They say life is a highway, and Tyson Gehrke’s time as the 2024-2025 Section Four State FFA Treasurer Officer certainly has been.
Back in July, the Times ran an article about Tyson, son of Ryan and Tanya Gehrke, and a 2024 graduate of Fennimore High School being named as a state officer when he estimated he would put close to 20,000 miles on his car traveling the state and beyond as an officer.
As of mid February he is getting close to that 20,000 mile threshold.
His service kicked off when school started in September, as he took part in 10 FFA Fall Leadership Workshops, one of which will be here in Fennimore on Sept. 30. The FFA students would tour agriculture businesses during the day, and held FFA conferences during the evening.
Tyson estimated that 2,000 students attended the 10 workshops.
He also facilitated three FIRE (Foundation in Reaching Excellence) Conferences for FFA members in sixth through ninth grade.
October was just as busy as Tyson attended both the World Dairy Expo in Madison, where he spoke to area students, as well as Indonesian delegates about FFA and agricultural education in America.
At the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, he served as a voting delegate.
Beginning in October and going through January, Tyson visited 27 FFA chapters around the state to promote agriculture and FFA, while also meeting with FFA officers and school administrators.
Tyson visited the Capitol in Madison in November for the Career and Technical Student Organization Day Career with other FFA representatives, along with the five other career and technical organizations in the state, SkillsUSA, HOSA. DECA, FCCLA, and FBLA. There, he and the other organization members meet with state representatives about the importance of their organizations.
He also attended November’s National FFA Conference held this year n Stevens Point.
No Christmas break for Tyson as in December he promoted FFA at the Farm Bureau and YFA Conference in Wisconsin Dells.
Entering the new year, Tyson facilitated 90 minutes sessions for students at the FFA Halftime Conference, which prepares members to keep their FFA chapter active and growing for the second half of the school year, as well as help students continue to build their leadership skills.
February is a busy month for Tyson, as he not only attended the Wisconsin Corn, Soy, and Pork Expo in Wisconsin Dells, and the FFA Wisconsin State Alumni Convention in Stevens Point, which he was driving to when he was interviewed for this article, but starting Feb. 15 and going through Feb. 22 is National FFA Week, celebrated by over 1,000,000 members nationwide and 25,938 here in Wisconsin.
Some of the journeys Tyson will be embarking on for FFA Week include FFA Day on the Hill at the State Capitol, pancake breakfasts and donkey basketball throughout southwest Wisconsin, Ag Olympics in Wauzeka, ice fishing in Montello (weather permitting) and a toy show.
And somehow through all of this, Tyson has found time to pursue a degree in Agricultural Business at Iowa State University, with the hopes of working in agriculture sales. He has been doing his freshman year classes online, but plans to attend classes on campus next school after his term as Section Four State FFA Treasurer Officer ends in June.
Tyson will also be keeping busy in the summer as he goes right from finishing his officer duties to an internship with Rabo AgriFinance in Cedar Falls, Iowa, as a financial analyst .
To summarize his jounrey so far as an officer, Tyson stated, “During my time as an FFA State Officer I have had the privilege of learning many things about myself and the agriculture industry. I have also experienced life changing events and have made many connections throughout the year. These connections are my favorite part about my experience as I never know how the people I meet now could impact me the rest of my life.”
