Father, cattleman, former FFA member and Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives are all titles that apply to Speaker Todd Hiett. He grew up in Kellyville, which he still calls home with his wife, Bridget Anne, and their children, Jimmy, John and Hillary. Hiett credits the FFA for making a difference in his life and helping mold him into the person he is today.

“I was shy and lacked confidence as is the situation with many teenagers,” said Hiett, “but the FFA gave me confidence that I could accomplish things if I would work hard and put my mind to it.”

Hiett said he uses many of the skills he learned in FFA on a daily basis in politics-especially the public speaking skills he developed in FFA speech contest. He also uses teambuilding skills similar to those he developed at Kellyville to put like-minded people together in order to reach a common goal.

His fondest memory of his years in the FFA is at the 1985 State FFA Convention where he was named Northeast District Star Farmer and his hard work received state recognition.

Hiett showed steers and hogs, ran a commercial cow-calf operation and had a hay baling and hauling business with his brother and a family friend. Throughout his SAE experience, he gained an appreciation for bookkeeping and organizational skills, which he used in bringing the four years of work together for his application.

“My advice to FFA members is to maximize your potential by taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities you have through the FFA,” said Hiett. “There is no limit to what you can accomplish as an FFA member, but it is up to you, as a member, to work hard and invest yourself into a program that will pay great dividends.”

Agricultural education is very important to Hiett, and he thinks it is becoming more important as the number of people involved in production agriculture decreases. Hiett believes that agricultural education is just as important to urban areas as it is to rural areas. With agriculture being this state’s number one industry, everyone needs a good understanding of it, said Hiett.

“With students today facing more peer pressure to do wrong than ever before they need an organization like FFA to provide opportunities to gain integrity, develop a good work ethic and excel in the performance of an undertaken task,” said Hiett.

Mr. Tom Holcomb was Hiett’s agricultural education instructor and played a tremendous role in his FFA experience. “He was a tremendous mentor and encourager, and he challenged me to reach for the next rung on the ladder,” said Hiett.

Hiett was in the dairy business until 2003 when he sold his 150 milking cows. He now has a commercial cow-calf operation with 100 cows in Kellyville.

Speaker Hiett no longer wears his FFA jacket, but he uses the life skills and leadership qualities he developed while wearing it to help run this great state on a daily basis.