September of 2024

by Emma Strickler, Reporter

Next FFA Meeting

        The next A-C FFA meeting will be held on Monday, September 16th at 7 p.m. in the Ag Center. Following the conclusion of the meeting, members will participate in the Ag Challenge, which will be a Scavenger Hunt. This is a competition between the grade levels; the 1st place team will receive four points, 2nd place will receive three points, 3rd place will receive two points and 4th place will receive one point. The Ag Challenge competition will last for the duration of the school year with different Ag Challenges each month; the class with the most points at the end of the year will be rewarded with a steak dinner. If you are unable to attend the meeting, make sure to give a note to your Ag teacher that explains your absence and has a parent signature.

Upcoming Events

A-C FFA Alumni Fry Sales: With football season upon us, the A-C FFA Alumni members will once again be selling french fries at home football games. The dates of the home football games this month are September 6th and September 20th. The Alumni always need people to help in the fry booth. If you are interested in helping please email Mr. Tilley to sign up at jtilley@amanda.k12.oh.us. Make sure to stop by the FFA trailer at all home football games to get some fries!

Ag Breakfast: The September Ag Breakfast will take place on Friday, September 6th at 6 a.m. at IHop in Lancaster. All members are encouraged to attend as it allows them to eat a good breakfast and interact with their peers before the school day. Come eat great food with your friends and have a good time!

Hog Roast: The annual A-C FFA Chapter Hog Roast will be held on Wednesday, September 4th at 7 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. This event is a great way to kick off the school year and it allows for our members and their parents to socialize with others. All who attend must bring a covered dish to the potluck. This year, Freshmen and Sophomores will be in charge of bringing a dinner item and Juniors and Seniors will be responsible for desserts. The chapter will provide the roasted hog, dinner rolls and drinks. Community members and A-C FFA Alumni are also invited to attend. We hope to see everyone on the 4th!

Farm Science Review: Our FFA Chapter will be sending students to the Farm Science Review again this year on Tuesday, September 17th. This is an all-day trip that will enable students to learn about new agricultural practices and technology, as well as products and equipment that are being used in agriculture. Students will leave for the trip at the start of the school day and will return home around 4 p.m. that day. This is a great opportunity to get out and learn about all kinds of agricultural topics and items, as well as have a great time with your friends.

Upcoming Contests

Forestry CDE: The first Career Development Event (CDE) of this school year is the Forestry CDE. For this contest, participants will first complete an online examination of general forestry knowledge. Members must also be able to identify trees by its bark, leaf, fruit, twig/bud, etc. and they must be able to identify different forestry tools and equipment. Then they will complete the timber cruising portion of the contest. On September 10th, the Forestry CDE team will attend the Knox County Forestry Invitational and the state contest will be held on September 28th. If you like being out in the woods, hunting or hiking, this is the contest for you. All that are interested in those kinds of activities should sign up.

Past Happenings

A-C Alumni Banquet: This summer, our chapter helped with the annual A-C Alumni Association Banquet. Those who attended setup chairs, tables, decorations and dinner service for the event; after the banquet, our members helped cleanup everything. The Alumni Association gives back so much to Amanda-Clearcreek students and FFA members, so we try to give back to this organization in any way we can. Thank you to everyone who showed up to help this summer! Just for the record, our A-C Alumni annually awards over $100,000 worth of scholarships to our graduates each year to help them attend colleges and universities all over the country.  

A-C Thad Davis 5K Run/Walk: On June 15th, our chapter volunteered to help with the Thad Davis 5K in our community. The Thad Davis relay is one of the annual fundraisers of our Alumni Association, which gives thousands of dollars worth of scholarships to A-C graduates each year. Members who volunteered helped with registration, traffic control and much more to ensure that the event ran smoothly!

Adopt-a-Highway Clean-up: Our chapter held two Adopt-a-Highway community service events over the past few months. The first one was on Friday, June 7th at 10 a.m. and the second one was on Tuesday, August 27th at 3 p.m. The A-C FFA Chapter has adopted a three mile portion of State Route 159 to pick up trash on the side of the road to help keep our school district and community clean and presentable. We have been doing this event for over 20 years and it is a great way to support our community. We look forward to continuing this event in the future!

Ag Breakfast: The June Ag Breakfast took place on Friday, June 7th at 8 a.m. at The Village Cafe in Laurelville. The August Ag Breakfast was held on Friday, August 2nd at 8 a.m. at Goodwins in Circleville. The chapter did not have a July Ag Breakfast. All who attended enjoyed getting to socialize with their peers over summer break and eat a good breakfast!

Canoe Trip: On Sunday, July 21st our chapter had our annual summer canoe trip on the Hocking River. We had quite a few members attend this event and everyone who went had a great time as always. The chapter members cannot wait until next year to go on this trip again!

Field to Table Event: The A-C FFA Chapter helped with the Field to Table Event at Franklin Park Conservatory once again this year. This community service activity was held on Friday, August 23rd at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Sharp took six of our chapter members - Caidyn Garee, Mason Jones, Brooklyn Henry, Taelynn Meade, Haley Robinson and Travis Spence - to this event to help ensure everything ran smoothly and to provide for the guests. By helping with this annual event, Franklin Park Conservatory is able to raise the money it needs to improve its facilities and function on a normal basis. This is always a great community service opportunity for our members!

Officer Retreat: For the 2024-2025 A-C FFA Leadership Team Officer Retreat, the officers and assistant officers traveled to Amish Country here in Ohio with Mr. Tilley and Mr. Sharp. This was a two-day trip on June 3rd and 4th. While on the trip, members went shopping in Amish Country and attended multiple tours including the David Warther Carvings Museum and the Mansfield Historical Reformatory and Prison. The officer team also planned chapter events for the upcoming school year and discussed ways to keep constantly improving our chapter!

Pelotonia: Our chapter volunteered to help with Pelotonia once again this year. Pelotonia is a bike race/tour that raises millions of dollars for cancer research. The 100 mile bike ride starts in Columbus each year. A-C FFA members have been helping with this event for many years now. On Friday, August 2nd, members from our chapter who were interested in helping met at the school and traveled to Columbus. Once they got there, they helped take down chairs and tables, then they set up bike racks for the next day. This community service activity was a great way for members of our chapter to contribute to the cause!

Summer FFA Camp: From July 8th-12th, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter attended the 5th Session of Summer FFA Camp at Camp Muskingum. Our members got the opportunity to meet other FFA members from all across the state of Ohio and were able to develop their leadership skills during workshops hosted by the State Officers. Not only that, but attendees were able to participate in a wide range of outdoor activities such as kickball, volleyball, basketball, swimming, canoeing, paddle boarding and much much more. There was also a gun range and archery range at camp. To top off this amazing week, our very own Morgan Anderson, who is currently the National Eastern Region Vice President, attended the 5th Session! Our members always have a great time at camp and form life-long friendships!

Summer Trap Shoot: The Summer Trap Shoot was held on July 15th at Mr. Sharp’s house. Parents were also welcome to attend; all who attended had a great time shooting clay pigeons, eating and socializing.

Washington Leadership Conference (WLC): On July 16th, two of our A-C FFA members traveled to the nation’s capitol for the Washington Leadership Conference. Cate Buckley and Emma Strickler were the recipients of the Memorial Awards from our chapter this year. These Memorial Awards are in recognition of two past members of our chapter who lost their lives while still in FFA: Rusty Bowers and Becky Strickler. The Memorial Awards are scholarships from these members' families, as well as many other donations, that cover the cost of WLC each year for our members. While in Washington D.C., members attended multiple leadership building sessions where they created a Living to Serve plan that they will implement in their community. They also had the opportunity to tour the many monuments and memorials in D.C., as well as the Capitol building, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Museums. Additionally, the members helped with a large community service project where they packed food bags for homeless people in Washington D.C. And finally, our members met with Ohio House of Representatives Member Robert Latta and our very own alumni member Josie Montoney, who is the Associate Director of Public Policy for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. What a line up! Our members returned home on July 21st. They were so grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip, all of the valuable lessons they learned, the friendships they made and the unforgettable memories.

Additional Note

        Please excuse the delay on the May and Summer newsletters. There was a change with the post office mailing system, but everything has been addressed now.

Smile!

     Officer Retreat                                Summer FFA Camp

Washington Leadership Conference

Pelotonia                                        Field to Table

September Calendar

September 2: No School

September 4: Hog Roast @ Amanda-Clearcreek High School Cafeteria - 7 p.m.

September 6: Ag Breakfast @ IHop - 6 a.m.

                   A-C FFA Alumni Fry Sale @ Home Football Game - 5:30 p.m.

September 10: Knox County Forestry Invitational - 9 a.m.

September 16: September FFA Meeting @ Ag Center - 7 p.m.

September 17: Farm Science Review

September 20: A-C FFA Alumni Fry Sale @ Home Football Game - 5:30 p.m.

September 28: State Forestry CDE