Jillian Tormoehlen arrived at school in a John Deere 8335R
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A Seymour Middle School student from Seymour, Ind. arrived at school in style last Tuesday during National FFA Week.
Jillian Tormoehlen, an eighth-grader and president of the school’s FFA chapter, swapped her traditional mode of school transportation for a John Deere 8335R tractor.
The family doesn’t live on a farm, but Jillian has shown pigs and goats with her family and friends at the Jackson County Fair.
Her father Michael, an employee with United Granulation Services in Seymour, surprised her with the help of the local Wright Implement dealership and approval from the school administration.
“I thought it would be a great way to advertise that it’s National FFA Week,” he told Farms.com. “Some students at the school might not be familiar with FFA or with agriculture, so to see a big green tractor as opposed to cars and school buses was pretty cool for them.”
Jillian’s reaction to her father showing up at home with a tractor was a mix of surprise and fear. She was worried because she supposed to arrive at school early to help set up for an FFA activity.
“She was excited but scared to death because she was going to be late for school,” he said.
The dealership was happy to help Michael surprise his daughter.
“I know Michael from high school,” Aaron Otte, a sales representative with Wright Implement, told Farms.com. “He told me what he wanted to do, and we had a few used tractors here, so we helped him out.”
Having the tractor parked at the school showed students how sophisticated ag equipment can be, Otte said.
“Sometimes, somebody might see footage of an old tractor and that’s the only image they have of agriculture,” he said. “When you’ve got this machine there with all of its electronic equipment and monitors, it shows how much technology the ag industry uses.”
John Deere photo