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Agri-Entrepreneurs Honored continued
of their daily learning environment in the
classroom.
“I believe that I can make a huge impact
on not only our local elementary, but also
with the students in the Forrester Developmental
Center that will last a lifetime,”
Dickerson said.
Dickerson is a senior at Lamar High
School. Beyond his FFA involvement, he is a
member of the Lamar High School football
team and Relay for Life.
William Maltbie of Burlington, Okla., created
Maltbie Mowing in Burlington, to
provide full-service lawn care to the surrounding
rural communities. Yard by yard,
Maltbie is cutting grass to grow his future.
“My goal is to become an agricultural engineer,”
Maltbie said. “ I aspire to work for
John Deere and design new lines of lawn
equipment. To accomplish this I will need to
have a deep understanding of their current
lines.”
Maltbie carefully identified his target
market before starting his business. “Since
my success depends on being able to meet
my customers’ needs and desires, I must
know who my customers are, what they
want, where they live and what they can
afford,” he said.
He has directly applied skills learned
in his agriculture courses to enhance
his business practices. For example, he
designed flyers to market his company
after learning how in an agricultural communications
class. He also uses the record
keeping system used in FFA to track
expenses and purchases and increase
efficiency. “By keeping track of my income
and expenses, I was able to determine
what prices I needed to charge in order
to make a profit,” Maltbie said. Maltbie’s
entrepreneurial spirit is the driving force
behind his success. Whether it is purchasing
more efficient equipment or adding a
new service to his business, no opportunity
for growth is missed.
Maltbie is currently a senior at Burlington
High School. Beyond his extensive FFA
involvement and accolades, he is a member
of the Burlington High School band and
basketball team and serves as president of
his class.
Denise Miller of Mulberry, Ark., started
her own business with a clear goal in mind.
Determined to build for her future, she was
going to save money for college. “No one in
my family has ever gone to college and as
a young child I promised myself I would be
first,” Miller said. While deciding what her
business would entail, she closely observed
her surroundings and noticed that a
longtime hobby could fill a void in her community.
No one else in town made candles.
“There are no other candle makers in
my area, so I knew I had a craft unique to
this area,” Miller said. “I have been making
candles for well over 10 years, for almost as
long as I can remember.” She makes candles
with bees wax from her own bee hives.
Miller also attributes skills learned in
FFA to her business success. Some might
not compare livestock judging to candle
making, but Miller has a unique way of
explaining how the two relate. “FFA teaches
me how to be part of a team, especially
when we go to judging contests,” Miller
said. “Judging poultry is especially advantageous
because when judging poultry, you
judge the bird on salability. Much like birds,
you want candles that sell easily.”
Miller has found the benefit of living
and growing her business in a small
town, especially since word of mouth is
what keeps her company thriving. “When
someone likes your product, the next day
everyone knows that it is a good product,”
Miller said. She also maintains her own
business website where customers can
order candles.
Miller is a junior at Mulberry High
School and plans to expand her business
after graduation. She is an active member
of her FFA chapter, where she has served as
an officer and a member of the poultry and
dairy judging teams.
Ross Rojik of Alexandria, Penn., realized he
could turn his hobby into a profitable business
venture, and started Mountin’ Man
Taxidermy, a full-time studio offering custom
taxidermy and skull cleaning services.
“Custom taxidermy is not your average
shoulder mount on the wall,” Rojik said. “It
is working with the client to design a mount
to fit a certain spot in their home.”
From day one, he knew he wanted to
appeal to the creative side of the hunter. “I
want to attract clients that want more than
just a deer on the wall, clients that want
their mounts to be pieces of art,” Rojik said.
Rojik built his business on three
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