The Blythe FFA Chapter is located in a
farming community in the Palo Verde Valley
of Southern California. Our community
works about 93,000 acres of crops/animal
production and has been a huge supporting
factor in building our program. Currently with
a school population of 800, there are 289
students enrolled in and active in the FFA
chapter under the unique supervision of a
father/daughter teaching team at Palo Verde
Valley High School. Many FFA members are
children and grandchildren of past Blythe FFA
Alumni.
Even though the Blythe FFA charter began in
1938, the teaching team has created a legacy
that started over 30 years ago when Wendy
Mullion, mother of Mary Ann Maxfield (Mullion)
and late wife of Mark Mullion, began teaching
students to appreciate agriculture by making
the program her own and she inspired many
students who are now in careers related to
agriculture. Fast forwarding, we now see Mark
and Mary working in tandem to foster their love
of the program and all that it offers their students
beyond the traditional four wall classroom.
As the chapter continues to grow and
change with its student involvement, the classes
that are offered help to facilitate the students’
wants and needs. Classes include: Ag Bio,
Veterinary Science, Ag Environmental Science,
Ag Mechanics, Introduction to Agriculture,
Plant/Soil Science, and Large Animal Science.
The town of Blythe has always been such a
small, gracious, and supporting community to
the Blythe FFA. One of the community services
projects the Blythe FFA students participate
in includes helping California Women in
Agriculture (CWA) hold Ag Days on campus,
where approximately 1,200 children, pre-K
through 3rd grade, have the