Washington FFA will hold its annual convention in the Tri-Cities again this year.

The convention will be May 11-13 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

The FFA board made the decision in July, said Dany Payne, executive director of the Washington FFA Association.

At that time, Washington State University had not changed its COVID-19 policy requiring proof of vaccination for anybody staying in the dorms, she said.

The FFA convention relocated to Kennewick in 2022 after 91 years at WSU. FFA leaders could not recall a time it was not on the university campus in Pullman.

Payne told the Capital Press at the time that organizers did not want to require students attending the convention to have a COVID vaccination card.

The COVID-19 vaccine requirement for WSU faculty, staff and visitors was lifted in October 2022 when Gov. Jay Inslee suspended his COVID-19 emergency orders, said Phil Weiler, vice president of marketing and communications at the university.

WSU will no longer require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for most students beginning with the summer session, Weiler said.

Payne anticipates 2,000 FFA members will attend the state convention in May.

“We’re really excited about it, we’ve had a lot more time to plan this year,” she said.

Several career development events could not be held during the normal time frame at the convention.

“We’re excited to bring those three larger contests back into the state convention rotation,” she said.

The Tri-Cities makes for a centralized location for members, she said.

“I just really think the Tri-Cities-Columbia Basin area has a lot of ag to offer,” Payne said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for our students to learn about different ag industries in that location.”

Payne said the FFA board will weigh its options for future locations after the 2023 convention.

“At this point, we’ve got to focus on what we’re doing right now and the decision that’s been made,” she said, adding with a laugh, “We can look to 2024, but my brain doesn’t have the capacity to look past May at this point.”