significant, and he was."

Cale Walker, a member of Jett's second team, said he was sure Jett would not be finished with FFA when his time as a state officer ended.

"National office was an obvious next step for Travis because of the leadership he possessed as president of our state officer team," Walker said. "Travis led our team in the right direction. He was there to lend us a hand, but he allowed us to hone our leadership skills individually."

While Walker was sure Jett would run for national office, Jett was not.

"I didn't start thinking about it until after state convention," Jett said. "I spoke at a few banquets and realized I wasn't done. I went to Washington, D.C., and was really out of the FFA world. I was interning for Rep. Frank Lucas, and he spoke to the Washington Leadership Conference students. When I saw them in their official dress, I knew I wasn't finished with FFA."

 

CASNR's role in Jett's election

When Jett decided to run for national FFA office, he said he knew how to prepare. He served on the National FFA nominating committee the year before and understood the process.

The nominating committee is made up of nine state officers from across the nation. The candidates go through six rounds of evaluation: two personal rounds, agricultural issues and agricultural education issues rounds, and two group rounds. They also take a written test and complete a writing assignment.

Jett laughs as he thinks back to his preparation for the process.

"When I decided to run, I decided I was going full-out," Jett said. "I wanted to be burnt out from studying by the time I got to convention, and I was. I only took Tuesday/Thursday classes and studied for the process six to eight hours a day."

Several students, faculty and organizations in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources helped Jett with his preparation.

"I worked with several professors," Jett said. "One in particular was Dr. [Larry] Sanders. He spent a lot of time out of class working with me on agricultural policy issues. I also met with Dr. [Craig] Edwards and talked about agricultural education topics."

Sanders said Jett easily caught on to class discussions and was able to assess the issues and speak about them in an effective manner.

"Travis is an example of most of our students in the agricultural economics department," Sanders said. "We are deep in capable students who are dedicated to service. You can go into any class in Ag Hall and find the best and brightest in Oklahoma. Travis is a good example of why I love what I do."

Jett said the courses he took gave him a basic understanding of the issues, but he knew he had to dig a little deeper.

"I didn't want to just memorize the issues in agriculture," Jett said. "Instead, I wanted to figure out what made them issues. I wanted to have all of the facts and a great understanding of the issues."

Jett also honed his leadership skills through campus activities such as the Homecoming Steering Committee, Speakers Board, President's Leadership Council, Student Alumni Board, Agricultural Student Council and Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. Jett credits CASNR organizations for much of the development of his leadership skills.

"I learned a lot about leadership through Ag Student Council," Jett said. "One of the best things that happened to me was getting beat for vice president of student affairs. I realized that I was falling into the 'campus-climber' category. I was in some clubs and activities that didn't interest me. Losing that election made me decide to participate in things because I cared about them. A lot of doors opened up from that decision."

During his preparation time, Jett also spoke with people who had gone through the nominating process.

"The best advice I received was that you are not preparing for the process, you are preparing to be a national officer," Jett said. "It made a big difference in the way I prepared."

Jett said he did this by making personal gains in four areas of his life: spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally. Regardless of the outcome, he wanted to walk away from the process as a better person.

 

Finally, after 15 years

Jett walked away as the 2005-06 National FFA President.

"They read off the results of the four regional vice president officers and my name wasn't called, then national secretary and again no name, and then the presidency," Jett said. "It was very nerve-racking."

The Oklahoma FFA officer team kept track of the elected national officers' regions.

"They called two people from the central region, which is the region Oklahoma is in," said Austin Horn, 2005-06 Oklahoma State FFA Reporter.

"We thought there was no way they would pick three from the same region with there being six officers total. Our hearts were sinking, but we still had hope."

Boggs said he also was aware the chances were somewhat slim.

"It was down to the last office," Boggs said. "The chances of them calling three, half of the team, from the central region were slim. To be quite honest, I thought it wasn't going to happen."

But it did happen. At the 78th National FFA Convention, for the first time in 15 years, Oklahoma would leave the convention with a national officer. Although it has been 25 years since Oklahoma has had a national president, the association has had a total of seven, ranking it first in the nation in total presidents.

Horn said Jett looked like a national president as soon as he made it onto the stage.

"He walked up to the podium and took charge," Horn said. "He looked the part."

Jett's parents were in the audience, anticipating the announcement of the new team.

"It was pure joy to hear his name called," said Jett's mom, Alyson Jett. "I was thinking how truly blessed he was to be a spokesperson for the FFA for two years serving as an Oklahoma state officer, and then to have one more year! It was pure joy."

Boggs said the plane ride home was a happy one.

" Oklahoma had the best national convention in years," Boggs said. "Teams and individuals were winning. I usually come home disappointed, but it was a good change."

 

A year of service

Jett's year has included numerous plane rides as he traveled the nation promoting agriculture and the FFA.

"Time flies when you are never in the same place two days in a row," Jett said.

Jett will have traveled more than 100,000 miles, 300 days of the year, and will have made stops in 40 states when his year of service is complete. He will have met with FFA members, agricultural education teachers, FFA supporters and agricultural industry leaders.

Jett has dedicated this year to helping the FFA focus on local-level activities. He said it is the foundation of the national organization and he wants to do what he can to reach that important aspect of the FFA.

"My overarching focus is to do what I can do to make things better for the local level," Jett said. "When I visit states, I ask the state officers what they are doing to help members on the local level. I do the same when I am visiting with sponsors or board members. How can we hit every student on that level? Those are the ones who need FFA. They are all at a pivotal moment in their lives, and they desperately need FFA's influence."

While he is focused on the local level, Jett's travels took him all the way to Japan in February.

"We learned a lot about agriculture and met with FFA sponsors," Jett said. "We had the chance to experience their culture firsthand. We stayed with a host family for two days and visited a high school while on Atsumi Peninsula."

While in Japan, Jett experienced as much of the culture as he could. He said he knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and wanted to make the most of it.

"I'm not going to be eating seafood for a while," Jett said as he remembers the experience. "I ate fish eggs, seaweed, hard-boiled duck eggs – those were the worst – a fish head and octopus."

Even though Jett is on the road for more than 300 days, he is able to go home about once a month.

"We actually see him more now than we did last year when he was at school," Alyson Jett said. "We see him three to four days a month."

National FFA convention in October will mark the end of Jett's year.

"When the year is over, I'll be ready to return to OSU," Jett said. "There is still a lot for me to do, and I want to continue to be active in CASNR. I am excited about the chance to get to know more people in CASNR. There is a good chance some of them could end up being business partners in the agricultural industry."

 

The next 15 years

Jett said he hopes it will not be 15 more years before Oklahoma gets another national officer.

"I hope a tradition of national officers from Oklahoma will start this year," Jett said.

After graduation, Jett plans to keep his roots in the small northwestern Oklahoma town of Slapout.

"After I finish my degree in agricultural economics, I plan to go to law school and hopefully practice law close to home so I can continue to work on the ranch," Jett said.

Many people have high hopes and expectations for Jett.

"His work ethic is unreal," Ashpaugh said. "When he decides to do something, he does it."

Wherever Jett ends up, he will serve agriculture, the industry he loves most.