Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Summer Newsletter

Inspirational Quote: “"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field."         ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

       By: Autumn Parry, A-C FFA Reporter

Recap of the Month of May

State FFA Convention: On May 5th and 6th students attend the State FFA Convention at the Ohio Expo Center. This included a horticulture tour at OSU, many sessions recognizing our chapters accomplishments, exploring the expo center, and eating at many good restaurants. Highlights included Hannah Saum being elected State FFA Vice-President and four members, Logan Craycraft, Hannah Saum, Emily Buckley and Riley McKeska earning their State FFA Degrees. The chapter’s Nature Interpretation and Agricultural Issues Forum teams were recognized as state winning teams and Hannah Saum was recognized as the state winning Extemporaneous speaker. Finally, Morgan Anderson concluded her outstanding year as State FFA Vice-President.

Ag Breakfast: On May 6th A-C FFA members gathered at Frishes for Ag breakfast. Members engaged in fellowship and eating good food.

A-C FFA Banquet: On May 14th, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA banquet will be held. This event is to celebrate students and recognize all of their accomplishments throughout the year. There was a potluck dinner before the event. We had many members from our school board attend such as Kyle Sharp, Robin Saum and Misty Pinkstock as well as our current superintendent, Mr. Dick and our new superintendent Dr. Edwards. We also had multiple past state officers attend such as Morgan Anderson, Dawson Osborn, Kyle Hicks, and Jake Zajkowski. We also had three current state officers attend, Hannah Saum, Luke Jennings and Landon Shelpman. Senator Tim Shaeffer was also in attendance. Thank you to everyone who came out and showed their support for our chapter!

        Some highlights from the awards banquet were the recognition of Morgan Anderson after her successful term as the 2021-2022 State FFA Vice-President. The recognition of the 2022 Star Greenhands, Peter Smith and Maddie Cordle, 2022 Outstanding Sophomore Lily Dennis, 2022 Outstanding Junior Hannah Saum and 2022 Outstanding Senior A.J. Dossman. Sara Sharp was recognized as the Dekalb Leadership Award winner and A.J. Dossman was recognized as the Chapter Star in Agribusiness. Sara Sharp was inducted into the A-C FFA CDE Hall of Fame. All CDE participants were recognized with award pins and many other awards were presented.

Baby Animal Farm: On May 26th, our chapter hosted a Baby Animal farm for the younger students at Amanda-Clearcreek to learn about and meet different animals. High School Students brought in animals for the younger students.

Ag Day: On May 26th, the leadership team put on an ag day for the third graders of Amanda-Clearcreek. This event taught younger students about agriculture and the importance of farming in our community.

CDE Results

State Agricultural Engineering Mechanics: The state agricultural engineering mechanics team competed at the state competition on May 5th. This team consisting of Ryan Chambers, AJ Dossman and Logan Craycraft placed 3rd overall. During the competition the team was required to weld together a project they designed in just three hours,using different types of joins. They then had to take a 50 question test over ag mechanics. Great job team!

Upcoming Events in June 

Top Spring Fundraiser’s Trip: From May 31st to June 2nd students who sold more than 250 bags of mulch went to West Virginia to attend the top spring fundraiser trips. The students will be wild caving at Lost World Caverns and taking a few other tours. This is the reward trip for the top mulch sellers.

Ag Breakfast: The June Ag Breakfast will be held on June 3rd at the Village Cafe in Laurelville at 8:00 am.

A-C Alumni Awards Night: On June 4th the A-C FFA alumni organization will be hosting the alumni awards night to recognize the A-C Alumni scholarship winners. The chapter will be helping set-up tables Friday morning at 9:30 A.M. in the cafetorium and will be helping with the operation of the awards night starting at 4:00 P.M. on June 4th. Members are encouraged to help with these events and sign-up on the sign-up page on our chapter website.

Officer Retreat: On June 15th-17th the officer team and assistants will be going to West Virginia in order to discuss and plan the future of the chapter. They will be rafting on the New River as their main event.

A-C Alumni Thad Davis 5k Run/Walk: On June 18th the annual A-C Alumni Thad Davis 5k Run/Walk will be held. This is an event that the chapter has helped with since its inception.  Students can volunteer to help or they can sign up to participate in the event. Those helping should sign-up on the chapter sign-up website on the chapter website.

Ohio Leadership Camp: On June 24th through the 27th students will have the chance to go to Camp Muskingum for a leadership camp. This is a great opportunity for students to meet new people and enhance their leadership skills to better prepare them for the future. Those members attending this year are Karlee Parry and Makayla Foster.

Upcoming Events in July

Summer FFA Camp: July 11th through the 15th students will go to Camp Muskingum for the 5th session of FFA camp. This is a unique opportunity for students to meet other FFA members and to be able to experience new things and get the opportunity to practice archery, go motor-boating, shoot rifles and so much more! Students should arrive at school at 9:00 A.M. on July 11th. If you didn’t get your camp forms and money turned in, it’s not too late! Contact Mr. Tilley at 740-974-9692 if you’d still like to go to camp.

Ag Breakfast: The July Ag breakfast will be on the 22nd at Goodwin’s in Circleville at 8:00 am.

Summer Canoe/Kayak Trip: The summer canoe trip will be on July 22nd. Students will be able to go canoeing with their chapter and earn summer activity points. Students should arrive at school at 10:30 A.M. This year the canoe/kayak trip will be on Paint Creek southwest of Chillicothe.

Summer Trap Shoot: On July 25th, the summer trap shoot will be held at Mr. Sharp's house. Students must bring their own ammo and guns to participate in shooting clay pigeons. Hot dogs and chips will be provided by the chapter. The event will begin at 5:00 P.M. Students must sign-up on the sign-up page on the chapter website. Questions? Contact Mr. Sharp at 740-503-2961

Washington Leadership Conference: The Washington Leadership Conference is back! On July 26th through July 31st Riley McKeska and Josie Speakman will attend the WLC in Washington D.C., interacting with FFA members from around the country. They will tour Washington D.C., work on leadership activities and perform community service while there. This is a great opportunity for these two girls.

Both Riley and Josie won a Memorial Award from the chapter, which pays for this trip. These two awards are given in memory of Rusty Bowers and Becky Strickler, two past members who were lost to us in accidents in their youth.

Upcoming Events in August

Ag Breakfast: On August 5th ag breakfast will be held at Bob Evans in Circleville at 8:00 am.

Cross Mound Cleanup: On August 5th students can volunteer to clean up the Cross Mound county park. This is a good event that can earn students community service hours. Students should meet at Cross Mound at 10:30 A.M. which is located on Sixteenth Road north of Tarlton

Pelotonia: On August 5th students can volunteer to help set up the annual Pelotonia Bike race. Students should arrive at school at 5:00 P.M. to be bussed up to Columbus. The Pelotonia raises money for cancer research. The A-C FFA has been working with the Pelotonia since its inception.

First Day Of School: The first day of school for the 2022-2023 school year is August 16th.

Fairfield County Antique Tractor Show: On August 20th and 21st the Fairfield County Antique Tractor show will be held at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds. The chapter has helped with this in the past and looks forward to helping again.

Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup: On August 22nd students will be able to volunteer to clean up 159. Students will meet in the ag shop right after school. The chapter has a 3-mile section of St. Rte 159 that we take care of.

Monthly FFA Meeting: The first monthly meeting of the year will be held on August 22nd in the ag shop.

Final Thoughts

Well, we finally made it to the end of the year. Congratulations everyone for making it through. Seniors goodluck on your future endeavors. Students, remember you need to come to summer activities as it is the first grade of the 2022-2023 school year. If you need to be exempt talk to Mr.Tilley. Otherwise, have a safe and fun filled summer. We will see you all in the fall!