Kelli Evans: National FFA President 1987–88
Nebraska · No. 61 of 100 · National FFA President 1987–88
At a Glance
- Office: National FFA President, 1987–88 (No. 61 of 100)
- Home state: Nebraska, raised on a farm
- College: Oklahoma State University, agricultural economics
- Career: Co-owner and manager of the R.A. Brown Ranch in Throckmorton, Texas; president of the Red Angus Association of America, 2009 and 2010
Kelli Evans served as National FFA President at a turning point for the organization. Her term ran from the 1987 convention to the 1988 convention, the year the Future Farmers of America officially changed its name to the National FFA Organization. After college she settled in Texas, where she and her husband, a fellow former National FFA President, run a multigenerational ranch.
Nebraska Roots
Evans grew up on a farm in Nebraska. In her own biographical note she says that in the mid-1980s she was Nebraskaland Days Rodeo Queen and Nebraska High School Rodeo Queen before going on to serve, in her words, more than half a million young people as National FFA President. The 1987 convention was the 60th, held in Kansas City, Missouri, in November 1987, and the proceedings for it are held in the IUPUI archives.
The Presidency, 1987–88
Her year of service ended with the 1988 National FFA Convention, at which delegates voted to rename the organization from Future Farmers of America to the National FFA Organization. FFA describes the change as reflecting the growing diversity of agriculture, which now included science, business and technology as well as production. She was succeeded by Dana Soukup of Nebraska.
College and Ranch
Evans earned a degree in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University. Shortly after graduating she married Donnell Brown, who was National FFA President in 1989–90. They are the fifth generation to own and manage the R.A. Brown Ranch in Throckmorton, Texas, a registered Angus, Red Angus and SimAngus seedstock operation founded in 1895.
Breed Association Leadership
Evans served as president of the Red Angus Association of America in 2009 and 2010, according to Texas Tech University’s National Block & Bridle Convention speaker biography. The ranch where she works has received the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Cattle Business of the Century Award.
Why Her Story Matters
Evans is one of two National FFA presidents who married each other, a distinction that is a quirk of FFA history but also a sign of how the organization’s leadership programs bring together young people with shared interests. Her record in breed-association leadership is a good counter to the idea that FFA leaders always leave agriculture for other careers.
Sources
- Texas Tech University: National Block & Bridle Convention speakers (original link no longer resolves; checked Nov. 2026)
- National FFA Convention proceedings, 1987 (IUPUI)
- Kelli Brown artist biography (Pixels)
- History of the National FFA Organization, including the 1988 renaming
- Texas Tech University: R.A. Brown Ranch Endowed Scholarship