A Standout Response to a
Steadfast Impression

Lucy Day

A Standout Response to a
Steadfast Impression

Lucy Day

Although he doesn’t have an FFA background, Tadd Seitz has worked with plenty of FFA members for 20 years—and they have impressed him.

So much so that Tadd and his wife, Nancy, thrilled a select group of teens last year by donating $5,000 toward their supervised agricultural experience (SAE) projects. This year, the Ohio couple wowed the National FFA Foundation by establishing a $100,000 endowment to fund SAE grants each year going forward.

“To me, it’s an investment in a future generation that I think has a lot to offer,” Tadd explains.

The SAE program really caught my attention because it supports entrepreneurial efforts with people at an early stage of their life, and
if there’s a way to encourage a solid group of young people to build for the future of this country,
I think this is a good place to start.”

Retired president and CEO of Scotts (now Scotts Miracle-Gro), Tadd has a reputation for growing good organizations. He quadrupled the company’s sales during his tenure — even though when he began there, he knew little about lawns, seeds or weeds.

“I didn’t have a background in agriculture — other than I knew I like to keep a good lawn,” he says. “But I’m a big believer in entrepreneurial spirit and hard work.”

“To me, it’s an
investment in a
FUTURE GENERATION
that I think has
a lot to offer.”

The SAE program really caught my attention because it supports entrepreneurial efforts with people at an early stage of their life, and
if there’s a way to encourage a solid group of young people to build for the future of this country,
I think this is a good place to start.”

Retired president and CEO of Scotts (now Scotts Miracle-Gro), Tadd has a reputation for growing good organizations. He quadrupled the company’s sales during his tenure — even though when he began there, he knew little about lawns, seeds or weeds.

“I didn’t have a background in agriculture — other than I knew I like to keep a good lawn,” he says. “But I’m a big believer in entrepreneurial spirit and hard work.”

“To me, it’s an
investment in a
FUTURE GENERATION
that I think has
a lot to offer.”

The SAE projects he and Nancy helped fund last year have yielded FFA members accomplishing everything from a metalworking apprenticeship and a maple sugaring enterprise to a duckling breeding business.

Jarrett Winner, who started a tractor and equipment repair business in 2017, received a Seitz grant for his SAE. He will use the funds to purchase materials and tools for his shop. The Miami, Ohio, teen is presently pricing the perfect tractor-splitting stand.

“I know the great weight put on my generation, and I want Mr. and Mrs. Seitz to know that I am up for the challenge. I am passionate about agriculture and want to always be a spokesperson for agricultural education and FFA. Thank you for believing in youth like myself,” he says.

“This literally, and quite honestly,
could not be possibly without you.
I am BEYOND THANKFUL
for your financial support to this
organization, and I cannot thank
you enough for choosing to
BUT IT’S NECESSARY.

— Lucy Day, Yuma FFA Chapter

One more voice for genetic disorders.

FFA member Lucy Day says she was “shocked and over the moon” to receive her grant from the Seitzes, because it meant someone was willing to believe in her idea. Having the life-threatening genetic disorder Citrullinemia Type 1, Day developed an SAE to obtain and train a medical service dog. The Yuma, Colo., teen will work to teach it to sense and alert her of elevated ammonia levels in her body.

“This literally, and quite honestly,
could not be possibly without you.
I am BEYOND THANKFUL
for your financial support to this
organization, and I cannot thank
you enough for choosing to
BUT IT’S NECESSARY.

— Lucy Day, Yuma FFA Chapter

FFA member Lucy Day says she was “shocked and over the moon” to receive her grant from the Seitzes, because it meant someone was willing to believe in her idea. Having the life-threatening genetic disorder Citrullinemia Type 1, Day developed an SAE to obtain and train a medical service dog. The Yuma, Colo., teen will work to teach it to sense and alert her of elevated ammonia levels in her body.

If she succeeds, Day plans to train a dog for her younger sister, who also has the rare condition, and eventually more dogs for other people who have dangerous metabolic diseases that can cause high build up of ammonia levels. “This project is very expensive, and there is no way I could have covered it personally, nor could my family,” she says.

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Future Generations

Energizing the Future of
One Ag-based Town

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