2008-2009

The

Amanda-Clearcreek

FFA

September Newsletter

 

FFAfact of the month: E.M. Tiffany wrote the FFA CREED which was adopted in 1930.

 

 * Monthly Chapter Meeting *

 

            Themonthly chapter meeting is on Monday, September 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 Egg Toss.  The Class of 2009 has won the overall Ag. Challenge for thepast three years.  Will someonefinally step up?  Will the Class of2009 stumble with senioritis?  Weshall see.

Summer Hours

  Membersare required to do eight summer hours of activities.  They sign up in advance and plan  their summer accordingly.  Summer hours are activities that the chapter does throughoutthe summer.  They are not hard toget and it is the way we keep our chapter active.  Below are the different events we did this summer:

Tarlton Fish Fry

 The Tarlton Firemen's Fish Fry is an activity that the FFA hasparticipated in for the past few years, starting in 2002. The Firemen put on afish fry as a fund raiser each year where anyone in the community can come andhave a sit down dinner and enjoy an all-you-can eat fish meal. The FFA membersseat, serve and assist the people that come. We serve them their food, drinksand clean up after they are done. The FFA chapter volunteers to help thefiremen and help out the community while having a good time.  Members that helped on June 26th were:  Alyssa Jenkins, BrittanyPinkstock,  Eddie Johnson, TaraMcCalla, Kelsie Sharp, Lyndsey Alexander, Jacob White, Titus Disbennett, SaraRuss,  Jennifer Bivens,  Aaron Miller, Chris Sparkman, andDillon Pinkstock.

 

Ag. Breakfast

  Ag.Breakfast was on July 7th at 8 A.M. & August 4th at 8 A.M. It took place atBob Evans on July 7th in Circleville. On August 4th, it was held at Tee JayeÕs in Lancaster.  When school resumes they will return tobeing held at the school if members choose to.  Members that attended were: David Sams, Eddie Johnson, BrandonBresler, Josh Cordle, Ryan Davis, and Aaron Miller.

Crossmound Park Clean-up

  On July7th starting at 10:00 A.M., our members did a general clean-up and repair(fence & trail repair, painting benches, etc.) of the park.  It is near Tarlton on Sixteenth Road.The vandalization of the park year after year is bad.  The vandals spray paint the benches, monuments, shelterhouses, and signs.  They also teardown fences and signs, so they can ride a quad or dirt bike.  We take pride in the fact that we helpkeep that park looking nice and safe. 

Those members who helped were: Ed Johnson, RyanDavis II, David Sams, Jennifer Bivens, and Brandon Bresler.

*Spotlight*

Summer FFA Camp

  Ohio FFA Camp is a summer camp for FFA members from acrossthe state. The Ohio FFA Association established a state camping program onOctober 4th, 1941 and moved into the current facilities in 1943. There are nowfive sessions of regular FFA camp, of which, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFAtypically attends session five. This year we took 41 members, a chapter record,to camp.  It was one of the highesttotals in the state.  Members thatwent are: Morgan Baldwin, Becca Bentz, C.J. Broaddus, StevenBrumfield, Hannah Chenetski, Austin Conte, Dustin Cox, Cynthia Cruit, GarrenDilley, Bo Finney, Pat Foley, Tyler Genders, Josh Hampshire, Travis Hart,Curtis Hayes, Erin Hiestand, Mike Hite, Chancey Holbrook, Andrea Hollett,Cheyenne Jepsen, Bridgitte Kyser, Kendra Lama, Matt Lamb, Scott Loudermilk,C.J. Mets, Aaron Miller, Shala OÕHare, Brittany Pinkstock, Dillon Pinkstock,Teran Pinkstock, Sarah Rogers, David Sams, Kelsie Sharp, Shelby Sizemore, IkeSowers, Chris Sparkman, Ray Spence, J.D. Stover, Justin Strittmatter, andColleen Trapp.

 

Here are some memberÕs thoughts oncamp:

ÒIt was so fun. I will be returning.Ó- Garren Dilley

 

ÒFFA Camp was very exciting and funespecially because we had so many people go!Ó - Ray Spence

 

WLC

The Washington Leadership Conferenceis a 5-day conference where FFA chapter leaders from around the country havethe opportunity to go to our nation's capitol while learning valuableleadership skills and experiencing personal growth.

  Those attending are chosen through an application andinterview process within the chapter. The Amanda-Clearcreek FFA awardsall-expense paid scholarships at the chapter banquet to the two members whohave completed the interview process and have proved they possess thecharacteristics of future chapter leaders.

  The conference is led by an inspirational and energeticstaff of past state and national FFA officers who are currently in college.This staff is usually composed of 5 to 6 people who work with the FFA membersto improve their communication and leadership skills as well as supply themwith vital qualities for a future career. This is done in workshops involvingall attendants of the conference, in small groups and in one-on-one teaching.

  When the FFA members have to eventually depart from theWashington Leadership Conference, they know they are taking home greatmemories. The skills and experiences that are learned can be brought back tothe home chapter to inspire and teach all FFA members how to become betterleaders. The WLC is something any member with desire to achieve should striveto attend.  Members  that attended this year were: BrittanyPinkstock and Scott Loudermilk.

 

Here is what Brittany had to say:

ÒWLC was a blast! I met loads of people from all over the U.S.A.and we are still in contact and really good friends.Ó

 

Canoe Trip

  On July28th, members canoed down the Hocking River on our annual chapter canoetrip.  Members that went: BrittanyPinkstock, Scott Loudermilk, Chris Sparkman, Kaleb Miller, C.J. Mets, TylerGenders, Andrew Bennett, D.J. McCoy, Chance McMaster, Erin Evans, ErinHiestand, Andrea Hollett, Brandon Bresler, Holly Castle, Hayley Moss, TylerVanHorn, Kati Beedy, Cody Sharp, and Aaron Miller.

Ag. Industry Tour

  On July25th members went to: Reef Systems Coral Farm Inc., the Franklin ParkConservatory, & the Columbus Zoo. Reef Systems Coral Farm is in New Albany.  The five 2,000-gallon tanks at Coral Reef contains more than50 species and 3,000 pieces of coral for sale (prices vary).  Members had a self-guided tour at theFranklin Park Conservatory and a guided tour of the Columbus Zoo.  Here is a question members were askedat the zoo....What is the main physical difference between an ape and a monkey?Do you know the answer?  The answerwill be at the bottom of this topic. Members who attended are: Alyssa Jenkins, Josh Cordle, ChrisSparkman, Ed Johnson, Andrew Bennett, Dylan Thompson, Lyndsey Alexander, JacobWhite, Titus Disbennett, Devan Picklesimer, Becca Bentz, Aaron Miller, CodySharp, Josh Hampshire, Tara McCalla, and Chance McMaster.

And the answer is....that apes have no tail.  Monkeys have a tail.

 

 

FFA Center Hosting

  Membersin official dress hosted the Ohio FFA Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds onJuly 30th. Our chapter has been hosting for the past 14 years.  Members who hosted are: Aaron Miller,Justin Strittmatter, Andrea Hollett, and Erin Hiestand.

 

Ohio Cattleman  & Poultry Association Food Booths

  On July30th, members served food at these two booths at the Ohio StateFairgrounds.    Thiscommunity service project helps these commodity groups get off to a smoothstart on the first day of the Ohio State Fair.  Those members were: Poultry- Hayley Moss, Holly Castle, Trisha Russell,Tyler Van Horn, Colleen Trapp, and Ashlee Reynolds. Cattleman- Nathan Brumfield,Ray Spence, Shelby Sizemore, Josh Cordle, Ryan Davis, Garren Dilley, IkeSowers, Holly Kidwell, Jessika Harmon, Ryan Mundy, James Poetker, ScottLoudermilk, and Matt Hill.

Adopt-a-Highway

 The Amanda-Clearcreek FFA has adopted a section of State Route 159 toclean-up as part of ODOT's Adopt-a-Highway program (this is about the tenthyear for our chapter to be involved in this program).  The chapters section runs from just south of Tommy Wayne'sPizza to the south end of Oakland, comprising three total miles. The chapterholds an Adopt-a-Highway clean-up after school about two to three times a year andonce during the summer months. During these clean-ups, members of the chapterwalk along the highway and pick-up trash. After this is done, the ODOT workerscome by and pick-up the bags of trash. This makes for a cleaner and healthierenvironment. This is one of the many community service projects provided by theAmanda-Clearcreek FFA.  Our nextscheduled clean-up is September 3rd at 6:30 P.M.

 

Farm Science Review

     Each September in London,Ohio, The Ohio State University holds the annual Farm Science Review. Thereview shows farmers and others interested in agriculture what new productdevelopments have appeared in the past year. Farm and construction equipmentinnovations and demonstrations generally attract the most interest to thoseattending, from the 1-1/2 horsepower small engines used in the industry to the400 horsepower tractors. All members of the FFA chapter have an opportunity totake a one-day field trip the to the review. This is an excellent educationalactivity for all members, providing them the opportunity to see the many facetsof agriculture.

 

Forestry CDE

     The Forestry CDEÕs purpose is to provideopportunity for those students who want to  demonstrate skills and competencies in forestry. Thiscontest will have you identifying many species of trees, using a compass, andhow to scale logs with a Biltmore stick. Practices have started so if interested please see Mr. Tilley ASAP.  The Knox County Invitational is onSeptember 25th.  The State CDE ison September 27th.

 

Urban & Rural Soils CDE

  The rural soils judging CDE is an educational activity designed as apractical method of teaching students to evaluate land and soil to determineits greatest safe potential use.  The urban land and soil judging CDE is an educational activity designedas a practical method of teaching students to evaluate land and soil todetermine its potential use for urban, home-site, and other non-farm uses.  See Mr. Tilley ASAP if interested.  The District CDE is on September 23rd.

Late Notice

    We apologize that thisnewsletter is late.  We have towait to get the new members addresses. 

October Events

    - October 1st: Flower bulborders due

    - October 3rd: Fall FruitSale Begins

    - October 11th: State SoilsCDE

    - October 12th: Chapter Trap-shoot

    - October 20th: ChapterMeeting

    - October 22nd-25th:National FFA Convention