Simply put, Braden Burns loves FFA.

If he gets to spend one more year representing that brand and sharing what it’s about, it will just be extra icing on a cake that already has several layers.

A 2021 Kingfisher High School graduate, Burns was recently announced as a candidate to become president of Oklahoma FFA.

Currently serving as the secretary for the state organization, Burns is one of four people vying for the role in 2022-23.

All of them are current state officers, which is a pre-requisite to become state president.

The winner will be announced along with the other 2022-23 state officers on May 4 during the final session of the 96th Oklahoma FFA Convention in Tulsa.

But to Burns, becoming state president isn’t about “winning.”

“For me it’s just simply a call to service rather than an incentive for competition,” he said.

“The title that’s on the front of your jacket is not near as important as the association printed on the back of it and that’s truly what keeps me going day in and day out.”

FFA has kept Burns going much of his life in one way or another.

He grew up the son of Ryan and Lori Burns, who took Kingfisher’s FFA chapter to unprecedented heights during their two decades here.

Burns served as president of the Kingfisher chapter last year, the last of a storied high school career.

He was a part of the 2017 national championship team in conduct of chapter meetings leadership development event.

He was also a part of the national semifinalist parliamentary procedure team in 2019.

Burns has a number of state finalist and state championship honors in LDE and career development events (CDE).

He was also a national semifinalist in 2018 in the “FFA creed” portion of public speaking.

On top of a number of other exhibiting and leadership awards and honors, Burns carried a 4.0 GPA and was a part of numerous other KHS activities and groups.

It was announced last February that Burns was a candidate for state FFA secretary.

When his name was announced during the state convention, Burns sprinted to the stage in jubilation.

“The last year has been incredible to say the least,” said Burns, an agribusiness major at Oklahoma State University.

“Getting to travel the state and talk to school districts and ag programs while being a freshman at Oklahoma State has been the busiest yet most rewarding year of my life.”

Though he seeks the presidential bid, Burns said his current role – and his perspective on his duties – keeps him plenty busy.

“Romans 10:15 says, ‘How beautiful are the feet that share the good news.’ It’s just simply about staying mobile and being present where the Lord wants me to be,” Burns said.

“As a presidential candidate, not much of our role changes. The state agency keeps us pretty busy from now until convention, so right now I am just trying to be the best state secretary I can be and take advantage of any opportunities that come my way while meeting as many FFA members as possible.”

Should he earn the presidential bid, Burns would be the fourth from Kingfisher to serve the office and the first since Chelsea (Clifton) Castonguay in 2008-09.

Getting that opportunity, said Burns, would be a chance for him to give back.

“As many people know, Kingfisher is well known for being the best at everything they do. While in high school I took the opportunity to fulfill this tradition over and over again, but running for president is a step in a different direction,” Burns said.

“It is just me simply putting my name in the hat to spend another year serving the youth of this great organization.”