March 2001Newsletter

by Rachel Makarius,Reporter

Next Meeting - The next meeting of the A-C FFA chapter will be onMarch 26th at 7:00 PM. This will be the first meeting run by the new2001-2002 officer team.

2001-2002 Officer Team

President - Mark Francis

Vice-President - Beth Fouse

Secretary - Erin Gilfillen

Treasurer - Jace Spires

Reporter - Rachel Makarius

Sentinel - Joe Davis

Student Advisor - AngelaDavis

All members who wished to be an officer forthe A-C FFA Chapter filled out an officer application. Thisapplication included listing their FFA, school, and communityactivities, and writing a paragraph about why they wanted to be anofficer. All candidates were interviewed by a Nominating Committee,which consisted of the 2000-2001 senior officers and several pastofficers. This committee recommended the candidates that they thoughtwould best perform in each position. All of the candidates selectedby the Nominating Committee have been elected into their respectiveoffices.

Public SpeakingResults - Amy Darst represented theA-C FFA in the Creed Speaking Contest at Liberty Union HS. Withinthis contest, she recited the FFA Creed and responded to questionsabout the creed in front of judges. Amy did well, placing 5th in thecounty.

Heather Makarius participated in theExtemporaneous Public Speaking Contest, where you are given anag-related topic, have 30 minutes to prepare a speech, and thenpresent your speech to the judges. Heather did an excellent job,placing 1st in the county and 6th in the district.

Beth Fouse presented a 4-6 minute speech inthe Beginning Prepared Contest. Beth did a great job, placing 2nd inthe county, and 5th in the district.

Angela Davis represented our chapter in theSenior Prepared division, which involves giving a 6-8 minute speech.Angela also did very well, finishing in 1st place at the countylevel, and in 4th place at the district level.

Job Interview Contest -The job interview contest was heldon February 21st at Licking Valley HS. This contest involvespreparing a resume, being the subject of a job interview, and writinga professional follow-up letter. Amber Hedrick participated in the AgScience division and received 4th place in the district. HeatherMakarius competed in the Ag Business area and placed 2nd in thedistrict. Angela Davis represented our chapter in the Ag Productiondivision and received 1st place in the district. Angela will betraveling to OSU to take part in the State Job Interview Contest onMarch 3rd.
Ag Sales Contest - The Ag Sales team traveled to Logan Elm onFebruary 20th and placed 2nd in the district overall. Individually,Brian Strickler placed 3rd, Nick Lee placed 10th, Heather Makariusplaced 7th, and Casey Teets placed 14th. These four members gave amock sales presentation that involved an ag product or service. Eachmember took an objective test over general ag sales and marketinginformation, as well as a practicum. This contest also involved thepreparation of a sales display and the presentation of their product.The ag sales team will go to OSU for the state contest on Saturday,March 3rd.
Adopt-A-Highway - The next Adopt-A-Highway clean-up is scheduled forMarch 21st after school at 3:30. The A-C FFA is responsible for the3-mile stretch of SR 159 between Amanda and Oakland. As many membersas possible are needed to help with this community service project.
Spring Skills Contests -The spring skills contests are fastapproaching. There are several areas where FFA members can compete.These areas are: small engines, meats, agronomy, dairy cattle,general livestock, horse management, wildlife management, natureinterpretation, poultry, aquarium management, and tractortroubleshooting. The teams for these contests have allreay beenformed, and all team members should have received study informationregarding their contest. The Mt. Gilead Invitational is on March 10thand the Marysville Invitational is on March 17th. All teams listedexcept small engines, tractor troubleshooting, and aquariummanagement are going to be competing at these invitationals. Thesetwo events will help prepare members for the district and statecontests. The district contests for all teams are on April 7th. Thestate contests for agronomy, dairy, general livestock, horsemanagement, and poultry will be on April 21st. Wildlife managementand nature interpretation will be on April 28th.
Aquarium ManagementContest -This is the first year thatour chapter will compete in the Aquarium Management Contest. The teamwill consist of Dan Tooill, Mike Justice, Jesse Casto, and TylerCarroll. This contest will involve a written test, which will includeall aspects of aquarium management, such as specimen identification,aquarium equipment, aquarium plants, diseases, and food. Contestantswill participate in four practicums, where they will test aquariumwater, use aquarium equipment, and troubleshoot for several differentproblems.
Proficiency Awards - Through Proficiency Awards, FFA members can berecognized as having an outstanding Supervised AgriculturalExperience project. These applications require a lot of time andeffort, as there is much writing involved. This year, the A-C FFAturned in 19 applications to be evaluated at the district level. Ofthese, 18 placed in the top 4. Robert Blosser and Jace Spires wereplaced in the top 5 at the state level. Robert's SAE projects are inthe areas of Diversified Ag and Diversified Livestock, and Jace's isin Nursery Operations. Both members were interviewed at Tolles TechVocational School on February 24th. Their final placings will beknown in about 3 weeks, unless they placed in the top 3. If that isthe case, they will receive their placings at the State Convention inMay.
Mulch and FFA Beanie BearSales - The annual spring mulch salebegan on Feb. 28th and will end on March 30th. Three cubic foot bagsof cypress, hardwood, and pine bark nugget mulch will be sold at $4 abag or 3 bags for $10. Prepaid orders with phone numbers arepreferred. If you are interested in buying mulch, contact any FFAmember. This year, senior members will also be selling FFA beaniebears at $10 each. Contact any senior FFA member if you wish topurchase a bear. Flyers have been handed out to all students thatcontain the several bonus point opportunities that go along withthese sales. Also, as an extra bonus, the top 15 mulch salespersonsand the top beanie bear salesperson will have the chance to go on atwo-night weekend camping trip in May.
Made For Excellence - Erin Gilfillen, Angela Davis, Mark Francis, andTiffany Timmons will be attending the Made For Excellence leadershipworkshop on the weekend of March the 10th. The workshop will be heldat the Miami Valley Career Technical Center. They will beparticipating in several leadership activities with other FFA membersfrom around the state, and will gain invaluable leadership skillsthrough this experience.