April 2007 Newsletter
by Josh Cordle, Reporter
Upcoming Monthly Meeting
The next chapter meeting is Monday, April 16th at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center. Members please keep up the good attendance. The Ag Challenge will be the scavenger hunt . Come and enjoy the fun! Ag Challen ge points are close, so this activity is important.
State FFA Degrees!
All our members that submitted State FFA Degree applications were approved. So, at this year’s State FFA Convention, Jodi Roush, Judd Ellinger, Kyle Kennedy, and Kayla Notestone will be receiving their State FFA Degrees!!! The State FFA Degree is the highest degree a state association can award an FFA member. State FFA Degree winners represent the top 2% of the FFA members in the state in the given year. This is very important achievement for our chapter and these members. So, on Saturday May 5th, members are encouraged to go and support these four juniors at the State FFA Convention.
New Assistant Officers
The officers have reviewed the applications for the assistant officers and made their decisions; at the meeting the results were accepted. The 2007-2008 Assistant Officers are:
Ryan Davis - Assistant Vice-President
D. J. Hopkins- Assistant Secretary
Teran Pinkstock- Assistant Treasurer
Brittany Pinkstock - Assistant Reporter
David Sams- Assistant Sentinel
Megan Gierhart- Assistant Student Advisor
Cody Notestone- Assistant At-Large
Sarah Rogers - Assistant At-Large
Invitational Contest Participants
These individuals participated in the Marysville and/or Mt. Gilead Invitational contests:
Megan Gierhart, Katie Beedy, Judd Ellinger, Teran Pinkstock, Brandon Bresler, Tara McCalla, Pat Foley, Emerson Martin, J.D. Stover, Kyle Kennedy, Cody Notestone, Alyssa Jenkins, David Sams, Josh Cordle, D.J. Hopkins, Kayla Notestone, Holly Kidwell, Jessika Harmon, Jodi Roush, Ed Johnson, Zach Spires, Sierra Dennis, Chris Sparkman, Brittany Pinkstock, Scott Loudermilk, Ryan Davis, Steven Young, Josh Ayers, April Senften, Stacey Sams, Kaleb Miller, Matt Hill, and Randy Forrest.
March of Dimes
On April 22, 2007, in Chillicothe, members are encouraged to participate in the March of Dimes walk. This walk is used to help promote awareness about premature births and raises money for research. In 1938, President Roosevelt established the March of Dimes. Everyday, an estimated 1280 babies are born premature and 411 babies are born with defects. Prematurity is the leading killer of America's newborns. Those who survive often have lifelong health problems, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, blindness and hearing loss. Prematurity has been escalating steadily and alarmingly over the past two decades. In 2004, more than 500,000 infants were born prematurely, the highest number ever reported for the U.S. In 2005, the United States as a society paid at least $26.2 billion in economic costs associated with pre-term birth (medical and educational expenses, loss in productivity). Pre-term delivery can happen to any pregnant woman. The causes of nearly half of all pre-term births are unknown. The March of Dimes has taken on this devastating problem— to find out what causes it and how it can be stopped.
About the Prematurity Campaign: The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is a multimillion-dollar research, awareness and education campaign to help families have healthier babies. The campaign:
In 2006, the campaign achieved a major milestone: Congress passed, and the President signed, the PREEMIE Act, which authorizes increased federal support for research and education on prematurity. Work continues on appropriation of funding to implement the act's provisions.
We, as a chapter, have participated in the March of Dimes walk for at least the last 3 years. Members are encouraged to go and need to meet at the Ag. Shop at 8:00 A.M. that Sunday. Details about the walk will be provided to members in class. Our goal is to have at least 40 members attend this year.
State CDEs
On Saturday March 31st, 2007, 30 members of the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA chapter participated in 6 different State FFA Career Development Events (CDEs). Agricultural Education Career Development Events are educational activities that are organized and conducted by the Ohio Department of Education, Office of Career-Technical Adult Education, Agricultural Education Service. They are designed to assess student competence in business and industry verified occupational skills, as detailed in the Agricultural and Environmental Content Standards. CDEs are a motivating force that stimulates occupational interests in and personal development of high school students enrolled in school-based agricultural education programs.
The chapter did well at this years’ State FFA CDEs as we had two teams place in the top ten. The two teams are: Nature Interpretation and Wildlife Management. The purpose of the Nature Interpretation CDE is to stimulate interest and to promote instruction in nature interpretation as well as to provide recognition for those who have demonstrated skills and competencies as a result of natural resources instruction. The Nature Interpretation team placed sixth. Josh Cordle placed 16th, David Sams placed 22nd, Alyssa Jenkins placed 25th, and D.J. Hopkins placed 50th individually for the Nature team. The purpose for the Wildlife CDE is to stimulate interest and to promote instruction in the areas of fish and wildlife management, as well as, to provide recognition for those who have demonstrated skills and competencies as a result of natural resources instruction. The Wildlife Management team placed seventh. April Senften placed 17th, Kaleb Miller placed 42nd, Matt Hill placed 49th, Stacey Sams placed 61st, and Randy Forrest placed 137th individually for the Wildlife team. Only the top three individual scores for the team are used in the overall team placing.
Other teams that competed were: Agronomy, General Livestock, Equine, and Dairy Cattle. The Agronomy contest is designed to assess the student’s knowledge of agronomic practices for the production of field and forage crops. A practical examination requires the student to identify specimens of crop and weed plants and seeds, diseases, and insects or their damage. The Agronomy team placed 21st . Ryan Davis placed 48th , Chris Sparkman placed 109th , Scott Loudermilk placed 116th, and Brittany Pinkstock placed 119th individually for the Agronomy team. The General Livestock team judges cattle, swine, and sheep whether they are market or breeding. The General Livestock team placed 30th. Tara McCalla placed 32nd , Judd Ellinger placed 126th, Teran Pinkstock placed 245th, Brandon Bresler placed 342nd, Emerson Martin placed 365th, Kyle Kennedy placed 406th, Pat Foley placed 467th, and J.D. Stover placed 568th individually for the Livestock team. The horse management CDE is an educational activity designed as a practical method of teaching students current horse evaluation and selection techniques and management. The Equine team placed 84th . Megan Gierhart placed 157th and Kati Beedy placed 280th individually for the Equine team. The Dairy Cattle CDE is an educational activity designed as a practical method of teaching students to select quality dairy cattle. Students will be challenged with pedigree evaluation, sire selection, linear evaluation, a written test, placing classes and written class reasons. The Dairy Cattle team placed 14th. Kayla Notestone placed 35th , Eddie Johnson placed 67th, Holly Kidwell placed 89th, Jodi Roush placed 171st, and Sierra Dennis placed 200th individually for the Dairy team.
Congratulations to all the teams especially the Nature and Wildlife teams for placing in the top ten in the state. Members are encouraged to keep participating in these CDEs and we look on for a bright future in these contests.
Mulch Sale
The mulch sale has been extended to April 19th. Members need to pick up the effort because it’s the chapter’s slowest start since 1995. This year our mulch consists of four kinds: Cypress, light in color; Hardwood, very dark in color; Pine Bark Nugget, dark in color; and Color Enhanced Red, red in color. All our bags are 3 cubic feet, which are the biggest bags around! The costs are: 1-9 bags $4.25 each; 10-29 bags $3.85 each; 30 or more bags 3 bags for $11.00. Prepayment is required and checks can be made out to the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA. If you would like to buy mulch, contact any A-C FFA member or call the Ag Ed Department at the school at 969-7384.
Crossmound Park clean up
Members are encouraged on April 25th, 2007, to help clean-up the Crossmound Park. We will be doing a number of things to help the park look it’s absolute best like: painting over graffetti, planting flowers, putting down mulch, installing new fence posts, etc. The park is part of the Fairfield County Park System, an organization with very limited means. It is a fun time so please come and participate; don’t be afraid to get a little dirty.
Adopt-a-Highway
Adopt-a-Highway is on Monday, April 16, 2007. Members will be cleaning up the three mile section between Oakland and Tommy Wayne’s on 159. Participation is encouraged for all members.
OSU Promising Young Women’s Conference
The Promising Young Women’s conference will be held at The Ohio State University on Friday, April 20th, 2007. It is a conference for young women interested in the field of agriculture and natural resources. Sigma Alpha, a professional sorority for women in agriculture and natural resources at the Ohio State University, annually coordinates this one day conference that gives young women from across the state an opportunity to explore the agricultural and natural resources industries while intermingling with professionals who hold positions in these various fields. This year’s Promising Young Women will focus on international agriculture.
Flower Bulb Sale
The sale ends on April 4th. Thank you to all the members who have been selling. The spring flower bulb profit goes to support member’s FFA camp cost which takes place in the summer. This is an excellent way for members to reduce or even pay for FFA camp!
District Officer Training
On Thursday April 12, 2007, officers and assistant officers will be attending the District 7 Officer Training Conference at Lancaster High School. This is an excellent opportunity for our officers to learn more about their respective offices and gain valuable leadership skills.
State Officer Candidate
Jodi Roush is running for a State FFA Officer position, and we will see her hard work displayed on Saturday, May 5th. Here is what Jodi had to say about her experience, "Running for a state FFA office is very challenging. To be considered one must complete the application, write an essay, submit a written recommendation from your advisor, and receive a 65% on their interview. The interview consists of six parts including a 100 question written test, an extemporaneous speech and other tests of your skills as a speaker and leader. We'll see how it turns out, but it definitely has been a very rewarding experience because I have met a lot of good people and learned a lot about myself during the process."
State FFA Convention
The State FFA Convention is May 3rd, 4th, and 5th. On May 4th, members will leave around 7 A.M. from the school and head up to the convention. They will participate in a State Skills CDEs in the morning and attend the Second General Session. Next will be lunch, a leadership workshop, and the Third General Session. The group will then go to Damons restaurant for dinner and return for the Fourth General Session. Finally, there will be the dance until around midnight and then members will head home. On May 5th, members will see the State FFA Degrees presented, the offices who received gold ratings on their officer books will be recognized, and will support Jodi as she is running for a State FFA office. Members are extremely encouraged to go to activity! We would like to see at least 50 members attend the convention this year; permission forms and deposit money are due Wednesday, May 11th. We are offering three trip options this year for Friday, May 4th. Members may attend all day and all evening, just during the day (for those who have sports or work after school) or just during the evening (for those who can’t miss school that day).
State Officer Leadership Workshop
Some of the Ohio FFA Association’s State Officer Team will be conducting a leadership workshop on the evening of April 5th, in which members are encouraged to participate. The workshop will be at Northridge High School. It will last about two hours and will provide pizza and drinks. This would be an excellent opportunity to meet your State FFA Officers, meet FFA members from other chapters in our district, and participate in a state level activity for your State FFA Degree.
Chapter Award Applications
Chapter award applications are going to be due to Mr. Tilley by Wednesday, April 18th. All members are encouraged to submit a completed chapter award application with the required supporting materials. Applications can be found on the Ag Ed Department computers in Mr. Tilley’s classroom. We would like to be able to recognize those FFA members who have excelled this year during the Chapter Awards Banquet, so please complete the award application!
Banquet Reminder!
Don’t forget!!!
The Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, May 19th at 4:00 p.m. in the cafetorium. All who receive this newsletter are welcome and ALL A-C FFA members are REQUIRED to attend.