By Audrey Ivers, chapter reporter
On November 16-17th, 2011 the West Holmes FFA held the annual Greenhand Lock-In in the High School gymnasium. At this lock-in, the freshmen members participated in a fun and educational evening geared to preparing them for success in their FFA careers.
The evening started out with icebreakers prepared by the seniors and officers with added participation from the state officers in attendance Casey Schlauch, Adam Rine, and Nicole Stiener. Casey and Nicole are currently serving the Ohio FFA as District officers, and Adam is the Ohio FFA Sentinel.
After the icebreakers, the freshman members broke into groups with the state officers to participate in their workshop. The workshop allowed members to create their own ‘FFA Jacket’ where they put where they wanted to be in FFA and what they want to do, which allowed them to be creative and put specific goals they had set for the year.Then with the small individual jackets, they created a large jacket.
Once the workshop ended, freshmen members enjoyed watching a humorous parliamentary procedure presentation. After the presentation, the freshmen attended a wide variety of sessions prepared by the seniors and officers.
The presentations highlighted a wide range of events and opportunities through FFA ranging from contests to community service to member development. Each of the activities highlighted an activity or part of the FFA.
After the short demos, the freshman had the opportunity to run for a Greenhand office. The Greenhand officers elected are; President, Carter Smith, Vice President, Jason Jenkins, Secretary, Hannah Schelgel, Treasurer, Paige Miller, Reporter, Melanie Atherton, Historian, Gabe Armstrong, Sentinel, Matt Gardner, and Student Advisor, Tyler Grassbaugh.
After the election process was complete, members went to the Ag room and made t-shirts that they wore on the day of initiation. Once the shirts were complete, the members gathered in the cafeteria and enjoyed pizza, chips, and snacks.
After the late night snack, the freshman participated in the sessions prepared by the seniors. Once the sessions ended, everyone gathered in the gym for the rest of the evening to play basketball, wiffle ball, kick ball, line dancing, and board games. The night concluded with a movie.
Members woke up and returned home after a long night of staying awake. Everyone who attended had a great time.
