Gary Truitt, a longtime Hoosier farm broadcaster, has a commentary on his Hoosier Ag Today website that Indianapolis residents might find interesting.
Indianapolis, Truitt says, has little understanding of the locally-based National FFA Organization and the annual convention
it hosts here (this year’s confab begins Oct. 19). Indianapolis people are “mystified” by the official blue-and-gold
jackets and “bewildered by the polite, articulate, and well-mannered young people,” he says.
Truitt goes on to say Indianapolis is largely unfamiliar with the organization, formerly called the Future Farmers of America,
because it has a small presence in the city’s schools.
The FFA still harkens to its agricultural roots, he notes, but also does a great job of molding leaders through “hard
work, teacher involvement and strict discipline.”
“The average FFA chapter stands in sharp contrast to the permissive, self-esteem-centered atmosphere of most public
schools,” Truitt writes. His interviews with FFA leaders renew his hope that the next generation “is more than
a bunch of texting, tweeting, iPhone toting, Halo playing dweebs.”
Strong views for sure. What do you think? Do Indianapolis people view the FFA Convention, in Truitt's words, as “a
bunch of hayseed farm kids come to the big city to party”?
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Welcome to the archives for NewsTalk, an IBJ blog published from November 2007 through December 2010.
Farm broadcaster: Indy 'clueless' about FFA convention
October 18, 2010
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You guys have some "interesting" comments to say the least. I hope you will call in and share those opinions starting June 1. I'm looking forward to having you on the air.
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I do think most understand the FFA is good for the City, just not exactly all they do. Tell a city resident that there are competitions in dirt judging, and I think they would look at you oddly.
Of course if Truitt thinks non FFA kids are all "a bunch of texting, tweeting, iPhone toting, Halo playing dweebs.â??, then I feel sorry for him.
It is certainly unhelpful, if the quote is correct, for Mr. Truitt to foment dissension between the two groups of Hoosiers. Calling the city folk (albeit somewhat indirectly) "dweebs" is pretty strong stuff and not particularly polite. So what if the "city folk" don't know all about what the FFA does? The FFA folk don't know everything about what I do either. We are all human (Hoosiers, even) and, frankly, not as different as he apparently wants to portray.
Maybe it's (past) time for Truitt to report on some other kinds of "farm" news, such as wind farms or server farms.
Interestingly, using the same data, I learned that Scott County has a graduation rate of 67%. That would lower than Indianapolis and something Mr. Truitt might find of particular interest.
And where is all the animosity toward the blue jackets? Iâ??m downtown often and Iâ??ve never seen the FFA kids taking doses of abuse from residents of this city. Is there a widespread mean streak from us urban folk Iâ??ve somehow missed? I love the FFA kids. No, they donâ??t spend nearly as much cash as attendees of a conference twice their age, but there are a lot of them and the economic impact is big and welcomed! And, yes, kids who grow up on farms can be different from kids who are raised in cities, but no matter where home is, teenagers tweet, use iPhones, play video games (Halo is a super-old reference) and generally have the same lives.
I grew up on a farm around generally conservative people, and if Mr. Truitt wants to generalize then I will to. In my opinion, Truitt is just portraying his old-white-guy-ness about how the world is changing around him and how he doesnâ??t like it. Itâ??s an Us vs. Them attitude that certainly doesnâ??t help and is basically pathetic.
One last note: Mr. Truitt, if you care to, you can follow the FFA on twitter at Twitter.com/NationalFFA.
I happen to work downtown - my building is connected to Circle Centre also and while there are over 50,000 of these kids, they are not a problem - sure, it's a little more crowded, but other than that, they're very polite and well behaved. I cannot say the same for other conventions with kids.
Why are media people always trying to stir up an "Us VS Them" mentality to everything? We're all just people - we may have different interests, but the sooner we learn to respect people who are different from us the more pleasant this planet will be. Mr. Truitt would do well to remember that.
I just returned from lunch at the Hyatt/PNC Center, and saw roughly three dozen teens in the lobby, slumped in couches, and staring intently into their iPhones and other mobile devices. Surely, these aren't the FFAers, who are above texting, Tweeting and iPhoning.
Yeah, there's a lot of them. ...a lot of good kids, learning and doing good. (If you don't like crowds, then stay out of downtown for a few days -- or move to the "country", ironic, huh?!)
More power to them.
While we may not know everything about the FFA and what they do, I think it is safe to assume we know it is a well-respected organization and group of people. Is our lack of knowledge of FFA particularly a "problem" (or even our fault?) Does it mean we don't care? No.
Maybe Truitt could could himself do a service for Indy (rather than diss a whole city -- which happens to host their annual event as well as serve as their headquarters). Rather than a negative article about our perceptions, he could write an article about what all we should know. Does FFA have a marketing budget? Maybe he could use that to inform the general public. Maybe he should do some guest-speaking on WFYI, NPR or other radio shows to inform the general public...he could make a better effort himself.
The fact that we do not know everything about them is a non-issue. Do we know everything about Firefighters, the NFL Combine, or even the GenCon crowds? No. We know a little about them (enough about them without becoming a member ourselves). Do we respect that they are here in Indy, hosting their conference and boosting our economy...yes.
No reason to get down on the city folks, rather you should be focusing on rolling out "the welcome mat big time for their entire stay".
I think more people have an issue with Farm Broadcaster Truitt claiming that city kids are "a bunch of texting, tweeting, iPhone toting, Halo playing dweebs". If that is not what he meant, that is what most got out of the article. We love the FFA. I saw a bunch walking around last night downtown and they were having a good time without being obnoxious as some kids are. And they did so without driving their tractors, spitting tobacco on the sidewalk, stopping traffic as they stare at the buildings that are taller than their grain elevator, and saying "golly wait till the folks back home hear about this". Just wanted to stereotype back at Truitt.
http://www.hoosieragtoday.com/
If the FFA feels that Indianapolis doesn't know enough about it's organization, then it needs to do a better of job of being a year-round partner in this city. You only seem them trying to be a community outreach partner one time a year.
The places with MORE restaurant seats are bigger convention/tourism cities like Orlando and Las Vegas. Smaller cities like Louisville (Indy's recent competition) wouldn't be better.
Perhaps FFA should plan more meals in the catering facilities at the Convention Center, or set up a cafeteria/buffet option there.
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