2008 March Newsletter

Monthly Chapter Meeting

On March 17th, we will hold our monthly chapter meeting at 7 P.M. in the Ag. Center. The Ag. Challenge will be the volleyball tournament.

Assistant Officer Applications

Applications for becoming an assistant officer are due on Friday, Feb. 29th. You must have your Greenhand FFA Degree. The officers will choose their assistant and their choices will be announced at the March meeting. Assistant officers do a lot for the chapter behind the scenes and we look forward to your help.

Mulch & Flower Bulb Sale

The Mulch Sale is starting again. This year we are offering 5 types of mulch: Cypress, Hardwood, Pine Bark Nugget, Color Enhanced Red, and Color Enhanced Black. The bags are still 3 cubic foot (twice the size as the average gas station mulch bag). Orders are due by April 16th and pre-payment is required. Please make checks payable to the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA. The prices this year are:

1-9 bags $4.25 each

10-29 bags $4.00 each

30 or more bags $3.75 each

The Flower Bulb sale is starting as well. The bulbs come in packages costing $5. This is pre-pay as well. All bulb orders are due April 2nd.

National FFA Week

Even with the crazy week of weather, National FFA week survived. Monday (President’s Day) we didn’t have school, so nothing was planned. Tuesday was the Dodgeball Tournament. Wednesday was Truck & Tractor Day along with Bibs Day. Thursday was A-C FFA t-shirt day. Also, for the first time we went to Liberty Union High School and played a FFA Jeopardy game with their chapter (we won!). The members that attended this activity were: Damian Karcher, Cody Epley, Scott Loudermilk, Ed Johnson, Chris Sparkman, Tara McCalla, Brittany Pinkstock, David Sams, Hayley Moss, Josh Hampshire, Michael Hite, Aaron Miller, Titus Disbennett, Jacob White, Alyssa Jenkins, and Josh Cordle. Friday was supposed to be Official Dress Day and 8th Grade Ag. Awareness Day, but due to a snow day, it was moved to Monday. The winners of the Dodgeball Tournament were: Brock Rose, Josh Cordle, Chance McMaster, Randy Forrestt, Adian Willis, and Kyle Reid. Thanks to all those who participated in these chapter events. It is a lot of fun and is a great way to get people involved in chapter activities. The other students in school see who is in FFA and all the fun they’re missing.

National Farm Machinery Show

The National Farm Machinery Show Trip is for those members who worked hard and sold 25 or more boxes/baskets of fruit. This trip is an incentive for helping out the chapter. This year they visited the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, the Louisville Science Center in downtown Louisville, the mall and movie, and of course the National Farm Machinery Show with the tractor pulls. The members that attended were: Scott Loudermilk, Brandon Bresler, Josh Hampshire, J.D. Stover, Aaron Wortman, Kyle Kennedy, Curtis Hayes, Michael Hite, Justin Strittmatter, Dylan Thompson, Aaron Miller, Becca Bentz, Megan Gierhart, Erin Hiestand, Andrea Hollett, Cheyene Jepsen, Kendra Lama, Shala O’Hare, Sara Russ, Kelsie Sharp, Brittany Stevens, and Colleen Trapp. Adults that attended were: Mr. Sharp, Mr. Tilley, Joel Spires, Regina Bresler, John Russ, Richard Stevens, Jenna Sandoval and Becky Gierhart.

Here is what some of the members had to say about the trip:

“It was worth going to. My mom and I had a very good time.”- Megan Gierhart

“It was fun. It is something everyone should be willing to go to.”- Brandon Bresler

The chapter would like to thank those adults who helped chaperone the trip.

Officer Book Evaluations

Our chapter has to turn in a Reporter’s Scrapbook, a Secretary’s book, and a Treasurer’s book each year to be able to submit a National Chapter application. This year, all of our book’s received a score of 100% and Gold ratings. To our knowledge, we are the only chapter in the district to achieve this feat. Congratulations to Josh Cordle, Alyssa Jenkins, and Kayla Notestone as they worked extremely hard and will be recognized at the State FFA Convention in May.

CDE Invitationals

On Sat. March 1st, the spring skills CDEs teams will be traveling to Marysville High School. Also on Sat. March 15th, they will be going to Ashland High School. Agronomy, Dairy Cattle, Equine Management., General Livestock, Nature Interpretation, Poultry and Wildlife Management. are the teams participating. If you want to go to the State contest on Sat. March 29th, you must attend at least one of these invitationals.

A-C FFA Alumni Scholarships

The Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Alumni, a support organization for the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA, is again providing scholarships for graduating seniors. The scholarship application is located on the A-C FFA Alumni website and has been posted for quite some time. The scholarships are due Saturday, March 1st. Those interested members need to see Mr. Tilley ASAP.

State FFA Degrees

State FFA Degree applicants for this year are: Ryan Davis II, Jessie Berisford, and Stacey Sams. The State FFA Degree is the second highest degree that can be achieved as an FFA member. This step in the FFA Degree system encourages students to grow and achieve personally toward establishing themselves in an agricultural career. We hope to hear if these three members will receive the State FFA Degree by the end of the month.

Judd Ellinger and Jodi Roush have applied for the Star State FFA Degree. Judd and Jodi received their State FFA Degree last year. The Star State is an award used to recognize the top members in the state who have attained their State FFA Degree but have not yet achieved the American FFA Degree. A member must be a graduate to be eligible to apply for the American FFA Degree.

Proficiency Awards

Ten members of our chapter have submitted many proficiency awards this year. This is a huge amount of work because you have to fill out five to six pages with information about your SAE project, provide a maximum of six pictures with captions, and insert the costs, money earned, etc. correctly so they match your books. Those members and their respective award areas are:

Jessie Berisford: Accounting

Josh Cordle: Turfgrass Mngt. - Entrepreneurship

Ryan Davis II: Fiber & Crop Prod. - Entrepreneurship

Grain Production - Entrepreneurship

Div. Crop Production - Entrepreneurship

Judd Ellinger: Agricultural Sales - Placement

Specialty Animal - Entrepreneurship

Adam Foster: Agricultural Services

Tara McCalla: Sheep Production - Entrepreneurship

Kaleb Miller: Outdoor Recreation

Jodi Roush: Dairy Production - Placement

Dairy Production - Entrepreneurship

Organic

Stacey Sams: Accounting

Agricultural Sales - Placement

April Senften: Turfgrass Management - Placement

Made For Excellence Conference

The Made for Excellence Conference was held at Union Local High School this year. The members who attended were: Ryan Davis, David Sams, C.J. Broaddus, Tara McCalla, Josh Cordle, Scott Loudermilk, Cheyenne Jepsen, Chris Sparkman, Eddie Johnson, Aaron Miller, Andrew Bennett, Sarah Rogers, Damian Karcher, and Matt Lamb. The members attended the conference and participated in various leadership activities. In the evening, they had a square dance, a D.J. and anther dance, an euchre tournament, dodgeball tournament, free throw & three point shooting contests, cornhole competitions, and Are You Smarter Than An Ag. Teacher? Here are some thoughts from members that attended:

“The euchre tournament was awesome. I learned a lot about teamwork.”- David Sams

“It was a unique experience that every member should go through.”- Scott Loudermilk

Public Speaking CDE

There are currently 4 public speaking contests offered by the Ohio FFA Association. Creed Speaking is available only to freshmen who recite the FFA Creed and answer questions about the Creed. Beginning Prepared is geared mostly for sophomores who present a 5 to 7 minute speech on an agricultural topic. The Extemporaneous Speaking contest is open to all 4 grade levels. Extemporaneous speakers draw an agricultural topic and are given 30 minutes to develop a 4 to 6 minute speech from materials they have brought with them and their own personal knowledge. The Prepared Speaking contest, often referred to as 'Senior Prepared', is open to members in all 4 grade levels, but generally involves junior and senior members who present a 6 to 8 minute prepared speech.

For members to advance to the District contest, members must place 1st or 2nd in the county contest in all areas except Creed Speaking, where a member must be in the top 3. To advance to the State Preliminaries, a member must be 1st or 2nd in the District. Students are normally given a Bronze, Silver or Gold rating at each level of competition.

This year Lyndsey Alexander placed 1st at the county Creed Speaking contest and received 10th at the District level, earning a Silver rating. Garren Dilley participated in the Beginning Prepared earning 3rd at the County CDE. Jodi Roush competed in the Extemporaneous contest. She earned 1st in the County and District 7 CDE. Jodi earned a Gold Rating and will participate in the State-Preliminary CDE in March. Brittany Pinkstock participated in Prepared Speaking, receiving 2nd at the County CDE and 7th at the District 7 CDE. Brittany earned a Bronze rating. Congratulations to these members and good luck at State.

Junior Fairboard Applications

Applications to be the A-C FFA Junior Fairboard representative are due March 7th. It is a two year term, so you must be a sophomore or junior. You should be someone who exhibits livestock at the fair, but not required. Madison Fausnaugh is completing her 2 year term as our representative.