MOLINE, Ill., Oct. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- To commemorate
75 years of partnership with the National FFA Organization, John
Deere is providing a $75,000
contribution to the FFA Living to Serve Platform. The funds are in
addition to the wide range of support for FFA activities already
sponsored by Deere (NYSE: DE).
Sam Allen, Deere & Company
chairman and CEO, announced the contribution at the 91st National
FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, where he was a keynote
speaker.
"The Living to Serve Platform inspires FFA members to put
leadership into action through service activities and prepare them
to be responsible leaders in agriculture and many other professions
in the future," said Allen.
The Deere contribution provides support for FFA chapters to
build stronger communities through various service projects that
address environmental responsibility, hunger, health and nutrition,
community safety, and community engagement.
"We thank John Deere for their generous contribution and are
excited to see where the next 75 years lead our organizations and
the future of agriculture," said Mark
Poeschl, Chief Executive Officer, National FFA
Organization.
John Deere is the longest-running corporate sponsor of FFA and
is celebrating that partnership with the grant and with the
presentation of a time capsule containing 75 items donated by FFA
members, reflecting the past, present and future of FFA, John
Deere, and the agriculture industry. The time capsule will be
retained at the National FFA Organization headquarters in
Indianapolis and opened by FFA
members in 2093.
Since it first made a $1,000
contribution in 1943, John Deere has provided funds totaling more
than $13 million to the National FFA
Organization. Deere sponsors a wide range of FFA activities,
including a John Deere dealer scholarship program, the farm
business management career development competition, and the
international leadership seminar for state officers.
In 2014, Deere was one of the first corporate partners to form
an FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapter. Today, approximately 400
employees from Deere facilities across the U.S. volunteer to coach,
mentor and train FFA chapters.
Earlier this year, Deere introduced FFA members to potential
careers through a virtual field trip to Waterloo Tractor Cab &
Assembly Operations in Waterloo,
Iowa. The event was live-streamed to FFA classrooms in 49
U.S. states, Canada, Algeria, and Rwanda, attracting more than 44,000 students
and educators.
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world
leader in providing advanced products and services for customers
whose work is linked to the land - those who cultivate, harvest,
transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's
dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and
infrastructure.
The National FFA Organization (www.FFA.org) provides leadership,
personal growth and career success training through agricultural
education to 669,989 student members who belong to one of 8,630
local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization is also
supported by 459,914 alumni members in 2,236 alumni chapters
throughout the U.S.
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SOURCE Deere & Company