For March of 2013 By: Katerina Sharp,
Reporter |
Next FFA Meeting |
March Meeting
The
next monthly FFA meeting will be held on Monday, March 18th at 7:00
P.M. in the Ag. Center. The Ag challenge for this meeting will be the
volleyball tournament, with the line up being Freshman vs. Sophomores and
Juniors vs. Seniors. The winners of each will meet in the 2nd round
and play for first and second place, with the losing teams playing each other
in the conciliation round for third and fourth place.
Upcoming Events |
Ag Breakfast
The next Ag. Breakfast
will be held at Tee JayeÕs on March 1st at 6:15 A.M. All members are
encouraged to come. This event gives members the chance to eat good food, bond,
and socialize.
Upcoming Contests
General
Livestock CDE: The General Livestock judging CDE focuses
on members' abilities to judge the four main meat animals: beef cattle, swine,
sheep, and goats. They will be split into groups with each group getting a
species class to judge. Members will have to rank the animals in order from
best to least and then answer questions pertaining to certain ones. They will
also have to take a written test, which will cover things like pedigrees,
gestation periods, carcass weight, calculations, reading charts, etc. Katie Krile, a junior and third year
participant in this CDE area, said, "Currently we have had two practices
for general livestock and at them we've been learning the basics of EPD's. This
is the part of the contest where they test your knowledge about the history of
the animal and how they are predicted to perform. We have also learned some
judging techniques that will help us select the good from the bad." The
team is made up of: Katie Krile, Mikaila
Drake, Cheyenne Gallant, Kaylee Reed, Madison Darnell, Sonny Drake, Sydney
Stinson, Desirae Logsdon, Ben Slykerman, Autumn Spencer, and Dustin Bresler. Christian Hoffman, an A-C
FFA Alumni member and formal participant in the contest, is helping to coach
the team. The team will be attending two invitational; Marysville on March 9th
and Ashland on March 23rd, before competing at the state contest on April 6th
at the State Fair Grounds.
Ag
Mechanic Skills CDE: This contest consists of 3
members who must demonstrate multiple mechanical tasks pertaining to welding,
brazing, and wiring. The top two district teams will then advance to the state
level. The team, consisting of Nick
Brumfield, Dakota Hawk, and Sam Byrd,
will be competing in the district contest on March 5th at Teays Valley.
Poultry CDE:
The Poultry CDE tests studentsÕ understanding of the poultry industry. The
contest consists of a test, identification of meat cuts, candling eggs, judging
live birds, judging processed patties and judging carcasses. A chapter may
enter an unlimited number of members at the state level with the top three
scores making-up the teams score. The members of this team are: Nicole Parrish, Susan Householder, Johnny
Lemaster, Cordell Young, and Sierra Sadler. This contest will be held
on April 6th.
Nature Interpretation CDE: The Nature
Interpretation CDE team has also been preparing for their upcoming contest
events, which are the Marysville Invitational on March 9th and the
Ashland Invitational on March 23rd. The State Contest will be held at the State
Fair Grounds on April 6th. The Nature Interpretation team is made up of: Adrian Wymer, Katerina Sharp, Allyson Davis,
Haley Bigham, Kayla Luft, and Kourtney
Boldo. Mr. Tilley has been helping to prepare the team for their contest.
They will be tested over their knowledge of tool ID, mammal pelt ID, mammal skull
ID, reptiles, amphibians, and non-woody plants in the form of a written test,
pictures, and the actual items. In addition to these things, they will also
have two practicums to complete, which are identifying songbird and amphibian
sounds.
Wildlife Management CDE: The
Wildlife CDE is similar to the Nature because they both have to be able to
identify tools, mammal pelts, and mammal skulls. Because of these similarities,
Mr. Tilley usually practices with the
two teams together. But instead of songbird knowledge, Wildlife has to be
capable of identifying game birds, fish, and cover plants. They are tested over
these skills also by an online and written test, pictures, and the actual
items. The members on this team are: Ashley
Pritchard, Matt Timmons, Josh Metzon, Seth Hollett, Josie Montoney, and Devan Boyer.
Equine Management CDE: Equine Management, which focuses on horses, is another of the Spring Skills Contests that our chapter has members competing in this year. This is probably one of the hardest Spring Skills Contests to find members who have background information pertaining to the contest already. According to Hannah Robinson, a sophomore and second year competitor in this contest area, participants not only have to learn to judge the horses, but also have to be capable of identifying "all of the tack, horse breeds, disease ID, miscellaneous health issues, and different plants, such as forages." The team, which is made up of: Hannah Robinson, Emmy Hollar, Kassidy McClure, Morgan Thompson, and Brianna Green, is being coached by Gail Ellinger. The team will be participating at the Marysville Invitational on March 9th, the Ashland Invitational on March 23rd, and also the State Contest on April 6th.
Past Happenings |
Greenhand Quiz CDE
This past month,
our chapter's Greenhand Quiz CDE team broke it's highest placing ever in the
Greenhand contest. The team, consisting of: Kalan
Greiner, A.J. Wymer, Nelson Craycraft, Kelsey Adkins, Jessica Russell, Sydney
Stinson, Aubrey Meenach, Maddie Helser, and Katie Hoyd, placed 6th in the
state contest. This is an online test where participants are
tested on their knowledge about the FFA's history. The test also requires
knowledge of miscellaneous present information concerning the FFA. The
questions can range anywhere from asking how many bolts of corduroy it takes to
make an FFA Jacket, to past and present FFA National Officer Teams, to who
wrote the National FFA Creed. This is an extremely difficult test to study for
because of the vast amount of information. This makes our chapter's 6th place
even more commemerable, especially considering that there were 118 teams
that took the test. Congratulations to the Greenhand Quiz CDE Team!
Ag Breakfast
On February 8th,
the chapter held itÕs monthly Ag. Breakfast at Tee JayeÕs. This is another fun
event that our chapter does that allows members to eat, socialize, and have a
good time.
February Meeting, Officer Elections!
The Amanda-Clearcreek FFA
chapter had their monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 19th at 7:00
P.M. at the Ag Center. This is probably the biggest and most important meeting
of the year, do to the chapter electing new officers. There were 13 candidates,
each of which had to submit an application, go through an interview, and make a
speech to the chapter at the meeting before the elections. The 2013-2014
officer team for the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter is:
Katie Krile - President
Adrian Wymer - Vice-President
Susan Householder – Secretary
Kaylee Reed – Treasurer
Katerina Sharp – Reporter
Austin Stai – Sentinel
Devon Mullen – Student Advisor
The Ag Challenge for this meeting was
the scavenger hunt. Mr. Tilley read items off a prearranged list and the
first class to bring the item to Mr. Sharp got the point. The results
were: Sophomores 1st place, Juniors, 2nd place, Seniors 3rd
place, and Freshman 4th place. This is always a fun activity and
everyone had a great time!
212¼ Leadership Conference
The 212¡ Conference, held at Union Local High School, took place from February 23rd to the 24th. Our chapter has attended this conference for several years and had 22 members attend this year. The attending members left from the school at 6:15 A.M. on Saturday, picking up FFA members from Sheridan High School on the way, and then arrived back at 9:15 A.M. the next day. For the whole of Saturday, the FFA members present attend a leadership workshop lead by some of the FFA State Officers. Once this is concluded, the event turns into a lock-in and the members get to square dance, line dance, socialize, play cards, and participate in relays, etc. all night long. One of our members who attended, Susan Householder, a sophomore, said that ÒI learned how to square dance and it was so much fun!Ó Each year is a little different, and this year Union Local had a hypnotist come in. During the night there is also an ice cream social and pizza. This event is just another fun learning experience that our members have the option of attending.
Public Speaking CDEs
There are four areas in which chapters can bring members to compete in for the Public Speaking contest: Creed Speaking, Beginning Prepared Speaking, Prepared Speaking, and Extemperanious. Josie Montoney competed in the Creed Speaking Contest, where she placed 1st in the county contest and 3rd in the district. For this speaking area, Josie had to memorize the National FFA Creed, written by E.M. Tiffany. Susan Householder placed 3rd in the Beginning Prepared contest at the county level. In this speaking CDE are, she had to write a 5 to 7 long minute speech and memorize it. Nick Brumfield placed 1st in the county contest in his speaking area and 2nd in the district. Nick will be continuing on to the State Prepared Speaking Contest, which will take place on Saturday, March 9th. He also had to write and memorize his own speech. Kelsey Adkins placed 3rd in the county Extemporaneous Speaking contest. In this speaking area, participants have to draw a random Ag. related topic, get amount of time to come up with a minute long speech, and then must present it to the judges. Congratulations to Nick, Josie, Kelsey, and Susan for their hard work and accomplishments!
Proficiency Awards
The following members filled out and completed a proficiency award(s) in each of their respectable areas:
Nick Brumfield – Turfgrass Management
Katerina Sharp – Fiber and/or Oil Crop Production,
Home and/or Community Service Development
Dylan Wamsley – Dairy Production
Sierra Jepsen – Beef Production-Entrepreneurship
Katie Krile - Accounting
Nate Seitz – Ag Mechanics Repair & Maintenance
Jenna Ferguson – Agricultural Services
Allyson Davis – Accounting
Carrie Stoneburner – Agricultural Sales
For a member to be eligible to fill out a proficiency award, their SAE project must first be ag. related. They then must fill out a strenuous application and turn in their completed project book and general record book. These will be judged in the district and the top 4 in each category will continue on to the state. Members who make it to the state will have to complete a project board and an interview at the Ohio State FFA Convention in the spring.
Job Interview CDEs
The Job Interview Contest is a contest designed to challenge student's ability to prepare a resume, write a follow-up letter and interview for a mock employment opportunity. ÒJob Interview is one of the most fun and useful CDEs due to the personal interviews in which members go through because of the qualities learned for a successful interview to obtain a job,Ó said one of our members, Nick Brumfield. 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. The members participating at the district level were: Nick Brumfield, 1st place in the Senior Division; Katie Krile, 6th place in the Junior Division; and Katy Hoyd 8th placed in the Freshman Division. Nick Brumfield will be competing in the state job interview contest on March 2nd at the Tolles Tech Center.
Agricultural Sales CDE
Our chapter had 4 members
compete in this contest this year: Adrian Wymer, Carrie Stoneburner, Rachel
Stoneburner, and Cheyenne Gallant. Members have to make up a sales
presentation before hand and present it to a judge. They also must take an
online test and go through a practicum. This year the practicum area covered
customer relations. One of the team members, Rachel Stoneburner, said
that Òthis contest helps to teaches members about the sales aspect of
agriculture and is great fun!Ó The team placed 6th in the district.
Top Fall Fundraiser Trip
To be eligible to attend the Top Fall Fundraisers Trip to Louisville, Kentucky, members had to have sold a minimum of 25 boxes or baskets of fruit during the fruit sale, which occurred before Christmas Break. We had 23 members attend this trip, along with Mr. Tilley, A-C FFA Alumni members Mr. Mike Miller, and Ms. Brittany Pinkstock. Christina Poling also attended as a chaperone. The members who attended the trip were: Nick Brumfield, Mikaila Drake, Allyson Davis, Cappie Picklesimer, Katerina Sharp, Katie Krile, Josh Metzon, Austin Stai, Susan Householder, Nicole Parrish, Cheyenne Gallant, Sydney Stinson, Matt Marshall, A.J. Wymer, Keegan O'Hare, Devon Mullen, Dylan Mullen, Alek Doss, Shelby Humphreys, Alysa Strosnider, Maddie Colburn, Kalan Greiner, and Desirae Logsdon more. Although the main point of the trip was to attend the National Truck and Tractor Pulls and the National Farm Machinery Show, the attending members also got to go to many other places, too. They toured the Newport Aquarium and the Louisville Mega Cavern, and were also able to go to the Hard Rock Cafe, mall and a movie, and stop at Jungle Jims International Food Market. The members also picked up a Òlost memberÓ, Benson, at Jungle Jims. He had been missing since the National Convention Trip!
National FFA Week
National FFA Week was from February 18th to the 22nd. Our chapter celebrated this week by doing different activities each day, except for Monday, because we didn't have school due to President's Day.
Tuesday - Boot and Camo Day
Wednesday - Official Dress Day
Thursday - Truck and Tractor Day
Friday - Tee-Shirt Day and Game Night
Smile!
Top Fall Fund RaiserÕs Trip
FFA Game Night
February FFA Meeting