Wyo FFA Foundation focuses on opportunities for youth in hosting career fair

Cheyenne – With over 1,000 members at the Wyoming State FFA Convention on April 9-11, the Wyoming FFA Foundation moved and expanded the trade show and hosted a career fair this year.

“When Stacy Broda started as the State FFA Advisor, our group took at look at convention, and we knew we needed to change things with the trade show,” commented Wyoming FFA Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Womack.

In years past, the trade show has been held at the Civic Center, where convention sessions are held. Other events during the convention, including leadership workshops and contests, are held at the host hotel and Laramie County Community College. 

“We couldn’t get any traffic to the trade show because students aren’t at the Civic Center that often,” Womack added.

This year, many events of the Wyoming FFA Convention was held at the Holiday Inn in Cheyenne, allowing the FFA Foundation to host the career fair in conjunction with speaking and leadership events. 

“As things moved to the Holiday Inn, we had an opportunity to fold the trade show in with all the activities here,” explained Womack. “It has evolved with the adjustments made for convention this year and our desire to put more vendors in touch with FFA members so they can explore career opportunities and college opportunities, as well.”

The 2013 career fair hosted 30 vendors and filled their available space to capacity.

The FFA Foundation focused on exhibitors who presented opportunities for Wyoming’s young leaders. 

“Our top priority was to get the colleges here, as well as people who could open their eyes to some things that go on in Wyoming they might not otherwise know about,” said Womack.

“I hope that the 2013 career fair engages FFA members so they have an opportunity to visit with all the colleges from across the state of Wyoming, as well as to visit with some of the leadership development companies and explore natural resources,” commented Womack. “We hope it is both a learning opportunity and a chance for them to explore where they are going after they get out of school.”

At the conclusion of the fair, Womack noted that the event was incredibly successful and saw more traffic than past years. In the future, Womack noted that they hope to continue to help the career fair grow, space permitting.

The FFA Foundation has put the career fair on for convention each year.

“The career fair is one section of convention were felt we could step in and help out,” Womack commented. 

For more information about the Wyoming FFA Foundation, visit wyoffafoundation.com. Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.