Generations of Jackets: How Camella Black brought FFA to Barnwell

The story of Camella Black’s advocacy for agriculture is shared in honor of National FFA Week (February 18 to 25).

Every time Dorie Myers puts on her blue corduroy FFA jacket, she is representing the legacy of the late Camella Black– her grandmother and essential figure in bringing a chapter to Barnwell County.

“I feel like I'm carrying on her legacy,” said Myers. “I miss her dearly, so I feel like she's kind of watching over me.”

Black passed away in December 2018 before she saw her granddaughter wear the esteemed jacket for Barnwell County.

Black’s love for the organization started in Ocala, Florida where she and her brother, Bradley Brown, were members of the Vanguard High School chapter. Black joined FFA her senior year to avoid going to shop class, according to her daughter, Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Allen.

When their family moved to Barnwell County in 1978 for her father to begin working at the Chem-Nuclear site, both siblings maintained their love for learning and agriculture. Bradley went on to finish the FFA program in Barnwell before it went dormant for over 25 years.

By the time Allen and her siblings were attending high school, the program was not being offered and Black enrolled her children in 4H, another youth agricultural program. She wanted them to develop the same appreciation for the land she learned in FFA.

“It wasn't offered here when my mom was going to school, but she always said that if it was, she would've gotten into it and that's kind of where my granny started advocating that we need an FFA program,” said Myers.

The Barnwell County Career Center (BCCC) school board took a vote in early 2001 to decide whether or not to bring back the FFA program.

Current FFA instructor Mindy Sandifer was in her first year of teaching at Midland Valley High School and driving over an hour daily from Blackville.

When she heard the BCCC board was interested in bringing this program back, she reached out to the director at the time, Suzette Wilson.

“She told me over the phone that they would be voting on the decision, but she felt I would be wasting my time to come. She felt the board was going to vote against it,” said Sandifer.

Sandifer came to the meeting anyway, not knowing it would change her life.

“That evening during public comment, I gave my 2–3-minute spill. However, I believe it was the testimony that came after me, which led them to vote yes,” said Sandifer.

Black gave testimony to how the FFA and learning about agriculture changed her life, and to this day Sandifer believes she is the reason the program was approved.

“She was determined, if she wanted something, she was going to get it,” said Myers of her grandmother.

Sandifer joined the team in July 2002 as the BCCC Agriculture Instructor and FFA Advisor with just eight students. She taught agriculture business management, floriculture, and small engine maintenance in that first year.

22 years later, the BCCC FFA chapter has brought over 1,000 students through the program and even another instructor.

“Last year, our board voted in favor of agriculture once again and added a second ag. teacher, allowing us to offer five new courses in horticulture and ag. mechanics areas of study, doubling our student capacity,” said Sandifer, who teaches eight different rotating topics including animal science, wildlife, agricultural business, and forestry.

“She would be so proud of Dorie Jean and of where the program is at now. She fought hard for it,” said Allen of her mother.

“My granny would be really proud of what it's become,” said Myers.

Myers and Allen remember Black as an environmentalist, a conservationist, and a lifelong learner.

“She was big into taking your own bags. She would actually take her old T-shirts and cut 'em and make reusable bags instead of using the plastic bags at Walmart,” said Allen. “She was a hippie; she was big into us providing our own food and learning how to jar it and can it so that we could live off the land.”

Black’s contribution to the fruition of FFA in Barnwell County was monumental and she continued to support the program until her death.

Sandifer believes the reason FFA left such an impact on Black was the family feeling of the organization that does not wane after graduation. Once having worn the corduroy jacket, you are always a member of a network of like-minded individuals promoting agriculture.

“I had the honor of teaching her granddaughter this past year. She has made the most of her FFA experience- attending summer camp, convention, and other trips. It is such a full-circle moment,” said Sandifer of Myers.

Myers is set to walk across the stage this year but has already finished the required credits. She hopes to continue this agricultural path after graduation by opening a farm to table restaurant. At this eatery, guests can get a better understanding of where their food comes from as dishes will be made from the product of local farmers.

“Ms. Sandifer, she and her husband farm and she's always telling us stories about their farming experience. She really emphasizes the hard work that it takes raising crops and animals,” said Myers, who hopes to stay local to Barnwell County as she continues her career.

In the FFA organization, South Carolina is broken up into regions. Barnwell and surrounding counties are in region four. In this region in the 2020-2021 school year, there are 25 high school programs, 33 high school teachers, four middle school programs, and four teachers.

“Barnwell County is full of BCCC FFA alumni now because of Mrs. Camella Black’s efforts,” said Sandifer.

One of Black’s favorite ways to support the FFA was their plant sales. From this year's sale, Allen and Myers are planning on purchasing some lantana– a plant found native in Florida that thrives in South Carolina, just like Black did.

For more information on the Barnwell County Career Center or the FFA chapter, visit https://www.bccc80.com/.