FFA EmblemAmanda-Clearcreek FFA NewsFFA Emblem

September of 2018

by Allie Poston, Reporter

 

Next FFA Meeting

The next FFA meeting of this school year will take place on Monday, September 17th at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center by the K-2 building. This will be our second meeting of the year and all are required to attend. If you cannot make it, make sure to give a note to your Ag teacher the day after the meeting. Also, after every FFA Meeting, there is a challenge between grade levels; 1st place receives four points, 2nd place receives three points, 3rd place receives two points, and 4th place receives one point. At the end of the year, whichever class has the most points will be awarded with a steak and ice cream dinner. The Ag Challenge for this meeting will be the Straw Bale Toss.

Upcoming Events

Ag Breakfast: The September Ag. Breakfast will take place on Friday, September 7th at 6:15 A.M. at the Frisch’s in Lancaster. All members and parents are invited to attend and enjoy a good breakfast and time with their fellow members!

Ice Cream Social: On September 12th at 7:00 P.M. in the cafeteria, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter will hold its annual Ice Cream Social. All new freshman and sophomore members should arrive at 7:00 P.M. and returning members should arrive at 7:30 P.M. to learn more about the FFA program and to enjoy ice cream! All new members are encouraged to bring their parents with them to this event.

Farm Science Review: Each year, there is a three day expo held for agricultural equipment and products near London, OH at OSU’s Molly Caren Ag Center. This year, our chapter will be attending on September 19th. At this expo, members have the opportunity to learn about the newest agricultural technology and equipment that is used in the agricultural industry. Members who are  attending this will meet at the school at 6:45 A.M and will not get back to the school until 5:00 P.M. unless in sports, band, or work release; those members will return on a seperate bus by 2:45 P.M.

Forestry CDE: The Forestry CDE gives members the chance to learn how to identify different kinds of trees, forestry tools, how many board feet of lumber can be cut and used from a tree, how to use a compass, and how to identify the type of wood used in everyday products. The County Forestry CDE contest will be held on September 10th from 4-6 P.M. September 20th is their District 7 contest at Knox Woods. This Career Development Event also consists of bark and leaf ID and an online test that will take place on September 25th. September 29th is their State contest at Hocking College.

OLLC: The Ohio Legislative Leadership Conference will be held on September 26th in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium. The morning workshop portion of this event, ran by the Ohio Farm Bureau, will focus on advocating for agricultural education, informing students about important issues, and preparing them to speak with legislators. The workshop will be followed by a luncheon with Ohio legislators, and FFA members will have the chance to talk to them regarding events surrounding agricultural education.

National FFA Convention: This year the National FFA Convention takes place from October 24th-27th in Indianapolis, Indiana. The online applications are now available for returning members on the chapter website, and the ones for new members will become available in the near future.

Past Happenings

Ag Breakfast: The June Ag. Breakfast took place on Friday, June 1st at the Bob Evans in Lancaster. The July Ag. Breakfast took place on Friday, July 6th at the Laurelville Diner. The August Ag. Breakfast took place on Friday, August 3rd at Goodwins in Circleville. These were good opportunities for members to meet, eat and socialize over the summer.

A-C Alumni Banquet: Members were encouraged to help set up for the A-C Alumni Association Banquet on Friday, June 1st at 9:30 A.M. The banquet was held on June 2nd. There were two shifts of helpers that night - one from 5:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. to collect food from attendees and help serve; the other shift helped to clean-up from 7:00 P.M. until around 9:30 P.M. This was a great community service activity for an organization that gives so much back to the students. We had many seniors who were in Ag receiving scholarships from the A-C Alumni this year.

A-C Alumni Thad Davis 5K Run/Walk: This event was held at the Amanda-Clearcreek High School on Saturday, June 16th in the morning. Members helped set up tables, chairs, and other items to prepare for the run that day. This activity was set-up by the A-C Alumni Association and was a great community service activity for all of the members that attended.

GOBA: On June 20th, A-C FFA members helped with the Great Ohio Bike Adventure at Paige’s Produce near Stoutsville. Since the lunch stop on the route was at Paige’s Produce, members served lunch, handed out waters, worked the cash register and cleaned-up after the event. This was a great community service activity.

OLC: Ohio Leadership Camp was held at Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum on June 22nd-25th. Members who attended were able to better learn how to become better leaders both inside and outside of their chapter’s. Games and other activities were held there as well. Those members that attended were Stephanie Bowers, Kyle Hicks, Emmalee McGee, and Kaylee Sharp.

Canoe Trip: Our Summer Canoe Trip was held on Friday, July 6th after the monthly Ag Breakfast at the Hocking River. There were 10 members who attended this annual summer activity, including some of our new freshmen members. This was one of the most fun activities that I did over the summer, and a good time was certainly had by all.

FFA Camp: Summer camp was held on July 9th-13th where members engaged in activities with other FFA members. Members had a week to spend time with friends both old and new, participate in daily competitions, and try new activities. This camp is for people who like to play paintball, learn responsibility, shoot guns, engage in team activities, use a bow and arrow, swim, canoe, hike, boat, dance, or just meet new people. Most members can agree that FFA Camp is one of the best activities that our chapter participates in each year. There were 44 of our members, ranging from recent senior graduates to incoming freshmen, who attended the 5th session of Ohio FFA Camp. Emma Dearth also attended all sessions of FFA Camp as a state officer and we are very proud of everything that she accomplished over the summer while serving the Ohio FFA Association. Our chapter had more attendees than any other chapter at that session.

Summer Trap Shoot: The annual Summer Trap Shoot was held on July 16th at Mr. Sharp’s house. All of the members and parents who attended had a great time shooting clay pigeons, eating, and socializing with friends.

Officer Retreat: The A-C FFA Officer Retreat was held on July 17th-19th where our officers and their assistants went backpacking in the Dolly Sods wilderness in West Virginia. On the first night of the retreat the officers and their assistants stayed in the Canaan Valley Resort where they set goals and planned the events of the upcoming school year. The main focus of the retreat was to plan next year’s activities, so if you still have any ideas or suggestions, tell an officer! According to Mr. Tilley, this is only the second time that  all officers and all assistant officers have attended the annual Officer Retreat.

WLC: To go to the Washington Leadership Conference, a member had to sign-up and pay the fee or apply for the Memorial Award where a member has to go through a special interview process to qualify in order to go on this trip. This year Morgan Anderson, Garrett Drake, and Paige Hinton all earned the Memorial Award to go on this trip on July 24th-29th in Washington, D.C. The trio spent all week in the nation’s capital participating in leadership events, community service activities, and learning more about our nation's capital, how it functions, and its history. Morgan, Paige, and Garrett also got the opportunity to meet and speak with multiple House of Representatives members, including Bob Gibbs from Ohio and Steve Pierce from New Mexico. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and all three of our members had a fantastic time serving others, bettering themselves, and meeting other FFA members from all across the United States.

Cross Mound Clean-Up: On Friday, August 3rd members were asked to help at the Cross Mound Park in Tarlton to help clean it up. Members helped with general clean-up of the trails and picnic areas. The chapter has been helping with this particular Fairfield County Park for over 20 years.

Pelotonia: Here members were able to enjoy a good meal, and then helped to clean up the tables and chairs, then set up more tables for the breakfast ceremony the next morning. This event was held on Friday, August 3rd. This is a fantastic community service activity. Pelotonia raises money for researching the cure for cancer. The chapter has been helping with Pelotonia since its inception. For the first 3 years, the bike ride came through Amanda, but since then, organizers changed the bike route to not go through Fairfield County. Our chapter decided to continue to help with this worthy activity.

Color Mile Fun Run: On August 4th, members volunteered at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds for the Color Mile Fun Run that was held there. They helped by throwing the colored powder on the runners and cleaning up afterwards. This was a great community service activity for everyone that attended.

Fairfield County Antique Tractor Show: This was the second year that our chapter has helped with this community service event, which was held on August 18th-19th at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds. Members that attended participated in a wrench and skillet toss, helped run the kiddie tractor pulls, and helped set-up and coordinate the tractor parade.

Adopt-a-Highway: Nearly 20 years ago, our chapter adopted a section of 159 from Tommy Wayne’s to Oakland, this means that at least twice a year we must do a highway clean-up in that area. On August 20th, we had a great turn out of members who volunteered their time to pick up trash and keep our roads clean. Please don’t forget that this opportunity will also be available again in the Spring for anyone wishing to gain some more community service hours!

Field to Table: On August 24th, A-C FFA members assisted at the Franklin Park Conservatories  annual fundraiser event. This signature event welcomes 700 guests in celebration of Ohio’s harvest and to help raise funds for the conservatory.  

                             

Left to right: Abby Tooill, Zach Meadows, Emily Woida, Paige Alford, Addison Icenhour, Sophie Mazgay, Olivia Hutchison, Dorothea West, Kaylee Sharp. These members helped with the Great Ohio Bike Adventure at Paige’s Produce.    

A-C FFA members

enjoying the annual Summer Trap Shoot at Mr. Sharp’s house.

         

A-C FFA Officers and their Assistant’s at the Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia on the annual Officer Retreat.                                  

All 45 of our members that attended 5th session of Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum.