In the middle of harvest season, it’s hard to squeeze in your favorite television shows. A big fan of NBC’s “The Voice,” I haven’t been able to watch this season because we’ve been busy outside until dark each night, and usually by the time we’ve cleaned up, had supper and settled the little one down for the night, we’ve missed all of the good fall shows and are just in time to catch the evening news.


READ: NBC’s The Voice and the beef business

Although I’ve missed a good chunk of “The Voice” this season, I think I’ll have to catch up online because another FFA member is in the spotlight for his singing talents and is giving credit to the agricultural organization for helping him tune in his vocal skills.

If you watch the show, you might remember North Dakota crooner Kat Perkins and Texas country singer Jake Worthington, who advanced far into the competition during their season and also gave credit to agriculture and the opportunities they found through the FFA organization for making them the people they are today.

READ: FFA member earns spot in “The Voice” finale

Rural Radio Network (RRN) recently published a recap of this season of “The Voice” and introduced its agricultural readership to Mark Hood, a Chicago kid who attended Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) and participated in FFA. Hood is also an R&B/pop singer who is looking for his big break on “The Voice.”

Jesse Harding for RRN writes that Hood served as a CHSAS officer each year he attended and also served as Illinois Section 8 President from 2008 to 2009. He also sang the Star Spangled Banner and the National Anthem one year at the Illinois State FFA Convention.

READ: FFA teaches lessons that get better with age

In the interview, Hood tells Harding, “I decided to join (FFA) and it was the best decision I ever made. I remember being in a horticulture class and playing my music for the class and my teachers being like ‘Mark! Knock it off, we don’t want to hear that right now!’ I really attribute FFA for number one, getting me comfortable in a setting of being in front of people and being a leader.

READ: So God made an FFA kid

“I’m still, still, still overwhelmed that all four chairs turned around. There’s a moment, because of course I replay the audition all the time, there’s a moment when Blake Shelton turns around and makes that fourth chair turn. I get emotional every time, don’t judge me. But, I really do get emotional every time I watch that part because, it’s just like dreams coming true. It’s just not that often, that you see an R&B singer, you know, I’ll leave that there, passionate and promoting FFA.”

I’ll definitely be tuning in to watch Hood compete in the battle rounds. You can watch his four-chair turn audition below.

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Penton Agriculture.

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