COVINGTON, Ga – This summer eight students from the Piedmont Academy FFA chapter attended Summer Leadership Camp (SLC) at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center in Covington, on the banks of Lake Jackson.

Each summer, the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center hosts six weeks of Summer Leadership Camp for high school and middle school students involved in chapters of Georgia’s FFA and FCCLA youth leadership programs. Teachers bring their students to the week-long camp, where they participate in leadership programming designed to build relationships, develop teamwork and leadership attributes and, most importantly, have a great time. Activities include team and individual competitions, dances, the mega slide, the blob, swimming, ropes course, shooting sports, crafts, horseback riding, a muddy obstacle course and more.

This year’s theme for Summer Leadership Camp was “SLC Unlimited.” Led by the idea that “you don’t get to decide how your story begins, but you do get to decide how it ends,” students were challenged to discover their unlimited future. This theme guided the programming for the week, including skits, challenges, and nightly reflections.  

Over the course of the six weeks of Summer Leadership Camp, the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center hosted more than 3,300 students, advisors, and guests. Driven by the purpose of investing in the lives of every camper that comes through the gate, the summer was full of fun, new experiences, and life-changing growth.                                                                                                

The students from  the Piedmont Academy FFA chapter attending camp included: 
Grayson Bradley, Anne Marie Hildebrant, Gracie Hunt, Brianna Mitchell, Rylee Owens, Madison Sanders, Fleming Sealy, and Ryn Smith, along with Advisor Cameron Vaughn and Chaperon Beth Crowder.                                                                                 

“Summer Leadership Camp is a unique experience for students that is full of fun and memorable activities, but the ultimate goal is to provide the atmosphere for teachers and students to connect in such a way that teachers can better invest in their students year-round,” Russel Towns, camp manager, said. 

The National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America, changed its name in 1988 to reflect the growth and diversity of agriculture. The Georgia Association has more than 41,000 members in 310 chapters, making it the third largest Association in the nation. The FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success, through agricultural education.

FCCLA - Family, Career, Community Leaders of America, founded in 1945, is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through family and consumer science education. In the 2016-2017 school year, Georgia FCCLA boasted over 22,420 members in 397 chapters. The mission of FCCLA is to promote personal growth and leadership development through family and consumer sciences education.