Crystal and Chloe Bomgardner of Jonestown recently shattered a Pennsylvania FFA Association record that was nearly 100 years in the making.
Crystal, 20, and Chloe, 18 became the first siblings in the 94-year history of the Pennsylvania FFA to serve consecutive terms as state president. (Still yet another potential record will be established when three Bomgardner sisters travel to the national FFA convention this October.)
The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
The statewide feat was achieved when Crystal relinquished the state president title to Chloe at the Pennsylvania FFA Convention in mid-June at State College. Chloe’s term as state FFA president comes after her reign as Pennsylvania State Fair Queen ended in late January.
Read More: Bomgardner seizes her moment as Pennsylvania FFA state president
“(Pennsylvania) FFA executive director Mike Brammer said in the middle of the year that we would be the first siblings in Pennsylvania to serve consecutive years if that were to happen,” said Crystal about what was a momentous and especially joyous occasion for the Bomgardner family.
“To even have siblings run back-to-back is rare because there is usually an age factor involved,” said Brammer. “In this case, they are a large family with nine siblings, but they are outstanding ladies who have the qualities that the (student selection) committee looks for.”
Crystal believes this amazing achievement honors the Bomgardner family farming legacy. The sisters’ parents are Corwin and Tara Bomgardner and the family lives on Jonestown Road just east of Ono.
Read More: Jonestown-area sisters highlight recent successes, discuss future ag advocacy aspirations
While their family lives on a small farm and harvests wheat and raises some farm animals, Corwin runs, with Chloe’s assistance, a crop-production operation for other farmers. The duo have been busy in recent weeks harvesting wheat for their customers.
Chloe also works or has worked part-time for several other farming operations while Crystal is a lifeguard at Bethel Township Pool and a relief lifeguard at the Lebanon Valley YMCA.
“I think it’s very special because it is the state president’s title and I feel like it’s just a testament to the history of the farming background in our family,” said Crystal. “While we may not be farming the way that we did 50 years ago, our grandparents and the people who came before us were making farming history in their own way, so I think it’s a really cool and special moment and just a tribute to tradition and heritage and just different things like that. And it also sets the stage for the future (Bomgardner generation) as well.”
“Yeah, I think it’s special as well, just making history in this way by holding the same title,” said Chloe. “It would have been very special to have, you know, to be on the (state) team back-to-back but to hold the same position in back-to-back years is very special.”
The rare feat of holding the top position in consecutive years was made possible when Chloe was named state fair queen in 2023. Otherwise, she would have competed last year for a state FFA officer position in the same year as Crystal.
“I thought I’m just gonna be county fair queen, and then next June (2023) I would have run with Crystal for state officer. So if I had not gotten state fair queen, we would have run against each other,” said Chloe. “But it actually worked out in a way that I would take the year as state fair queen and then run the following year as a state (FFA) officer.”
Read More: Bomgardner enjoys incredible ‘ride’ as 2023 Pennsylvania State Fair Queen
Divine intervention may have played a hand to prevent the sisters from competing for the same post while living under the same roof. Chloe said their parents warned them to be ready to accept it if one of them won a spot and the other did not.
As the 2024-25 state FFA officer team was being announced, which is the last event at the annual convention, Chloe waited patiently to hear her name called. As the positions were ticked off one by one, she began to grow nervous just like her sister did the year before.
About the time the new president was to be revealed, there was a shared “look” that occurred between the sisters, who were still at the back of the arena’s floor waiting, hopefully, to hear Chloe be called forward to the stage.
“I was very nervous about it because we knew it could be a possibility and it is really cool to kind of make history in that way. And I really wanted her to get it,” said Crystal. “After they called the vice president (position) and the vice president’s name, I think I knew it was her. Just because I turned around and gave her a little look, and I said, ‘It’s you.’”
“It was crazy,” added Chloe.
It’s not surprising that the two sisters, who know each other intimately and are close in age, would communicate via a look in those final angst-ridden moments.
“We kind of suspected, not in a way that I was going to get president, but we thought there was a good possibility that I would be on the team,” said Chloe. “Seeing the team they already had (assembled), Crystal kind of looked back when they called the vice president and said, ‘You’re going to be on this team with them.’ They called the other six and we kind of gave each other the look and then they called the president and I was like, ‘Wow, it actually happened. Something we always dreamed about, just happened.’”
The girls locked arms and raced towards the stage together as the song “Sirius” by Alan Parsons Project continued to play over the sound system. As they approached the stage, Chloe flew up the platform steps and into the arms of her excited team members.
The state FFA officer team serves all 157 Pennsylvania FFA chapters and makes visits as requested by the local chapters. Crystal and Chloe hail from the Northern Lebanon FFA chapter.
The 2024 edition of the FFA state convention was one that was extra special and cherished by the Bomgardner family.
In addition to Chloe being named state president, it was announced that Crystal was offered the opportunity to be a national FFA officer candidate, and 15-year-old sister Chelsie took top honors in the organization’s Creed speech contest at the state convention.
That means all three sisters will travel to the national FFA convention this October in Indianapolis to represent Pennsylvania. Chloe will also obtain her American FFA degree, the highest honor bestowed on FFA members.
“To have a sister compete in the Creed competition, a sister as state president and a sister as a national officer candidate from Pennsylvania all at the national convention, that’s a rarity,” said Brammer. “I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. All I can say about that is they are one heck of a family.”
Brammer added that the seeds of such success are sown by the parents and nourished by the rest of the immediate family.
“We firmly believe that it all begins at the family level at home and if kids aren’t raised properly and encouraged to be involved, then it is much harder,” said Brammer. “But this is just a testament to the Bomgardner family, beginning with the mom and dad and all of the other brothers and sisters too.”
The sisters said they helped Chelsie prepare for the competition. Chelsie swept the Area, Eastern Region and State Creed speech events to qualify for the national convention.
The Area FFA consists of Berks, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties, while the Eastern Region is composed of 13 counties from Lebanon to Philadelphia. The state FFA has local organizations in all 67 Pennsylvania counties.
“I think the only thing that I would say is it’s really cool to be 20 and be in FFA with Chelsie because I never thought that I would be in FFA with my five-year younger sister. But because of the circumstances of running for state office, we were allowed to do that,” said Crystal. “Now all three of us get to go to the National FFA convention, so we’ll be in Indianapolis together.”
Brammer noted that the national officer candidate competition is stiff, with 35 to 40 states sending individuals for the available six officer positions. Crystal, like most of her peers, has a shot at a total of three of the six positions. It would be quite the gift for her to receive since her 21st birthday also falls in October.
“During the (national) candidate process you really learn a lot about yourself and a lot about who you want to be after the process and what happens after FFA,” said Crystal. “Success for me looks like just setting myself up for what’s next. If that’s national office, that’s awesome. If not, then it’s setting me up for my career and setting me up for life after FFA. So I’m thankful that I get to go through this process.”
No matter the outcome, she is going to enjoy the trip on the way to that destination.
“If the outcome is national officer or the outcome is continuing my career path with college, I’m happy, I’m excited,” she added. Crystal will take a gap semester from Penn State Harrisburg if selected to a national office. “I would definitely love to be a national officer but if not, that’s okay.”
Read More: Bomgardner seizes her moment as Pennsylvania FFA state president
For Chloe and Crystal, the desire to serve is based on the need to share the story of agriculture, the stories of the men and women who grow the food we eat and toil daily in a labor-intensive industry.
“While growing up, like I said, we always knew we wanted to run for these positions because we’ve seen how to grow your story and look up to these state position holders and the leadership that they brought to the state of Pennsylvania within their respective industries. That has always been inspiring to us,” said Chloe. “I think that’s really one of the reasons we do this, to share our story growing up on a small farm in a large family and sharing that it is possible within the agriculture industry to grow as a leader without having a big farm, without having a lot of resources and just using your story to impact others around you.”
No matter where their journeys eventually take them, they’ve certainly achieved that goal and so much more.
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