From left, Taimane Cajudoy, Sabrina Holcom and Kahealani Garcia represented Lahainaluna High School FFA at the 2019 Hawaii Agriculture Conference on Oahu.

LAHAINA – On Oct. 15-16, three Lahainaluna High School students attended the 2019 Hawaii Agriculture Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center on Oahu.

Kahealani Garcia, Taimane Cajudoy and Sabrina Holcom represented the Lahainaluna FFA (formerly the Future Farmers of America-National Student Leadership Organization) Chapter at the conference, along with their FFA advisor, Keith Ideoka.

The Agriculture Leadership Foundation of Hawaii and Hawaii’s agriculture industry sponsored all of the travel and conference costs for the students and their advisors. Eight other schools with active FFA programs also participated in the conference.

Holcom, the 2019-20 Hawaii state reporter, was one of five state FFA officers who represented our next generation of agriculture leaders at the conference.

The students had an active role in the conference. They had to meet and work together to come up with their own goals for the future of Hawaii’s agriculture, food security, ag workforce development, sustainability and protecting Hawaii’s environment.

These priorities were shared with the current leaders in government and the private sector in Hawaii’s agriculture industry.

Some FFA students were even part of panel discussions or were presenters for their own sessions at the conference.

The students were treated to an early evening pa’ina and networking event, with appetizers prepared by many of Hawaii’s premier chefs, on the last night of the conference.

To the LHS group’s surprise, Uncle George Kahumoku from Kahakuloa was the featured musician that night.

Being a former art teacher at Lahainaluna, he called the three Lahainaluna FFA members up to the stage to sing the school’s alma mater with him, as he accompanied them with his guitar. n

The audience loved it, and the LHS students did a great job representing their school well.