February of 2013

by Hannah Robinson, Reporter

Next FFA Meeting

The next FFA meeting will be February 19^th at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center and the Ag challenge will be scavenger hunt. This meeting is very important because new officers will be elected. If you are interested in being an officer you need to fill out an officer application before Friday, February 8^th and you must have your Chapter FFA Degree.

Upcoming Events

Ag Breakfast: Our monthly Ag Breakfast will be Friday, February 8^th at 6:15 A.M. at Tee Jaye’s.

Upcoming CDE’s: Our members are preparing for the spring skills CDE’s. The teams that are preparing are Equine Management, Nature Interpretation, Wildlife Management, General Livestock, Poultry, Agronomy, and Meats. If you are interesting in competing in one of these CDE’s, please contact Mr. Tilley ASAP.

Ag Sales: The Agricultural Sales Contest tests student knowledge and understanding in the area of Agricultural Sales. This contest includes a multiple-choice general knowledge test, a sales demonstration, and four practicums': telephone skills, advertising and promotion, product display and customer relations. The top two teams in our district proceed to the state level. Our team members this year are Rachel Stoneburner, Carrie Stoneburner, Cheyenne Gallant, and Adrian Wymer. The District 7 competitions will be February 5^th at 3 P.M. at Lancaster High School.

Job Interview: The Job Interview Contest is a contest designed to test a student's ability to prepare a resume, write a follow-up letter and interview for a mock employment opportunity. Starting with the 1993-1994 school year, the contest was broken into taxonomy categories, allowing a chapter to enter one FFA member in each taxonomy offered by the agricultural education program at that school. Currently, the contest is now broken into 5 areas divided by grade level, including a category for first year junior and seniors. A student must win the district to proceed to the state contest. Those participants are Katy Hoyd (freshman), Austin Stai (sophomore), Katie Krile (junior), and Nick Brumfield (senior). The Job Interview District 7 competition will be February 5^th at Lancaster High School.

County Public Speaking: 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 5 to 7 minute speak on an agricultural topic. The Extemporaneous Speaking contest is open to all four-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 four-grade levels, but generally involves junior and senior members who present a 6 to 8 minute prepared speech. We will have an FFA member in each category, competing on February 12^th at Liberty Union High School the county level then, if they qualify, on February 20^th at the District 7 competition held here at A-C H.S.

Top Fall Fundraiser’s Trip: Members who sold over 25 boxes of fruit are eligible to attend the Top Fall Fund Raiser’s Trip to Louisville, Kentucky. There are 23 FFA members who are attending and will be leaving Friday, February 15^th and will return Sunday, February 17^th. They will have an educational trip by visiting the Newport Aquarium, attending tractor pulls, and attending the National Farm Machinery Show. This gives members an opportunity to gain more knowledge about agriculture and to bond with other FFA members who are attending the trip.

National FFA Week: Each year our chapter participates in the National FFA Week. This week celebrates what the FFA is and what it has accomplished. Everyday has different themes. Our Student Development Community has decided on the themes or night activities. The activities that the committee has chosen are boot and camouflage day, truck and tractor day, official dress day, and t-shirt day. The other activities will be discussed.

212° Leadership Conference: The 212º Leadership Conference is Saturday, February 23^rd through Sunday, February 24^th. The conference is at Union Local High School. FFA members around Ohio are invited to attend the conference. It gives FFA members the opportunity to learn new leaderships skills and to meet new FFA members.  Members also get to participate in different activities like dodge ball, tug-of-war, card games, basketball, etc. at the lock-in that is held the rest of the night. If members are interested in attending, let Mr. Tilley or Mr. Sharp know ASAP.

Past Happenings

Agricultural Communications: The Agricultural Communications Contest tests the student’s knowledge and understanding of the various forms of communication within the industry of agriculture. Each chapter can take a team consisting of three members. Each team must submit a 12 page written media plan, and each member takes a journalism quiz, and completes an editing exercise using all proper AP style marks and laws. Members then work on individual practicums' such as, a news release, graphic design and social media campaign. Finally, the team presents a project proposal. This years’ team consists of Kayla Luft, Josie Montoney, and Kaylee Reed. The Ag Communications team place first overall at the District 7 competition. Individually, Kayla Luft placed 1^st, Kaylee Reed earned 3^rd place and Josie Montoney placed 4^th in the district. They will compete at the state contest on February 16^th. Good luck to this years’ team.

Greenhand: The Greenhand Quiz Contest tests the students’ knowledge and history of the FFA. The contest consists of a multiple-choice test dealing with past and present information about the FFA. Currently, a chapter may enter as many members as they would like, with the top three scores making-up the teams score. This contest is only open to freshmen. Those freshman participants on the team this year are: Nelson Craycraft, Kalan Greiner, AJ Wymer, Sydney Stinson, Maddie Helser, Aubrey Meenach, Kelsey Adkins, Jessica Russell, and Katy Hoyd. This contest was held after school on January 24^th and the team placed 6^th in the State. This is the best our chapter has ever done in this CDE. Jessica Russell, Sydney Stinson, and Kalan Griener were the top scorers; each of these individuals beat over 1600 students statewide! Congratulations to this freshmen team on this outstanding accomplishment!

Chapter FFA Degree: The Chapter FFA Degree is the highest degree a chapter can present to its members. To get your Chapter FFA Degree there is an application for the members who previously received their Greenhand FFA Degree. The following members received their Chapter FFA Degree at the January meetingq: Tyler Altizer, Alek Doss, Cheyenne Gallant, Codie Garee, Cole Genders, Emmy Hollar, Susan Householder, Johnny Lemaster, Kayla Luft, Josh Metzon, Maranda Miller, Devon Mullen, Dylan Mullen, Nicole Parrish, Ashley Pritchard, Kaylee Reed, Hannah Robinson, Sierra Sadler, Ariel Smith, Lindsey Smith, Autumn Spencer, Austin Stai, Morgan Thompson, Dylan Wamsley, and Adrian Wymer.