Home Background Testimonials Student Programs Adult Programs Video Clips Recent Clients In The News On The Farm Contact Information	FFA Holds "Special Place" In Speaker's Heart Andrea Lohr to Keynote Upcoming State FFA Convention June 2, 2008 - Daily News Record - Tom Mitchell HARRISONBURG - Though it's been years since she served in her state's FFA, Andrea Lohr says she remains close to the association. Later this month, Lohr, of Broadway, will get a chance to share her devotion to an organization she credits with shaping her as a person. Lohr will be be the keynote speaker at the 82nd state FFA Convention, set for June 16-19 in Blacksburg. "FFA has a special place in my heart," said Lohr, a former state officer while an FFA member in Kentucky. As a former agricultural-education teacher in Rockingham County, she has taken FFA groups to the state convention at Virginia Tech. "It will be special for me to go back and see how FFA has grown," said Lohr, who lives on a farm she and her husband, Matt, work with his parents. Her audience at Tech will be nothing new for Lohr, 33, who has done a great deal of public speaking lately. Along with her work as a motivational speaker through a company she runs with her husband, Andrea has given a number of speeches about breast cancer, a disease she has battled over the last several years. Andrea and Matt, a state delegate, met at a national FFA conference in 1990. Her ability to publicly speak on any topic, Lohr said, stems in no small part to her experience in FFA while living in Fulton, Ky., where she learned to talk to crowds. "In high school, I was incredibly shy," said Lohr. "FFA just brought out something that was in me [to help me become more accomplished in] public speaking." This year's state convention will give students in Rockingham and other counties in Virginia similar opportunities to learn and improve personal skills, as well as to have fun, she said. "My students were always excited about going to Tech," said Lohr. "You get a chance to meet so many people from all across the state, and take home so many cool ideas. I'm excited to be part of it." Daily News Record; June 2, 2008