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Lisa E. Ahrens: National FFA President 1998–99

Iowa · No. 72 of 100 · National FFA President 1998–99

By FFApresident.com Editorial

At a Glance

Lisa Ahrens followed a classic Iowa FFA ladder to the national presidency and then kept stacking responsibilities at Iowa State University. While serving as national president she also held a seat as the student member of the state Board of Regents, and two years after her term she earned national recognition as one of the country’s top college students.

Osage FFA and the Iowa Ladder

A profile published by Latham Hi-Tech Seeds lists Ahrens’s path in order. She served the Osage FFA chapter as reporter and as president, then as district vice president in 1995–96, North Central state vice president in 1996–97 and Iowa state president in 1997–98, before being elected National FFA President for 1998–99. The Iowa State Daily noted that she had also served on the state Governor’s Council on Agricultural Education during 1997–98.

An International Voice

In 1998, Iowa State’s news service reported, Ahrens was an International Youth Panelist at a U.S. Agency for International Development conference, one of five panelists from around the world discussing rural youth development. During her national term, the officer team traveled to Japan for two weeks to learn about international agriculture, and spent three weeks with the National FFA Foundation meeting business and industry leaders. In the same year, according to ISU, she developed leadership training programs, recruited sponsors for them and presented them worldwide.

Juggling the Regents and FFA

In 1998 Ahrens was appointed to a six-year term as the student representative on the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, the body that governs the state’s public universities. A student newspaper report from the Iowa State Daily describes her as the only student regent and a sophomore in agronomy and agricultural business, and notes that she considered leaving the board because of her national FFA duties but planned to stay. She said her life had become more complex but simpler in that she had fewer things to balance. A 2010 Iowa State College of Agriculture profile says she served five years on the board and was a regent when it interviewed the university’s current president.

A National Academic Honor

In February 2001 Ahrens was named to the second team of USA Today’s All-USA College Academic Team, competing against more than 700 applicants for 60 student spots across three teams. Iowa State said she was the first student from the university named to the teams. Her adviser, an agronomy professor, had nominated her to the Honors Program on the strength of her community service, especially through FFA. She was also selected for Iowa State’s President’s Leadership Class.

After Iowa State

According to Latham Hi-Tech Seeds, Ahrens worked for Dow AgroSciences for one year and then joined the Agri Business Group as a senior business analyst. A 2010 Iowa State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences profile adds that she had co-hosted the National FFA pre-conference shows on RFD-TV for the preceding six years and credited FFA with giving her a competitive edge in her career. This page does not cover later years or private life.

Why Her Story Matters

Ahrens shows how many demands a national president can carry: a global travel schedule, a university degree, a seat on a statewide governing board and an academic honor. Her story also reflects the broader Iowa pattern of advancing through chapter, district and state office to the national presidency.

Next: Chris Vitelli, 1999–2000 →

Sources

← Hillary SmithChris Vitelli →

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