SANTA MARIA HIGH SCHOOL
Agriculture Education and FFA
FFA Leadership Team
Jorge Gonzalez-President
President – Carlos Nunez
Wassup Santa Maria FFA I am Carlos Nunez and I’ll be serving as your 2022- 2023 President. I am a Senior, and this is my fourth year enrolled in the Santa Maria FFA program. Throughout these past three years, I’ve been super involved in the AG shop working on projects. I enjoy the fact that I can turn something old and ugly into something new and cool. Aside from the shop, I’ve been in FFA’s Farm power team for three years. This past year I was also on the parliamentary-procedure team and state proficiency finalist. This upcoming year I will be serving as the Sentinel for the South Coast Regional as well as serving as a California National FFA Delegate. I’ve raised market hogs for the past 3 years and I hope to raise another pig and heifer next year as it has been a fun and great learning experience. If you want to meet people from all over California and travel, make sure to get involved. I hope to see all of you guys helping or attending the meetings! Remember “Go All Out, El Tiempo es Ahora”
Vice President I - Manuel Gomez
Hello Santa Maria FFA. It is a great pleasure to introduce myself to you all. My name is Manuel Gomez and I will be serving as your 2022-2023 Chapter Vice President. I chose to join FFA because I loved animals, and also because I felt very welcomed when I walked into my very first Ag Class Freshman year. As part of FFA I have participated in public speaking, Parliamentary Procedure, and Poultry Judging. All of these activities have allowed me to get out of my shell and embrace myself. My goal this year is to strive and become an officer that will lead this chapter to a successful future. If I have anything to say to all the members, it would be get involved and enjoy what the FFA Chapter has to offer. Welcome to the Santa Maria FFA!
Vice President II – Juventino Ramirez
Hey guys! My name is Eric Ceja and I’m your 2021-2022 Vice-President. I’ve been in in this wonderful program for four years. While my time in FFA, I’ve been involved in numerous events and community service activities such as thrive, Altrusa, State conferences such as MFE and ALA. I have also been in my chapter’s vet science judging team for two years. I am also the committee chairman for the food committee. While being in this program, I have gotten the opportunity to raise 3 market hogs and my first year I placed 1st in my breed’s weight class. Outside of FFA, I like being outdoors, whether its fishing, hunting, or growing plants. I chose FFA since I have always loved animals and had a passion for them and plants. FFA has shown me responsibility, leadership skills, has given me endless opportunities to meet new people and have hands on experience. I highly encourage all of you guys to get involved in our chapter whether it’s helping out in our next FFA meeting or simply being in a speaking or judging team.
Secretary – Ayari Portillo
Hey Hey Hey Santa Maria FFA!! My name is Ayari Portillo and I was fortunate enough to have been elected as the 2022-2023 Chapter Secretary. I am Currently 16 and I am a junior. This is my third year in the FFA program so far, I have raised two market lambs, and a member of the Land evaluation judging team or better known as soils and have participated in many public speaking contests in the past two years. I have progressed with my conference when speaking in both a larger group of people or just a few people at a time. I joined FFA because I wanted to be more involved with my school and make more friends and really just to have fun. The friends I have made this year along with all the memories will last for a lifetime I am looking forward to going all out this year and having an amazing year will y’all..
Treasurer – Erik Martinez
What’s up Santa Maria FFA! My name is Erik Martinez and I will be your Chapter Treasurer for the 2022-23 school year. I’ve been in FFA for the last 3 years and I can’t wait to make the last one, the best one yet. Some of my involvement in the program includes being on the Vet Science and Cooperative Marketing judging teams. Alongside my judging teams, I also raised a lamb. Shout-out Big Mac! Outside the blue and gold, I’m an athlete. I am on the school’s Varsity Cross Country and track team. So, join me in making this year the best one ever! My goal for this year is to show you what agriculture is really about and what the chapter can offer to you. I hope to see you at all our meetings. Remember “Go all out, el tiempo es ahora”!
Reporter - Melissa Lua
Hey there Santa Maria FFA! Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Melissa Lua-Duarte and I am eager to be serving as your 2022-2023 Chapter Reporter. Growing up, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about agriculture, even though I was constantly surrounded by it. Through FFA, I have begun to learn all about agriculture in my ag class and even outside of the classroom. For example, this year I decided to be a part of the Tree Pruning Team, the Nursery & Landscape Team and raise a market turkey. By participating in these CDEs and my SAE I discovered new interests that I am excited to keep learning about and participating in. Through my two years in FFA, I realized that it is also more than just agriculture. I have become more confident with public speaking because of contests like Parliamentary Procedure, The Creed, and Impromptu. Outside of my blue jacket, I love to spend time with family and friends. This upcoming year, I encourage all of you to get involved and find your passion within FFA, because if not now, when? Remember this year's theme: “Go all out, el tiempo es ahora!” !
Sentinel – Heriberto Mendez
Que onda Santa Maria FFA, my name is Heriberto Mendez. I am currently serving as your 2022–2023- chapter sentinel. This will be my fourth year involved in FFA. FFA has taught me a lot of wonderful and useful things. What made me stay involved in FFA was all the fun things they have: all the field trips they have and the classes too!! I have been on the light horse judging team for the past three years. It has been an amazing experience. Last year I got the chance to raise a sheep for my first time. It was another amazing experience. I always imagined myself being an officer, and I knew that it was going to take a lot of work, but I never gave up. They say hard work pays off, and it has truly paid off. I would like to thank all my teachers and tutors because without them I would not be where I am today. I would not be here without their help. Also, to my parents for always supporting me. To be where I am today, I had to start off in a smaller position. I was a facilities and maintenance committee chair. My goal is to lead you guys to a good path just how the previous officers did for me. They led me on a good path and showed me what FFA had to offer.
Community Service Chair – Carolina Espinoza
Hey, my name is Carolina Espinoza-Valdez, and I am serving as one of your 2022-2023 Community service committee chairs. I am a Junior and a third-year member of the FFA program. I have participated in speaking competitions, am on the Vegetable Judging team and I raised a market lamb this past summer. I also participated in many community service events such as Park Day and painting of the Elks Rodeo grounds. I’ve wanted to join FFA since a young age because I liked what this program had to offer, and luckily I was able to join. My goal this year is to get our chapter more involved and have fun. “Go all out, el tiempo es ahora!!!”
Community Service Chair – Jhoana Hernandez
Hey Santa Maria FFA! My name is Jhoana Hernandez, and I will be serving as one of your 2022-2023 Community Service Committee Chairs alongside Carolina Espinoza-Valdez. I will be going into my third year in FFA, and I will be a junior for this school year. During the time I have been part of the chapter I have had the privilege of being involved in many ways. I have been in the Parliamentary Procedure and Horse Judging team for two years. During the past year I also joined the Tree Pruning Judging team. Apart from judging teams I have also been in speaking competitions like Opening and Closing ceremonies, BIG, and Impromptu. This past year I also had the privilege of serving as one of the Agriculture Literacy Committee Chairs. Outside of school and FFA you can catch me hanging out with my friends; spending time with them is something I value very much. I enjoy dancing and reading. So, if you ever need someone to go to Barnes and Noble you can count on me for it. I love playing sports but I’m not really into being in a sports team. I hope to be able to join the tennis team this year. I absolutely can’t wait to see what this year has in store for our chapter and to get to meet all of you!
Public Relations Committee Chair – Kareen Martinez
Hey Santa Maria FFA! My name is Kareen Martinez, and I will be serving as your Public Relations Committee Chair for the 2022-2023 school year. With this position I will work to always keep all members informed of events and activities going on within our chapter. My involvement in the chapter includes being on the Soil Evaluation judging team, the Cooperative Marketing team, and raising a market rabbits. Besides my involvement in FFA I am also on the school’s Varsity Golf team. So, I hope to get you out to meetings, doing community service, or raising an animal. Don’t wait to get involved and take a chance because remember “Go all out, el tiempo es ahora!”
Public Relations Committee Chair – Diana Nicolas
Hello! Santa Maria FFA, my name is Diana Nicolas-Ortiz and I’ll be serving as one of your 2022-2023 Public Relation Committee Chair. This is my second year in FFA, during my time last year I tried my best to be involved in many FFA activities such as Creed, raising a market hog for the Santa Barbra Country Fair, Being a part of Nursey/landscape and Fruit Tree judging, and attending the California FFA State Conference. Having someone besides me encouraging me to do these activities drove me to find my passion for agriculture and FFA. But when I’m not wearing that blue corduroy jacket I might be a little shy introverted but once you get to know me well you’ll see that I’m not as shy as I might say. So I hope that You and I can make lasting memories, this year that we will cherish! Together, lets go all out, por que El Tiempo es Ahora!
Recruitment & Retention Chair – Emily Guzman
Howdy Saints! I am Emily Guzman, your 2022-2023 Recruitment and Retention Committee Chair! Going into this year I am going to be a Junior. I really enjoy gardening, art and crafts, and watching movies. During my time in FFA, online and in person, I have been able to participate in many things. I have done speaking competitions, veggie judging, tree pruning, and started raising a market turkey for the fair. I have been so lucky to work with new people and hope to continue that this year. The leadership team and I plan to have amazing events and we hope they will keep you all involved! So do not be shy to come up to us and talk. This year do not forget to go all out, el tiempo es ahora!
Social Media & Web Page Chair – Vanessa Nunez
Hello, my name is Vanessa Nunez, and this year I will be serving as Santa Maria FFA’s Social Media and Webpage Committee Chair. I am very excited to start off this school year and am looking forward to keeping everyone up to date on what is going on in our chapter so make sure to follow us on all our social media to stay informed. This year will be my third year being involved in the FFA program. Through the years I have participated in public speaking competitions, the floral judging team, community service events, and raising a market hog for the SB County Fair; All of which have helped me learn valuable lessons and lifelong skills. With that being said, I am excited to meet all the new people and help you all find your place in the FFA program, so let’s go all out because el tiempo es ahora!
Social Media & Web Page Chair – Dianna Jimenez
Hey Santa Maria FFA! My name is Dianna Jimenez, and I will be serving as your 2022-2023 social media and Webpage Committee chair. This year will be my second year in the FFA program. Although I’m a senior, I’m so glad I joined this program during my junior year. Since then, I’ve been able to take part in multiple events like the Haunted Hills Drive Thru, joining the Poultry Judging team, traveling throughout California, organizing meetings, setting up and being part of the Santa Maria parade. Not only has FFA helped me become more involved in my community, but it has offered me so many opportunities to expand my public speaking skills and meet new people. All of which were hard for me as a new student in Santa Maria High School. When I joined the Santa Maria FFA, I saw the community and environment and felt welcomed by everyone. Although I realize that I don’t have much time in this organization I plan on taking every chance I get to try something new! I encourage you all to do the same and Go all out, el Tiempo es ahora!
With 1,042 members in the Santa Maria FFA Chapter, we have extended our leadership team to include those students who strive to improve their leadership skills and play an active role in our chapter. Apart from our elected officers, this year we have ten outstanding students who round out our leadership team