SUBLETTE – Sublette resident and 2024 Amboy High School graduate Emma Dinges has spent the last four years enthralled in the National FFA Organization.
Well, another year has been added to her tenure.
Dinges was elected as the Illinois FFA Treasurer for 2024-25 at the Illinois FFA State Convention on June 13.
“I’m just so honored and grateful to get to experience this this year. It’s a pretty big deal,” Dinges said. “I got elected last out of my five teammates in Illinois FFA, so the excitement was really building up when my name finally was announced. It was really cool.
“My whole mindset through all of this was to show members that they can when they think they can’t. Making Selection Committee was a really cool feeling to show others that they can achieve their goals. Getting selected was the real big thing proving you can achieve your goal and overcome the obstacles.
“The whole reason I ran was to show the FFA members who think they can’t achieve their big dreams in life is that they can.”
In order to run for state office, the first step is being selected to the Selection Committee. Dinges found out she was one of 10 candidates in April when the committee selections were made.
At the state convention, the 10 FFA state officer hopefuls gave speeches to help the election process as five state officers are selected in the form of president, vice president, secretary, reporter, and treasurer.
On the same day of the speeches, the officers are elected. Dinges didn’t have much time to wait as she gave her speech and shortly found out it was good enough to be selected to serve the Illinois FFA for another year.
Her service began the next day, June 24, and will last until the Illinois FFA State Convention in 2025.
She joins elected president Tenton Payne, vice president Brody Will, secretary Owen Torrance, and reporter Sidney Stiers. Dinges said she was worked with all of them before and is excited for this year.
“We kind of work together in order to come up with ideas for the state of Illinois FFA,” Dinges said. “My specific roles in a normal officer team would be handling money and that kind of thing, but at the state level, we kind of collaborate together for all of our duties.
“In the future, after my year of service, I plan to attend Iowa State University to major in animal science.”
Being a member of the Illinois FFA Officer Team has always been on Dinges’ mind.
However, not always at the forefront.
But now that it’s a reality, she is excited to see what’s next and appreciates all of the support she has received from family, friends, and the community.
A congratulations reception was held for Dinges on June 16 in Sublette.
“Throughout my high school career, FFA state office has always been something that has been there, but not something I’d necessarily say I was striving for since freshman year,” Dinges said. “Serving as Section 2 president my senior year really opened up my eyes for this opportunity. I decided during that year of service that I would decide to run for state office and give FFA another year of service. It was there to think about my first three years of high school, but it became a reality and a goal to achieve during my senior year.
“My parents, Nick and Stacey Dinges, have definitely been a big inspiration through all of this. Their support and them working hard in the community and their service toward others is definitely a big reason that pushed me into giving another year of service to Illinois FFA.
“My family has been a big motivator. Their constant support has helped me make big decisions in my life. They’ve pushed me to work hard and to try my best.”
Another supporter of Dinges has been Amboy FFA Director Joe Heavner.
Heavner guided Dinges during her four years at Amboy High School and watched her bloom from a normal FFA member, into a leader, into a Illinois FFA State Officer.
“I’m very proud of Emma. A little over 10 years ago I was a FFA state officer, so I’ve been through the process,” Heavner said. “It brought me a lot of joy to see Emma get elected to the same position I had. It’ll be a great opportunity for her to grow as an individual, for her to network, and for her to give back to the organization that she has benefited from so much over the last four years.
“I’m very, very proud of Emma.”
