Alamo woman becomes finalist for FFA top achievement award
ALAMO, Tenn. – A local woman is one finalist for this year’s Future Farmers of America top achievement award.
Lainey Hutchison, from Alamo, is one of four finalists for the American Star Award in agriculture.
The American Star Award represents the best of the best among nearly 950,000 American FFA degree recipients.
Hutchison has been riding horses since she was three-years-old and competing in rodeos since she was seven. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be involved in FFA.
“Our FFA chapter does a camp in the summer called Lamb Camp, and when I was in middle school, I helped with that. So technically I wasn’t in FFA, but once I started helping with that I was hooked. I really enjoyed being around the people and just teaching kids and stuff like that,” Hutchison said.
The American Star award recognizes FFA members who have developed outstanding agricultural skills by completing a supervised agricultural experience or better known as an “SAE” program.
“I started teaching horse riding lessons when I was in high school, and it just started out as a little business. I just had two students and I just did it on the side, but it eventually turned into eight to 10 students per week,” Hutchison said.
A few years ago, with the help of her mom, she thought of ways to share her family’s farm with the community.
“In 2020 we started our farm camps because we were spending a lot of time at home because of COVID, and people were ready to get out of the house and find safe things for their children to do,” Hutchison said.
Her goal was to have just a few kids with a couple of camps but her camps took off quickly and became a growing opportunity for her horse riding lesson business
“But through my SAE, I’ve been able to show my love of my farm with my community. It inspired me to travel outside of my comfort zone, and it’s increased my level of experience as an entrepreneur. And it’s helped me understand my competitive market,” Hutchison said.
She says she wants to make sure people are aware of the importance of agriculture and what role it plays in our daily life.
“Without the FFA, I would not have been able to showcase my independence as a woman in ag. It has helped me establish patience, financial management, and being able to balance a work life while going to school,” Hutchison said.
She currently attends the University of Tennessee on a rodeo scholarship, majoring in farm and ranch management, with plans to continue expanding her businesses after graduation.
Hutchison goes to the national competition in Indianapolis next weekend to find out the results.
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