(Atlantic, Iowa/FFA Advisor Eric Miller) – Each year the Southwest District and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) Conferences for FFA members in the Southwest district. Atlantic welcomed FFA chapters from all over the Southwest district on June 3, 2025. This year 196 members from 32 chapters from across Southwest Iowa participated in this unique leadership training experience.

While at Atlantic on Tuesday, district and state officers lead four interactive workshops for FFA Chapter leaders, many of which are officers, for the annual COLT Conference. The workshops facilitated were local FFA Chapter programs focused in the areas of advocating for the agriculture industry, connecting with stakeholders, recruiting for the local chapter, and working as a cohesive team. FFA leaders also received training relative to their specific officer duties within the local chapter.

Iowa FFA President, Chloe Zittergruen, stated, “COLT conference provides a chance for FFA members to learn more about their responsibility as a local leader and is a conference for members to meet and connect with state, district and other chapter officers.”

COLT conference programming is designed as a two-year rotation of local leaders training. The focus areas of next year’s program include agriculture literacy, time management, professionalism, and self-confidence. The goal is to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of through high school and beyond. Atlantic FFA President Lauren Comes said, ““The day was a lot of fun. The officer team learned a lot about our responsibilities as officer and what we can do to improve our abilities in that area.”

COLT conference is made possible with support from Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance of Iowa through the Iowa FFA Foundation. Atlantic Bottling provided drinks for all of the participants as well.