Howard Downing: National FFA President 1957–58
Kentucky · No. 31 of 100 · National FFA President 1957–58
At a Glance
- Office: National FFA President, 1957–58 (No. 31 of 100)
- Home state: Kentucky, from Jessamine County
- Distinction: First National FFA President from Kentucky
- Later work: Not documented in the public sources this site could reach
Howard Downing of Jessamine County, Kentucky, was National FFA President in 1957–58. The Kentucky FFA Association’s Wikipedia entry identifies him as the first Kentuckian to hold the national office.
A First for Kentucky
Kentucky chartered its state FFA association in 1930 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, and it took until Downing’s election in 1957 for a Kentuckian to lead the national organization. Two more followed in the decades after: Kenneth Kennedy of Trigg County in 1964 and Steve Meredith of Hardin County in 1984.
FFA Around This Term
Howard Downing followed John M. Haid Jr. and was succeeded by Adin Hester in the line of national presidents.
FFA’s own history timeline records these developments in the surrounding years:
- 1957: Former President Truman spoke to the convention.
- 1958: The New Farmers of America received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Infantile Paralysis Foundation.
What the Record Does Not Show
This site found no biography, obituary, interview or news profile that ties Howard Downing to a later career, and it does not guess. State FFA archives, convention proceedings and local newspapers from the period may hold more; this page will be updated when verified sources are found. If you have documents or can correct this page, the About page explains how to send them.