He was in the seventh grade when Eli Whitney first got involved in FFA. Now a senior at Clinton High School, Whitney said his sisters got him involved but there are many people who have influenced him.

“All of my past and present ag teachers have been a big influence on me. Trevor Stover got me more interested in raising and showing pigs. Mitchell Hunter got me interested in raising and showing show cattle. Ashlyn Hunter got me interested in animal science.

Jackson Cornell and Trevor Stover, both got me interested in animal nutrition so I would better know how to properly feed show pigs,” said Whitney.

Raising livestock and showing is something Whitney loves to do, but it’s not the only thing he is involved in with FFA.

“I raise and show pigs. I also show cattle and chickens. I also raise cattle with my dad. I am involved in meat judging, livestock judging, and land judging. I am also the Clinton FFA chapters president,” said Whitney. “The only other thing I’m involved in is I help the quiz bowl team when they need extra people.”

Like many of his peers, Whitney said it’s the people that make FFA what it is.

“My favorite part about being in FFA is all of the people that you meet and all of the friendly competitions you can have with other people and chapters,” said Whitney.

The senior offers some advice to anyone wanting to join FFA.

“I would tell them that they will learn so much and that it could even lead them into a career involving agriculture, because there’s so many different careers that involve agriculture,” said Whitney.

As for life after high school, Whitney plans to attend college and continue working with livestock, in a different way.

“My plans after I graduate are to go to Eastern Oklahoma State College to get my butcher license and after that I’ll go to OSU and get a degree in animal nutrition. After all of that college I want to open up a butcher shop around Clinton and after running it for a few years I want to open up a meat processing plant,” said Whitney.