In 1996, Sam Thornton, an alumnus of FFA, came up with the idea of doing a tractor pull to benefit the current Jasper County FFA chapter, which in its 27 years of existence, has been the biggest fundraiser for their chapter. This allows the FFA officers to go to the national FFA convention in Indianapolis each year and assist with funding summer camp or showing (raising) livestock.

Since the pull’s inception, generations of students have passed through the program, participating in the pull including Thornton’s own children.

Thornton explains how the FFA Alumni Truck and Tractor Pull has become a large, community event that he is still involved in and how encouraging youths to get familiar with equipment like tractors is beneficial, reflecting on his own experience with the machines and life in the country.

Sophie Ralph is a senior majoring in journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. This story was produced during the annual Woodall Weekend Workshop in 2023.