Raegan Soltis grew up in a small town in North Central Ohio, surrounded by agriculture.
Raegan Soltis grew up in a small town in North Central Ohio, surrounded by agriculture.
“Both 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) were huge parts of my community and I’m very fortunate that I got to take part in these amazing organizations that ultimately shaped me and led me to what path in life I was going to take,” said Soltis, agriscience education teacher and FFA advisor at the Agriculture Career Education Academy in Middlefield.
On Jan. 22, the Geauga County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees presented ACE Academy’s FFA chapter with a $500 donation to support their programming.
FFA is one of many organizations providing agricultural education to youth in the county, helping prepare them for careers in farming and related industries.
“These FFA members are a perfect example of the future of agriculture,” said farm bureau President Bob Rogish. “For them to be able to participate in the FFA program is one way to start them down the road to become farmers or working in an agriculture-related industry when they finish school. Farm bureau supports the youth of our county.”
Rogish, a former FFA member at Auburn Career Center for horticulture, said the program has grown significantly since his time.
“We were not a very active chapter at the time and focused more on nursery-related crops,” Rogish said. “I am excited to see the engagement of these ACE Academy FFA members as their advisor does a good job with the club.”
He noted that for many years, to his knowledge, there were no FFA chapters in Geauga County. Now, there are two, the other at Berkshire High School.
Soltis earned a bachelor’s degree in community leadership with a specialization in extension education and a minor in youth development from The Ohio State University. She also holds two associate degrees from Ohio State ATI, one in extension and one in agricultural communication, as well as a career and technical education license.
She moved to Hartsgrove a year ago, living on her husband’s family dairy and crop farm.
“Northeast Ohio felt like home for me right away and I’m very thankful for the warm welcome that the agriculture community has given me since I arrived,” Soltis said. “I’m so happy I get to share and bring my FFA experiences to Geauga County and I feel very grateful for this opportunity.”
She said she is excited to see their chapter grow.
According to FFA, “Today, there are 1,042,245 FFA members in 9,407 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.” During the 2024-2025 academic year, the Ohio FFA Association reached a historic milestone with more than 30,000 members across 341 chapters.
Soltis currently has around 10 students in her FFA chapter, with additional students enrolled in general agriculture classes. The students come from across the county, including Middlefield, Parkman, Burton, Troy and Chester townships.
“I have wanted to be a farmer and part of agriculture my entire life,” said Parker Reese, FFA president of ACE Academy’s chapter. Reese lives in Chester Township on his families’ seventh generation farm, Patterson Fruit Farm.
“Mrs. Soltis, our ag teacher, worked very diligently to get a chapter at our school,” Reese said.
Like Soltis, Reese plans to attend OSU’s Agricultural Technical Institute, majoring in ag systems management.
Soltis has also begun meeting with Cardinal students who will collaborate with and join their FFA chapter.
“FFA involvement was everything to me when I was a youth member in the organization myself,” Soltis said.
She served as an officer and on multiple committees, competed in FFA competitions, and attended conferences in Ohio and Washington, D.C.
“It taught me many skills that helped me beyond high school into college and I still use in my everyday life,” Soltis said. “I earned all the degrees that FFA has to offer including the American FFA degree … and finally the friendships and connections I made will last me a lifetime. We are very grateful for the GC Farm Bureau donation and we plan to use it to help us get to the Ohio FFA convention in the spring.”
The chapter’s upcoming plans include competing in multiple FFA contests, including Ag power diagnostics, farm business management, outdoor power equipment, and livestock judging.
They also plan to attend the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY., and the state FFA convention in Columbus.
“FFA and my agricultural classes I took in high school were my favorite part of my youth experiences and I can’t quite put into words all FFA has done for me because I really love it that much,” Soltis said. “I also had an amazing ag teacher who inspired me everyday to be better and taught me so much about life.”
