for Summer of 2013

By: Katerina Sharp, Reporter

 

Next FFA Meeting

          

The next FFA meeting will not take place until August 19th. As with our meetings this year, it will take place in the Ag. Center at 7:00 P.M. All members are required to attend. If unable, make sure you bring in a note and give it to Mr. Tilley or Mr. Sharp.

 

Upcoming Events

 

A-C Alumni Association Banquet Table Set-Up: On May 31st, members are encouraged to help are to meet in the cafeteria at 9:30 A.M. to help set up tables and chairs for the A-C Alumni Banquet. The banquet itself is for alumni members to reunite and socialize, and for seniors and recent graduates who applied for scholarships to be recognized. Our Alumni Association at Amanda-Clearcreek is one of the best in the state, and will be giving out approximately $86,000 in scholarships to our seniors and recent graduates this year.

 

Summer Trap Shoot: On June 6th, our chapter will be having a cook-out and trap shoot at Mr. SharpŐs house: 9480 Thomas Hill Road. It will cost $5 to cover some of the cost for clay pigeons and food. You are required to bring your own ammunition and firearm. Drinks, chips, and hot dogs will be provided. Parents and A-C FFA Alumni are also encouraged to attend. This event will start at 12:00 P.M.

 

Amanda Litter Clean-Up Day: Following the trap shoot, members are encouraged to volunteer to help clean up Amanda along the bike path are to meet at the Ag. Center at 5:00 P.M. on June 6th. This event should conclude by 7:00 P.M.

 

Ag Breakfast: The chapter will continue to hold Ag. Breakfast over the summer on the first Friday of each month, but they will not start until 8:00 A.M. The June Ag. Breakfast will take place on the 7th at FrischŐs. The July Ag. Breakfast will take place on the 2nd at the Laurelville Diner. The August Ag. Breakfast will take place on the 2nd at Bob Evans in Circleville. As always, all members are encouraged to attend, as these are social events with good food.

 

Thad Davis Memorial 5K Run/Walk: Our chapter was asked to help with the Thad Davis Memorial 5K Run/Walk again this year, which is being hosted by the A-C Alumni Association. This is taking place on June 15th at 7:30 A.M. and will conclude around 11:00 A.M. There are two different shifts that members can sign up for. We will be helping with registration, traffic control, finish line duties, etc.

 

Ohio FFA Leadership Camp: OLC will take place again this summer at FFA Camp Muskingum from June 21st through the 24th. The camp is run by the state officers and FFA members from around Ohio are encouraged to attend. Those attending will spend the week learning leadership skills and meeting new people through the 360 Degree Leadership Conference. The members going from our chapter are Kaylee Reid, Kayla Luft, Susan Householder, and Adrian Wymer.

 

 

Tarlton FiremenŐs Fish Fry: The Tarlton Fire DepartmentŐs annual fish fry will be held on June 27th. Members who are helping needing to arrive at the Tarlton Town Hall at 3:00 P.M. You must wear school appropriate clothes (FFA Shirts are the best). There will be no cost for the student and they will get a meal. This should conclude by 7:30 P.M. Members are reminded that this is a great way to earn community service hours, that is required for both the chapter and State FFA Degrees.

Canoe Trip: We will be having the canoe trip at Paint Creek again this year. Members attending will need to meet at the school at 9:30 A.M. on July 2nd. This will take several hours and will count towards required summer hours. Members will need to bring money for food and for their canoe/kayak. Members are also encouraged to bring a towel and dry clothes to change into!

5th Session FFA Camp: Our chapter will be attending the 5th Session of FFA Camp again this year at FFA Camp Muskingum. At camp, members participate in countless leadership-building activities with other FFA members from across the state of Ohio. Members who have turned in papers and are attending the 5th session of camp and have paid part or all of their fees include: Kaylee Reed, Kayla Luft, Johnny Lemaster, Katerina Sharp, Dylan Mullen, Devon Mullen, Josh Metzon, AJ Wymer, Matt Marshall, Ashley Pritchard, Alek Doss, Nelson Craycraft, Cheyanne Rollins, Haley Bighan, Courtney Collins, Ariel Smith, Madison Colburn, Colton Alexander, Susan Householder, Dustin Bresler, Walker Leasure, Jordan Hampshire, Mikaila Drake, Kelsey Adkins, Gabe Conrad, Morgan Thompson, Katy Hoyd, Katie Krile, Keegan OŐHare, Sonny Drake, Sierra Sadler and Hannah Robinson. If you do not know how much you owe, contact Mr. Tilley at 969-7381. In addition to the members attending camp this summer, Nick Brumfield, the Ohio FFA Sentinel, will be working at many of the different camp sessions throughout the summer as well. We will be leaving from the school at 9 A.M. on July 8th and will be arriving back on Friday the 12th at approximately 3 P.M.

Washington Leadership Conference (WLC): The Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) is a weeklong national leadership conference held in Washington, D.C. each summer. Chapters from around the country may send members to participate in the many leadership and community service activities that are held there, and the conference has continued to grow exceedingly larger each year. Attending members also get the chance to interact with FFA members from around the country and tour many of the monuments. This year, Katie Krile and Adrian Wymer were recipients of the Memorial Award. This award is given out each year at our chapter banquet in memory of Rusty Bowers and Becky Strickler. Also planning to attend WLC this summer was Katerina Sharp, who received a scholarship from the state at the Ohio FFA Convention. Our three attending members had been going to the final session in July from the 23rd through the 28th, however, due to a change at the national level, the last session was cut out and all members who were going to this session can no longer attend the conference. This change was unknown even at the state level, so affects more than just our chapter. Kat, Katie, and Adrian will be able to attend next year, as will two new members from the Amanda-Clearcreek chapter who receive the Memorial Award. The chapter has also offered to send the three to Leadership Camp, help at FFA Camp Muskingum, later this summer.

Cross Mound Park: Our chapter has been helping to clean-up Cross Mound Park for almost 20 years. The next date we have set for members to help with this activity will take place on August 2nd at 10:00 A.M. We will be performing general clean-up and repair activities at the park.

Adopt-a-Highway Clean-Up: Our summer adopt-a-highway clean-up will be taking place on August 2nd. Members who intend to help should meet at the school at 1:00 P.M. We will be cleaning up the roadsides along St. Rte. 159 between Oakland and Tommy Waynes.

 

Pelotonia Bike Tour: The Pelotonia Bike Tour is a bike tour thatŐs starts in Columbus each year. The point of the tour is to raise money for cancer research. Our chapter used to always help with this because one of the stops for the tour was at our school. However, the route has changed and no longer goes through Amanda, but the organization in charge has asked the chapter to come to Columbus to continue to help with the set-up for this event. We will be meeting at the school on August 8th at approximately 9:00 A.M. Members need to wear an FFA Pelotonia shirt, which the chapter will provide if you do not have one. Members who attend need to bring money for lunch, as we will be stopping to eat on the way back to the school.

 

School and Greenhouse Work Days: This summer, Mr. Sharp and Mr. Tilley are organizing days to clean up the shop and the Ag center. This serves to help the Ag. Department in preparing for the upcoming year. We are also planning on taking several days this summer to work on the Ag. DepartmentŐs greenhouse. If interested in participating, make sure you give you cell phone number to Mr. Sharp and Mr. Tilley, or you can contact Mr. Sharp (740-503-2961) or Mr. Tilley (740-969-7381) at these numbers. They will contact you on days they need assistance.

 

Past Happenings

 

May Meeting: The May meeting took place this past month on May 21st at the Ag. Center. This was the last meeting for the year and as always, the assistant officers got to run the May meeting. Following the meeting was a cookout! This display of fellowship and, of course, amazing food, was a great way to end the school year! The next meeting will not take place until August 19th. The winners for the 2012-2013 Ag. Challenge was the sophomore class, with a total of 184 points. The freshman were at a close second with 174.5 points. The seniors followed from a distant third place, and the juniors with fourth place. Congratulations to the sophomore class!!!

 

State FFA Convention:  This yearŐs State Convention took place on May 2nd and 3rd. Attending members started out the day on Thursday with an ODA tour. While these members were doing this, Sierra Jepson, Katerina Sharp, Nate Seitz, and Katie Krile were at the Ohio Expo Center, going through their respective proficiency interviews. Once these were concluded, the Ohio FFA Association provided a luncheon for all the members who placed top 4 in the state in their respective proficiency award area. Mr. Patrick came to the luncheon with these members. From here, A-C FFA members attended the first session of convention. Members who received awards throughout the two days at convention were:

á      State FFA Degree – Katerina Sharp, Rachel Stoneburner, and Carrie Stoneburner

á      Proficiency Awards – Sierra Jepson (2nd, Beef Production and Auntromanuership), Nate Seitz (3rd, Ag. Mechanics Repair and Maintenance), Katerina Sharp (3rd, Home and/or Community Development), and Katie Krile (4th, Accounting)

á      State Office – Nick Brumfield (State Sentinel)

á      Washington Leadership Conference Scholarship – Katerina Sharp

á      Gold Rated Officer Books – Katerina Sharp (secretary), Mikaila Drake (treasurer), Hannah Robinson (reporter)

á      Donation to ChildrenŐs Hospital – the chapter

Casey James and Aaron Kelly performed at the concert Thursday night, which was new to convention this year. We had a total of 45 members over the two days attend from our chapter. Mr. Kobel was also in attendance on Thursday to help cheer on our members. Congratulations to all of the previously listed members who received an award at convention and congrats to Nick on being inducted as a State FFA Officer!!!

 

A-C FFA Awards Banquet: This yearŐs banquet took place on Saturday, May 11th at 4:00 P.M. We had approximately 550 people in attendance including 143 members, which is one of our best ever turnouts! This yearŐs banquet was very special because we were celebrating our 75 yearŐs of existence as the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA. At the banquet we recognized 25 CDE teams, 2 of which competed at the National FFA Convention. 6 of the 25 teams placed in the top 5 in the state in their respective CDE area, earning a banner. The chapter also recognized 27 members for selling 25+ boxes/baskets of fruit, 18 members for selling 150+ bags of mulch, and 3 members for being top flower bulb sellers. Our overall top seller was Susan Householder. 45 members applied for and received various chapter awards. 17 of our chapterŐs seniors were recognized for being in Ag. for all four years of high school. We also had 10 members who were recognized for their district proficiency awards, 4 of which placed in the top 4 in the state. The following members received chapter awards:

á      Star Greenhand – Sonny Drake, Haley Bigham, and Josie Montoney

á      Outstanding Sophomore – Kaylee Reid

á      Outstanding Junior – Katerina Sharp

á      Outstanding Senior – Nick Brumfield

á      Star Chapter – Mikaila Drake

á      Leadership Camp Award – Kayla Luft, Susan Householder, and Kaylee Reid

á      Leadership Conference Award – Josh Metzon, Sydney Stinson, and Josie Montoney

á      DeKalb Leadership – Nick Brumfield

á      Memorial Award – Katie Krile and Adrian Wymer

á      CDE Hall of Fame – Nick Brumfield

Also at the banquet, we recognized 48 people as being Friends of the FFA and inducted Mr. Dave Heidell as an Honorary Member. We really appreciate all of the help that these people give our chapter! 40 members were recognized for earning their Greenhand FFA degrees this year, 25 for their Chapter, 3 for their State, and 4 for their American. We also have 2 more members who have applied for their American FFA degree for the upcoming year who were recognized. Allyson Davis was recognized for earning the Paradise Tomato Kitchens scholarship,  a $2000 scholarship from the National FFA Association, which was an extreme accomplishment! Sierra Jepson also earned a scholarship from the National FFA; the Tractor Supply Growing Scholars scholarship, for $1000. All members who received an award at the State FFA Convention were also recognized for their accomplishments at our banquet.

After the previous awards were all given out, last yearŐs officer team, consisting of Nick Brumfield-President, Allyson Davis-Vice-President, Katerina Sharp-Secretary, Mikaila Drake-Treasurer, Hannah Robinson-Reporter, Katie Krile-Sentinel, and Rachel Stoneburner-Student Advisor, was recognized for their year of service. The three senior officers, Nick, Allyson, and Mikaila, will be greatly missed next year! After last yearŐs officer team was recognized, the chapter recognized all of the past chapter advisors that we have had. This is Mr. TilleyŐs 20th year at A-C and Mr. SharpŐs 19th.

The banquet was concluded with a slide show, put together by Mr. Tilley that contained pictures of everything the chapter has done in the past year. Congratulations to everyone who received an award or was recognized at the banquet! This was truly another amazing year in the 75 years of our chapterŐs existence!

 

Ag. Breakfast: The May Ag. Breakfast was held on May 1st at Tee JayeŐs. As always, this was a fun event for members to socialize and eat good food, as well as earn bonus points for anyone wearing FFA clothing!