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