January 2003Newsletter

by Mallory McMaster,Reporter

The next meeting of the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter will be held on January 13, 2003 at 7:00 PM in the Ag Ed shop. The Chapter Degree ceremony will be held at this time.
Fruit Sale

Once again, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter held a Fall Fruit Sale as a fundraiser. This year, the chapter sold over 1,670 boxes and baskets of fruit, the most fruit sold in chapter history. The Chapter's top seller was Heather Hines, who sold 72 boxes/baskets. The second place seller was Amie White, selling 55.5 boxes/ baskets. All members selling over 25 boxes are eligible to attend the National Tractor Pulls and Machinery Show in Louisville. The trip departs on February 14th and returns on February 16th. Members going on the trip will tour such places as Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. Members will also attend a movie at a mall on Friday afternoon. To view lists of the top fruit salesmen of the past, please go to:

Top_Fruit_Sales

Thanks to all who bought fruit from the chapter this year. The chapter uses these funds to offset member costs for attending FFA Convention, attending FFA camp, purchasing student awards, and other activities.
Food Drive

Working in conjunction with the Amanda Fire Department, the A-C FFA collected food in Amanda and Stoutsville for the annual Chelsea Hedrick Christmas for Kids Food Drive. Kroger donated grocery bags on which letters to families were placed, explaining the program and asking families to donate some non-perishable food items to help those less fortunate in our community. Mr. Sharp's

Agricultural Production classes collected food in Amanda during their usual class times. Mr. Tilley, along with Erika Hardman, Josh Behrens, Tara Hite, Beth Fouse, Katie Bowman, Nic White, Dani Sowers, Amanda Campbell, Steven Johnson, Alex Ogan, Maggie Bowman, Jamie Luck, Michael Hedrick, Brandi Zeimer, Cerene Kilbarger, Joey Adkins, Amanda Cassidy, Amie White, Heather Cramer, Dan Flowers, and Bryan Hill took care of Stoutsville after school, either putting bags out in the end of November or picking them up in the beginning of December. In total, 75 bags were collected from Amanda residents and 35 were collected from residents of Stoutsville.

Thank you to all who donated, your support of this worthy program is greatly appreciated.
FFA Work Day

On December 27, 2002, Mr. Tilley will be at school for FFA members who need help with their officer books, record books, State Degrees and American Degrees. Mr. Tilley will be at school from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Officer books and Proficiency Award applications will be judged at the District Evaluations on January 29th at 9:00 AM. State and American Degree applications will also be reviewed at this time. Since evaluation is almost two weeks early this year, coming to this work day is very important.
Made for Excellence Conference

The title of this conference says it all. The purpose of this conference is to prepare young FFA members for becoming leaders in the world's largest industry, agriculture. "The Made for Excellence Conference, is a large leadership workshop usually held in either a hotel or at a hosting FFA chapter's school. This workshop is an overnight leadership training activity put on by a group of State FFA Officers and influential speakers from around the country. The main goals of the conference are to promote leadership in FFA chapters, individuals and communities, as well as meet other FFA members from around the state. It is an excellent opportunity to interact with other chapters in the FFA Organization. MFE is generally held during the months of December, January, February and March." Contributed by Angela Davis, 2000-2001 A C FFA Student Advisor.

The Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter selects members who have shown great potential to become leaders to attend this yearly conference. The chosen members this year are: Mallory McMaster, Jenny Zaayer, Holly Edwards, Crish Alvey and Amanda Cassidy. The chapter will be attending this conference on February 8th and 9th at the Benjamin-Logan High School. Any other member who wishes to participatre needs to contact Mr. Tilley before January 1st. The cost is $95.00

Public Speaking

The Public Speaking CDE is quickly approaching. The contest tests a member's skills in speaking effectively and presenting him/herself well. There are four categories of public speaking : Creed Speaking, where the freshman member recites the FFA Creed; Beginning Prepared, where the member prepares and presents a 3-5 minute speech on an agricultural topic; Senior Prepared, where the member prepares and presents a 4-6  minute speech on an agricultural topic; and Extemporaneous, where the member is given a topic and has 30 minutes to write a 4-6 minute speech.   Those who have expressed interest in Creed Speaking are: Debbie Picklesimer. Those who have expressed interest in Beginning Prepared speaking are: June Spires. Those who have expressed interest in Senior Prepared Speaking are: Mallory McMaster. Those who have expressed interest in Extemporaneous speaking are: Margo McMaster.

Any member who wishes to participate in any of these contests needs to contact Mr. Tilley ASAP. The chapter run-off contest for Public Speaking will be held on January 24th after school. The county public speaking contest will be held on February 4th at Bloom Carroll High School. Manuscripts for Begining and Senior Prepared are due on January 27th. The district public speaking contests will be held on February 25th.
Ag Sales

The Agricultural Sales CDE tests a member's ability to sell agricultural products and a member's overall knowledge of consumer sciences. The team can hold up to 4 members. Those who have expressed interest in this CDE are: Heather Bussert, Jordan Lee, Erin Gilfillen, Jenny Zaayer, Meagan Silva, Mallory McMaster, Cassi Slone, Trent Strous, and Heather Hines. The chapter run-off for this contest will be held on January 17th during school time on Mr. Tilley's computers. The District Ag Sales Contest will be held on February 11th at 3:30 PM at Logan Elm High School.
Ag Breakfast

January's monthly Ag Breakfast will be held at Frisch's Big Boy in Lancaster, Ohio on January 9th, 2003 at 7:00 AM. Ag Breakfast is a great way to get some good food before school, and socialize with your friends and chapter.
Greenhand FFA Degrees

Earning a Greenhand FFA Degree is an attainable goal for many 1st year FFA members. The Greenhand FFA Degree symbolizes a member's intent to have a fun and successful FFA career. A Greenhand FFA Degree is the first step towards the Chapter FFA Degree, and becoming an assistant chapter officer. This year's Greenhand FFA Degree recipients are: Josh Behrens, Andrea Brumfield, Amanda Campbell, Chelsea Polt, Tyler Roark, Danielle Sowers, Clint Evans, Erika Hardman, Margo McMaster, Emily Simon, Alexa Stewart, Maggie Bowman, Shawn Delph, Ryan Fausnaugh, Dan Flowers, Jimmie Gordon, Michael Hedrick, Cerene Kilbarger, Lindsay Lama, Debbie Picklesimer, Brent Poston, Tiffany Snoke, and Brandi Zeimer. Congratulations to these members, and thank you for your effort to make FFA a better organization.
Small Engines and Tractor Troubleshooting

All members who are interested in representing the chapter in either the Tractor Troubleshooting or the Small Engines contest will need to be an active member of the Tractor Maintenance/ Small Engines 4-H Club or have been ;a member since you have been in high school. This is a good club that will help you learn more about engines and will help you prepare for the contest. The meeting dates are: January 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th, February 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th. The January 7th meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at the Ag Center near OU-L. If you have any questions, see Mr. Tilley.