November of 2014

by Josie Montoney, Reporter

Next FFA Meeting

The next monthly meeting will be held on November 18^th at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center (note, this is a TUESDAY, not a Monday!). The Ag Challenge for this meeting will be Peanut Butter Face! One male and one female will participate from each class. One member will smear peanut butte on the face of the other, and then will throw a bag of mini marshmallows at their face. At the end of the challenge, the grade level with the most marshmallows on their members face wins.

Upcoming Events

Ag Breakfast: The next monthly ag breakfast will be held on November 6^th at Tee Jayes at 6:15 A.M. As usual, ag breakfast is a fantastic opportunity for old and new members to get to know each other better over great food.

Annual Chapter Hog Roast: On Wednesday, November 12^th, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter will hold its annual Chapter Hog Roast in the high school cafeteria at 7 P.M. As in the past, this event will be a potluck meal, so all FFA members in attendance are required to bring a food item, which will be determined by grade level. 8^th graders, Freshmen, Sophomore, and Junior members are asked to bring a dinner item, and Senior members are asked to bring a dessert item (members should be reminded that a bag of chips is not a dinner item!). Community members and A-C FFA Alumni members are highly encouraged to attend, but are also asked to bring a covered dish or dessert item of their own. Our chapter will be providing the roast hog, dinner rolls, and drinks. The Hog Roast is a great opportunity for members, their families, and members of the community to socialize over fantastic food.

Job Interview CDE: The Job Interview Contest will be held in November at Clear Fork Valley High School. This contest is designed to test a student’s ability to prepare a resume, write a follow-up letter, and interview for a mock employment opportunity. This CDE is broken into five categories: Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and first year Junior/Senior. In order for members to qualify for the state contest, they have to get first place at the district contest. Last year, Devon Mullen won the state in the junior division, and placed 4^th in the state in the Overall Contest.

Holiday Food Drive: On Tuesday, November 18^th, and Thursday, November 20^th, our chapter will again be dropping off food bags at every house in both Stoutsville and Amanda to collect nonperishable food items for families in need this winter. On Wednesday, November 26^th, the chapter will be returning to Amanda and Stousville to collect all food bags. All of the bags will be brought back to the school, where members will sort items and pack them into boxes, then deliver them to the Amanda Fire Department to be given out to families in our community. Our chapter does this in conjunction with the Chelsea Hedrick’s Food Drive, who we have worked with for many years and have collected thousands of pounds of food for local families. For members who don’t live in either of the two villages, bags will be handed out in class to take home to families and neighbors. This is an excellent opportunity for both students and community members to do a small gesture that will go a long way.

State FFA Officer Leadership Night: On Wednesday, November 19^th, our school will be hosting a State FFA Officer Leadership Night in the high school cafeteria at 6 P.M. Our chapter has hosted this event for many years, and we are the only school in our district and in Central Ohio to hold this event. Last year, there were over 300 FFA members in attendance from all over our area. All members are highly encouraged to attend, as this is a fantastic opportunity to meet our State FFA Officers; learn leadership skills, which are extremely beneficial in all aspects of life; and socialize with FFA members from around the state.

Past Happenings

Ag Breakfast: The October ag breakfast was held on Friday, October 3^rd at 6:15 A.M. at Tee Jaye’s. As always, ag breakfast is a great opportunity for members to get to know each other better and bond over great food!

Fall Fruit Sale: On October 16^th, all FFA Chapters across the state of Ohio started their fall fruit sale! For our chapter, this fundraiser provides us with a majority of the funds that allow us to participate in all the exciting opportunities our chapter has. This sale will be going on until November 13^th, and fruit pick up will be in the second week of December. All members are HIGHLY encouraged to sell!!

National FFA Convention: From October 29^th through November 1^st, 34 members from our chapter went to the National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. This was an excellent trip, where members had the chance to tour different sites, and attend multiple sessions at the actual convention. On the first day, members toured the Kentucky House Park and the Salato Wildlife Center. On the second day, they attended Session C at the Convention, toured the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum, socialized at the Renaissance Fun Park, and finally attended the Buckeye Bash, where members had the chance to meet members from all over the state of Ohio. On the third day, members attended the Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Session at the Convention, and toured the Falls of Ohio State Park. Also on Friday night, members who attended the Washington Leadership Conference got to attend a reunion, where they ate dinner and caught up with other FFA members they and met on this trip. On the final day, members attended the Eighth Session to watch Jenna Ferguson receive her American FFA Degree, then toured the Kentucky Derby Museum, and finally returned to attend the Ninth Session and see whom the new National FFA Officers were. Another exciting event on this trip is that our schools state winning Agricultural Issues team had the chance to represent the state of Ohio at the national contest! Members on this team were: Katerina Sharp, Kaylee Reed, Devon Mullen, Susan Householder, and Katie Krile. The team received a Bronze rating at the National Contest. Members who attended this trip were: Emma Dearth, Sarah Streets, Ashley Eveland, Makinzie Garee, Mattie Grace Hamilton, Maddie Helser, Susan Householder, Carlie Krile, Katie Krile, Kayla Luft, Aubrey Meenach, Josie Montoney, Joce Palambo, Kaylee Reed, Mary Schmelzer, Lilly Seifert, Mallory Seitz, Katerina Sharp, Sydney Stinson, Tierra Tooill, Samantha Young, Mitch Cassley, Nelson Craycraft, Tyler Hopper, Johnny Lemaster, Josh Metzon, Devon Mullen, Dylan Mullen, Cody Roark, Jesse Schooley, Austin Smith, Austin Stai, Adrian Wymer, and Cordell Young.