BY WIL CREWS

SPORTSCREWS@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA — 

Opelika High School 2023 graduate Emily Grace Rezek achieved something this month she has been working toward for years. 

Following numerous written tests and 11 taxing interviews, Rezek was chosen as the FFA vice president for the 2023-24 state officer term. Previously, Rezek served as the Alabama Central District FFA president during the 2022-23 term. 

No one is more proud of Rezek and her accomplishments than her family. 

“She has been saying since her 10th grade year that she wanted to be a state officer. 

“I just wanted to cry,” said Jennifer Rezek, Emily Grace’s mother, about the moment she found out her daughter was chosen as the state VP. “It’s something that has taken her four years to get to. They say your job interview will never be as tough as what she had to go through. Her reaction was priceless because she has worked so hard to get there.”

According to its website, FFA is a dynamic youth organization that changes lives and prepares members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The letters “FFA” stand for Future Farmers of America, although the organization’s name was updated to the National FFA Organization in 1988 to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the industry of agriculture, the website said. 

Rezek began her FFA journey in junior high when she and her family resided in Florida. Rezek’s sister was in FFA, and earned an honorary degree from FFA that only 1% of the members achieve, inspiring Rezek to further pursue her own journey with the organization. 

“Emily Grace saw her sister be successful and got introduced to it,” Jennifer said. “So when we moved here, Emily Grace, when she got in high school, she jumped right in.” 

Since that point, Rezek has been a model member of FFA on the local, state and now national level. In her role as vice president of the Alabama Central District, it was common for Rezek to travel to area schools to promote FFA and agriculture. 

“She has done a lot in kind of getting people in the Opelika school ystem more aware of FFA,” Jennifer said. “She has put a lot of personality to our chapter.” 

An honor student with many extracurricular interests under her belt, Rezek has remained steadfast in her passion for agriculture since her days showing cattle at the Alabama State Fair and other county shows. 

Rezek’s commitment to agriculture may be no better exemplified than the time she was showing cattle at a fair, finished and then changed into a dress in the bathroom to head straight to her junior prom. 

Efforts like that led Rezek to earn numerous scholarships, which will help her begin the pursuit of an agriculture communications degree from Auburn University this fall. 

Although Rezek is described by her parents as someone who likes to do things her own way, they also said the 18-year-old is highly teachable. And although she has earned many of her plaudits through her own hard work, like most us, she had help along the way. 

Teacher Shawna Ferguson, who helped early on in getting Rezek involved in FFA; Granite Knoll Farm, which sponsored Rezek for many cattle shows; and Opelika City Schools Superintendent Farrell Seymore and Opelika High School Principal Kelli Fischer all played a role in helping Rezek get to where she is today. 

This summer, Rezek has already been busy, travelling for multiple leadership conferences to help her fulfill the duties of a state officer. Her job as VP will see Rezek being an ambassador for agriculture and FFA at the state and local levels, meeting with politicians and lobbying for legislative changes.   

“We are just so proud of her,” Jennifer said.