2008-2009

The

Amanda-Clearcreek FFA

DecemberNewsletter

FFAfact of the month: In 1917, the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act establishedVocational Agriculture.

· MonthlyChapter Meeting *

·

Themonthly chapter meeting is on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 7:00 P.M. in theAg. Center. Members are requiredto attend and stay until the Ag. Challenge is done. The Ag. Challenge is the Peanut Butter Face.  The seniors won the Pizza EatingContest last meeting. New pointstandings are listed in Mr. Tilley and Mr. Sharp’s room. The Greenhand FFADegree Ceremony will be conducted at this meeting.

Hog Roast

In the fall of each year, the Amanda-ClearcreekFFA Chapter holds it's annual chapter Hog Roast. At the A-C FFA Hog Roast, thechapter provides the roasted hog, drinks and rolls while every FFA member andtheir families are invited to bring a covered dish, with the freshmen,sophomores and the juniors bringing a dinner item and seniors bringing adessert item. This is a fun way to participate in a chapter activity by cuttingup the hog, setting up the tables, making the drinks, and cleaning up after thehog roast. This is an excellent way to show your parents what the FFA is allabout and what we do in our organization. The Hog Roast is always an enjoyablesocial event for our chapter members, their families and our communitysupporters. This year the NationalAg. Comm. team was recognized as well as Jodi Roush for their recentparticipation in national CDEs. The food was good, but not in plenty. A concern is that we might need more food for nextyear. We hope everyone enjoyed thefellowship and slideshows. Remember this is an annual event so be ready to come next year!

State FFA Officer Leadership Night

Throughout the year, our FFAChapter hosts a State FFA Officer Leadership Night. Only certain FFA Chaptersare selected to host this activity and our chapter normally is one of them.State FFA Officer Leadership Night is where members of our FFA Chapter andmembers of other area FFA Chapters meet to improve their leadership skills.Members are split into groups with one or two state officers. Members thenparticipate in leadership activities and talk about what ideas they can takeback to their chapter to become a better leader. Members are moved through arotation so that they experience the different workshops that are prepared byeach state officer in attendance. At the end, our chapter provides those inattendance with food and drink. Overallthe night was fun as the officers led their workshops on teamwork.  We got a thank you letter from OhioVice-President Kristen Bachman for being a wonderful host chapter.  The food was simply amazing as far aslunch meat, chips, cookies, and pop go. Many chapters attended including: Bloom Carroll, LibertyUnion, Fairfield Union, and Logan Elm. We had 44 members of our own attend and there were 94 members from the other schools.

Fruit Pick-up!!!

FFA members, remember to get your fruitout of the Ag. Center ASAP. Deliver your fruit and make sure to collect all your money. The dates of pick-ups are:

- Monday, Dec. 8th: 3-6 P.M.

- Tuesday, Dec. 9th: After school-8 P.M.

- Wednesday, Dec. 10th: After school-8 P.M.

*Extra fruit orders may be available; all exceptgrapes

*DO NOT LET FRUIT FREEZE

*Spotlight*

Holiday Food Drive

The Holiday Food Drive is a project between our FFA chapter and theAmanda Fire Department. Our members deliver paper bags to residents in Amandaand Stoutsville. The bags have a note on them that ask people to donate anynon-perishable food items. About a week later, the FFA members go back out andpick-up the bags. Later, FFA members deliver the non-perishable items to theAmanda Township Fire Department. The fire department then distributes the foodto needy families in the community, of which there are 49 that have requestedhelp this year. November 20th wasthe drop-off day and November 25th was the pick-up day. The cans were collected and then sortedon Wednesday, Dec. 3rd. Mr.Sharp’s classes took care of Amanda. Various members helped with Stoutsville. The total number of bags collected was approximately150. Thank you to all members andcommunity members in Amanda and Stoutsville for your contributions.

2008 North American InternationalLivestock Exhibition

Tyler VanHorn recently took five goats to the 2008 North AmericanInternational Livestock Exhibition in Louisville, KY. He placed very well. The placings were: 4th in 9-12 month does fullblood, 6th in 9-12 monthbucks fullblood, 9th in 3-6 month buck kid, 10th in 3-6 month buck kid, and hislast goat made first cut, but did not place 12-18 month does. Congratulations Tyler on a jobwell done!! Give this young man a round of applause!

State Agricultural Communications CDE

The Agricultural Communications CDE is a competitiveactivity that tests students’ skills in all areas of the agriculturalcommunications field and evaluates how well they can apply classroom knowledgeto real-life situations. This yearthe team consisting of: Hannah Chennetski, Andrea Hollett, Sarah Vannoy, KelsieSharp, and Emily Cordle will be participating at the State CDE after earningthe right by winning the District 7 CDE. Good luck to these members as the contest is on Saturday, December 6th.

Participants attend a simulated news conference and use theinformation gathered to complete individual practicums in news story writing,press release writing, radio broadcasting, web design, and graphic design.  Prior to the event, students compile acommunication project proposals related to innovative agricultural practices,management techniques and marketing tools. Each team then creates a 15-minute presentation based ontheir proposal. Members alsocompete in an editing exercise and a general communications quiz.

Parliamentary Procedure CDE

Ryan Davis, David Sams, AlyssaJenkins, Brittany Pinkstock, Tara McCalla, Josh Cordle, Ray Spence, GarrenDilley, Daniel Quincel, and Scott Loudermilk placed 3rd as a team at thesub-district Parli. Pro. CDE hosted at Bloom Carroll. The competition was high as Bloom went on to win thedistrict CDE with Liberty Union coming in with a close 3rd place.

Columbus Zoo Trip

Starting in 2007, the A-C FFA had over 20 members take the inauguraltrip to the Columbus Zoo during December to see the holiday lights. This tripis used to promote chapter bonding while doing an enjoyable activity. FFAmembers get a chance to ice skate, buy souvenirs and socialize after eatingsupper together on their way to the zoo. The members walk around the zoovisiting the exhibits for a few hours before heading back to Amanda. We will be going on our second annualzoo trip this year on December 17th, leaving school at approximately 3:00 P.M.

Upcoming CDEs

Those members interested inAg. Sales, Job Interview, and Public Speaking sign up ASAP.

January Events

Tuesday, Jan. 20th

District7 Job Interview & Ag Sales CDEs at Lancaster H.S. @ 3:00 P.M.

Monday, Jan. 26th

FFAMeeting @ 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center

Tuesday, Jan. 27th

AllState & American FFA Degree applications are due; All Proficiency Award Applications are due

Happy Holidays!!!!