November 2004Newsletter

by Heather Hines, Reporter
November Meeting

The next meeting of theAmanda Clearcreek FFA chapter will be held on Monday, November 15th at 7:00p.m. in the Ag Center. TheAg Challenge is the corn-shelling contest. Each grade level needs tostart thinking about who they want to represent them.
New changes on the FruitSale

Due to the catastrophicweather in Florida the fruit prices have gone up. We also have newfruit such as the Ohio Granny Smith, Washington Granny Smith, andOhio Fuji apples. With the new apples we have a new mixed boxconsisting of Ohio Red Delicious, Ohio Yellow Delicious, and OhioGranny Smith apples. The former Christmas Special is now theChristmas Mixed Box and the Holiday Special is now the Holiday MixedBox. We have tried to keep the fruit affordable and offer a goodselection. Contact any FFA member to order your fruit or call the Ag.Dept at 969-7381.The fruitsale ends on Nov 17th.
National Farm MachineryShow

The National FarmMachinery Show is a trip in the winter of each year. As an incentive,any member who sells 25 or more of any combination of fruit giftbaskets or boxes of fruit has the opportunity to attend the NationalFarm Machinery Show and Tractor Pulls held annually in Louisville,Kentucky in February. Attending members leave on Friday morning andreturn on Sunday evening, attending the machinery show, the tractorspulls and enjoy Louisville's hospitality. Each year, Mr. Sharp, oneof the chapter's two advisors, also plans an educational tour for theweekend in addition to the other activities. In past years, thechapter has visited the Louisville Slugger Plant, Churchill Downs andthe Dayton Air Force Museum. This is an excellent educationalopportunity for the chapter's members and a great reward for thosehard working fruit sellers.
Hog Roast

The 2004 Hog Roast will beheld on Wednesday, November17th at 7:00 p.m. It willbe held in the cafetorium. There will also be an open house to viewthe Ag facilities. Freshmen and sophomore families are asked to bringa dinner item and junior and senior families are asked to bring adessert item. The chapter will provide the meat, drinks, and rolls.Everyone is welcome and is asked to bring their own table service.This is a great chance for parents to get an idea of what the chapterdoes and meet the officer team as well as the advisors. The Hog Roastis also an excellent opportunity to get to know members of our FFA,see our facilities and enjoy community fellowship. If you receivingthis newsletter consider yourself invited; we hope to see you on the17th!
Fairfield County Fair andFFA Fair Placing

Members of theAmanda-Clearcreek FFA are active in the Fairfield County Fair, thelast in the state, held annually in October. Each year, membersset-up a booth in the fair's Miscellaneous building where theydisplay such projects as: electrical wiring projects, treeidentification scrapbooks, woodworking projects, computer aidedagricultural advertisements and welding beads. The various projectsare judged for competition against the other FFA chapters in thecounty. Members also have the opportunity to exhibit other projects,such as market hogs, breeding rabbits, dairy feeder calves, horsesetc. This year's results are as follows

Emiley Bolin

1st Place

Horse Hunter Under Saddle Ages 14-18

Emiley Bolin

3rd Place

Horse Western Showmanship Ages 13-15

Emiley Bolin

1st Place

Horse Western Pleasure Ages 14-18

Kelsey Johnston

5th Place

Pony Western Showmanship Ages 14 & Over

Kelsey Johnston

2nd Place

Horse Trail Class

Kelsey Johnston

1st Place

Pony Western Horsemanship Ages 14 & Over

Kelsey Johnston

2nd Place

Pony Western Pleasure

Kelsey Johnston

3rd Place

Western Riding

Kelsey Johnston

1st Place

Reining

Jacob Westhoven

3rd Place

Ag Engineering - Welding

Travis Westhoven

4th Place

Ag Engineering - Welding

Erika Hardman

3rd Place

Alfalfa Hay

Nic White

1st Place

Ag Collections - Tree Leaf Scrapbook

Andrea Brumfield

3rd Place

Ag Collections - Tree Leaf Scrapbook

Jennifer Fletcher

5th Place

Ag Collections - Tree Leaf Scrapbook

State or American Degreesand/or Proficiency Awards

If you feel you have metthe requirements for the State or American FFA Degrees and/or aProficiency Award you need to contact Mr. Tilley ASAP. We will beworking on the applications over Christmas Break.
Mark Francis receives theAmerican FFA Degree

The American FFA Degree isthe highest degree a FFA member can earn. American FFA Degree winnersrepresent the top 1/2% of the FFA members in the country in the givenyear. Mark received his American FFA Degree at the 77th National FFAConvention. This achievement recognizes that Mark has demonstratedleadership abilities and outstanding achievements in agriculturalbusiness, production, and processing and service programs.Congratulations to Mark for his outstanding achievement in receivinghis American FFA Degree.
The National FFAConvention

The National FFAConvention is an annual convention of FFA members from around thenation and abroad. It is the largest youth convention in the world.During the National FFA Convention, we attended many sessions withthousands of other FFA members from all fifty states plus Puerto Ricoand the Virgin Islands. During each session, the current national FFAofficers gave knowledgeable and inspiring speeches. There were alsomany guest speakers that discussed their life experiences as well asmany motivational speakers who help in motivating us to become moreactive in our organizations as well as in life. During the finalsession, we witnessed the installation of the new national FFAofficers. The members in attendance also participated in variouseducational tours such as:

Forestry DiscoveryCenter

We wandered through anindoor forest and past a 1000 square foot hand carved mural. We sawthe role the forest plays in our daily lives and learned how we canpreserve its beauty for many generations to come. A skywalk broughtus to Koetter Woodworking's rough mill, where you'll watch roughlumber become trim and moulding, with not a speck of sawdustwasted.

HuberOrchard

We went to the HuberOrchard and saw the farm market, bakery, petting zoo, corn maze, andthe cheese and ice cream factory. We ate lunch at their StarlightCafe, after our tour through their processing facilities.

Howard SteamboatMuseum and Mansion

We stepped back in time tothe Great Steamboat Era with the tour of the Howard Steamboat Museum.This is a beautiful 1894 home--built by premier steamboat builders,the Howards of Jeffersonville, Indiana--featured originalfurnishings, brass chandeliers, stained glass windows, and intricatecarvings throughout--even a grand staircase! Master craftsmen fromthe shipyard created much of the decor in the mansion. Howard builtsteamboats included the luxurious J.M. White, the speedy City ofLouisville and the popular Indiana. Models, photographs, paintings,half-hull models and other artifacts from the Great Steamboat Eraabound at this unique Jeffersonville Museum.

Kentucky HorsePark

Located in Lexington,Kentucky, the heart of the Bluegrass, the Kentucky Horse Park is aworking horse farm with 1,200 acres surrounded by 30 miles of whiteplank fencing. The park is like none other in the world. Dedicated toman's relationship with the horse, the park features two outstandingmuseums, twin theaters and nearly 50 different breeds of horses. Allof these elements combine to make our visit to the park an enjoyablelearning experience for everyone - from those unfamiliar with thehorse to the horse expert.

LouisvilleZoo

The Louisville Zoo servesas a living classroom, helping students develop an appreciation forand sense of responsibility toward the treasure of animal and plantlife on our earth. Our FFA chapter also got to see the new exhibit ofthe Sumatran tiger triplets are growing by "leaps" and "bounds". Theywere very playful and rambunctious and spend time exploring theoutdoor habitats in the Islands Exhibit under the watchful eye oftheir mom, Tabib.

Attendees were:Adam Baldwin, JessieBerisford, O'neal Blackburn, Christine Boso, Christine Bussert, JuddEllinger Madison Fausnaugh, Adam Foster, Heather Hines, Shaelyn Iles,Brittany Manson, Josh Mathes, Brittany Miller, Kayla Notestone,Chelsea Polt, Dylan Richard, Chelsey Rutter, CrystalCovell, andLars Abel. We would like to thank former ChapterPresident and current AC FFA Alumni member Heather Makarius forhelping to chaperone this trip.
Centerburg TrapShoot

The Centerburg FFA hasinvited us to participate in their Annual Fall Trap Shoot on November13th at the Centerburg Conservation Club. They will count the top 4scores from our chapter as the team score. There will be trophies forthe top 5 teams and the top 10 individuals. The cost this year willbe $10.00 per person. This includes 5 practice clays and the 20 claysused for the contest, plus all the drinks, chips and sandwiches youcan eat. Please bring your own shells and gun. If you are interestedin going please see Mr. Tilley for info and directions. Mr. Tilleyand Mr. Sharp will not be available for transportation so you musthave transportation to and from this event.
Don't forget to bring yourfamilies to the FFA Annual Hog Roast!!!!